can you have too many plants in an aquarium?

Question

my thank is a 35 litre with 8 small fish in it. i would like to decorate it with loads of plants but every time i try this it seems to upset my fish and they either all go straight to the top or even occasionally die. is there such a thing as too many plants? wat plants can i put in that would be ok to put a lot in?

Answer 1

Well the real answer is no, but as you and others have found out you have to be careful, let me explain.
During the day the plants photosynthesise and produce oxygen using the carbon dioxide produced by the fish. At night both the fish and plants produce carbon dioxide and this is where you can have two problems - a) lack of oxygen for the fish and the fish die of hypoxia and b) as there is excessive carbon dioxide in the water which has an acidifying affect on the water reducing the pH level and rapid changes can stress the fish.
So my answer is NO but make sure you have adequate surface water movement and that the water hardness is not too low.

Answer 2

Too Many Plants In Aquarium

Answer 3

You could over plant your tank, but it is not easy to do. If you aren't adding any fertilizers to a tank with very few fish (unlike yours), you could have so many plants, that there aren't enough nutrients in the water. Also, you want to keep the fishes' best interest in mind by giving them a healthy medium between swimming space and hiding space. Use small carpet plants in the front (Dwarf Sag, Micro Sword, Dwarf Chain Sword, Cryptocoryne parva, Java Moss, Anubias Nana, etc.), thick, 6 inch tall plants in the middle (most Cryptocorynes, Banana Plants, Java Fern, and many others), and tall, bushy plants in the back (Java Fern works here too, Water Wisteria, Onion Plants, Apogenoton species, African Fern, and Anubias Barterii). You may want to add supplemental fertilizers and CO2 to the tank, and be SURE to have adequate lighting (at least 2 watts per gallons, which is about 20 watts for your tank). Your fish may have been at the top of the water because you had terrestrial (land) plants. When terrestrial plants are left underwater, they soon rot, leading to deteriorating water quality (ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate spikes). Email me if you have any questions.

Soop Nazi

Answer 4

I have a lot of plants and my fish love it! The plants help to add oxygen to the water so it is really good for the fish. My tank looks like an underwater jungle. Are you putting in the right plants. If you go to your local pet store they will tell you the best type of wayer plant for your purpose. Another tip I found out at the pet store - slice some cucumber and get those plant weight things and put it in the cucumber and drop it into the tank. They love to nibble it. Hope I helped!

Answer 5

You could but you would be very hard pressed. I have a 20gal high that is heavily planted with 11 species and 3 dozen + individual plant, I also have a 2.5 hex with 6 individual plants, as well as more lightly planted 10 and 6 gal. As long as you fish have room to move around you should be ok. With the fish dying if you are plants come from a tank that had fish in it is is possible for them to carry disease. As far as plants my 20gal tank has java moss, java ferns, rotala indica, dwarf sag, amazon sword , anubius, anacharis, jungle val, corkscrew val , dwarf four leaf clover, and baby tears

Answer 6

No! But some fish prefer DENSLY, DENSLY planted tanks. While some can live and be happy with no plants at all! In you case, your fish prefer more open space than heavily planted. But you still should plant about 1/4 of the tank so you fishy can play hide-and-seek!

Answer 7

I have two heavily planted aquariums and i have never had problems with it .My fish usually die of old age
This is the first i have heard about to many plants harming the fish

Answer 8

for one you arent cleaning your tank by the sound of it and that is the fist problem two you can get plants for as cheap as 1.50 which is not expensive and three it doesnt sound like you know what you are doing because you havent told us any specifics about what type of substrate you have or what type of fish you have (besides a dead pleco which you obviously didnt know how to keep alive) i am all for you having a planted tank but before you do it you must realize that when you plant it becomes about the plants and the fish working together in a mini ecosystem not just the fish looking cool in your room p.s. sorry if i sound harsh but the switch from a nonplanted to a planted is prett subtancial and if you arent ready it can smack you in the face.

Answer 9

I think the idea is if you go heavily planted you need to keep your tank understocked.

Maybe you could mix real plants with ariticial ones so that you can't easily spot the difference between the types.

Answer 10

you cant put to many plants in, as long as they have room to swim around then they are OK, plants oxygenate the water which is needed to keep healthy fish