does anyone know about aquarium plants?

Question

I bought some plants the other day for my tank. I'm trying to learn. I've got some books from the library and am teaching myself about proper plant care in the aquarium. However, I have a brazilian pennywort that is starting to look bad. I don't know how to diagnose the problem. If I posted a picture of it on here, would anyone be able to tell me what's wrong with it (ie. lighting, water quality, temperature, etc.)? Also, know any good sites that might help me out about learning how to care for them and troubleshooting any problems?

Answer 1

There are a lot of things that could be wrong with your plant. If the leaves are turning yellow than there is not enough iron in your water. Go out and buy either a liquid fertilizer that you add straight to the water or tablets that you insert deep into the gravel near the roots of your plant. If the leaves are turning black, you have too much iron and a simple water change should correct the problem. If there are holes, your fish are most likely eating them and there is nothing you can do about that. There are some plants out there that fish do not like the taste of so you can try to purchase those.

The best way for plants to grow in your aquarium is to put a layer of soil and peat at the bottom of the tank, a layer of flourite and then top it off with some sand or a light layer of gravel.

Most plants need at least 3 watts per gallon of water in order to survive. So, check your lighting to see if your plants are recieving enough.

You also want to make sure that you change your water twice a week so the plants stay healthy.

Regarding planting, there are numerous ways to do so. But the best way is separating the stems and planting each of them one leaf width apart so they can grow out.

Hope this helped.

Answer 2

If you're just using the basic light that came with the tank hood, that's probably the problem.

I tried live plants in my tanks but I could never keep them alive. When I increased the light, I had algae problems. I also ended up with snails in my largest tank.

There's only one plant I've had a lot of success with in my tanks. It's pothos, which isn't sold as an aquarium plant but does really well in my tanks. I got the idea from the zoo...they had it in all of their freshwater tanks and it looked great. I buy the plants at walmart, pull all the dirt off of the roots, trim the roots to about two inches, rinse them, put a rubber band loosely around several stems, and bury the roots in the gravel. They look great, and they're cheap to replace when the fish eat them.

Answer 3

Most plant problems start with temperature,go to the books and check this out first. Next would be pH and hardness,I suspect that a Brazilian plant would crave soft water and a fairly low pH.
Just like fish, plants need small water changes to remain healthy,this would be my next item to check.
Look carefully at the light requirements for your plants,this is also important.
You should be able to find lots of sites to get advice on your plants,just don't put too much stock in the ones with something to sell.
Good luck.

Answer 4

Natural plants are the best. Boil them to get the bacteria out first, though...