What are the easiest plants to keep in my fish tank ?

Question

Hello, I have a 3ft tank with cichlids. I am having problems keeping live plants alive. I am wanting to know the easiest plants to keep alive. any help would be great :)

Answer 1

plants need good lighting, on for over 8 hours a day, preferably around 12 hours. and it would be a good idea to check the wattage on your tank. 1 watt per gallon is considered low, over 2 watts per gallon, medium, 3+ high. some will also thrive with added fertiliser, either liquid or tab form, these can be bought from aquatic stores, only use ferts designed for aquatic plants!

what kind of cichlids are you keeping? african cichlids don't really like plants in their tank, they prefer rock work and a high ph. american cichlids, most don't mind plants, the larger american cichlids will like to rearrange them for you though!

if you have low lighting, try java fern, java moss or anubias. java fern and anubias will only thrive if tied to wood or rocks. tie them down tightly with something like fishing wire, and they will root themselves. java moss can be left on the substrate or tied down.

even though the site below is based in the UK, it does have a very exhaustive list of plants and the lighting they need. if you are in the UK, i've used these guys before and their mail order is excellent.

Answer 2

I'd recommend a minimum 10 gallon tank to start with, as anything smaller is more difficult to look after and will only hold one or two fish. You could have a male Betta fish with 6-8 Neon Tetras, which would give you a lot of colour in the tank and would be a good mix. If you want real plants, check out your local fish store and you need a soft, feathery type if possible, so not to cause any harm to the Betta. First thing you need to research is 'fishless cycling' as you need to prepare the water before getting any fish and it can take weeks. Once the tank is cycled, you should only add a few fish at a time over a couple of weeks or it will cause problems. Once you have any fish in the tank, you need to do weekly water changes of about 25-30% (adding dechlorinated water of the same temperature). Good luck with your new hobby. ;-)

Answer 3

Almost all Cichlids are pretty vicious towards plants. Most Africans and large South American Cichlids would gladly redecorate for you, killing a lot of plants in the process. In a Cichlid tank, your best bets are Java Moss, Anubias, or plastic plants. Java Moss suposedly taste aweful to fish, and Anubias are slightly toxic, so fish will generally avoid eating those, and they don't eat plastic plants for obvious reasons.

Soop Nazi

Answer 4

Nephytis. Though usually thought of as a land plant, it does quite well submerged. But not with most cichlids. Most cichlids are diggers and will constantly be digging up your plants. Angelfish and discus are an exception. You could try Java fern and/or Java moss. They don't need to be planted and are quite hardy.
If you've got African cichlids, forget it.

Answer 5

I agree with the others lights play a big roll in what you can keep along with your water levels.
and since we dont know what you have its hard to say get this plant or that one.
and most times cichlids and plants are not a good combo because cichlids will offten dig them up and bite at them till theres nothing left of them. youd be better of puting nice rocks in there anyone can keep rocks and they dont die.

Answer 6

I have read either Java Fern or java moss. I myself use Java fern and its really doing great. this plant does not have to planted just attached to a stone, drift wood and it will attach it self in time. I put a couple links below. Hope this helps

Answer 7

I had a java plant and it's leaves kept falling off. I switched to plastic plants!

Answer 8

I would go with Javamoss becuase cichlids like to dig and the moss can just float or be attached to logs or rocks

Answer 9

my tank used to be over run with water sprite, i had to thin it down once a month or my fish didn't have any room to swim around.

Answer 10

java fern