What plants are best for a really tall aquarium?

Question

I am familiar with Cabomba, but i don't know of any other aquarium plants that can maximize the space in a freshwater tank that is 5 feet deep (also very wide). Haven't decided yet on exactly which fish, but i want to include Silver Dollars. Are there any plants unsafe for them to eat? Do THEY know that?

This aquarium is for a commercial location, and all facets are still on the drawing board. ALL advice is welcome and greatly appreciated. I'm just the money, but i had to open my fat mouth and mention the plants so i got drafted to do the research. Running around to all the fish locations is exhausting! We already have an expert on the lighting of it, but i'll ask her about a dimmer environment.

Come swimming anytime, MJ!

Thank You, Soop. I may yet learn to keep my mouth shut.

Answer 1

I don't know how exactly you plan to light this tank, because 5 feet of water will be next to impossible to fully penetrate... For this reason, you are going to want plants that can live in very low light... Java Moss, Java Fern, Anubias, Hornwort, Water Sprite, Cryptocorynes, and plants that float or grow floating leaves like Water Lilies, Banana Plants (Nymphoides aquatica), or Moneywort. If you have some insane scheme for lighting this beast of a tank, you could try Aponogetons (which can get quite large and have very full leaves), Swords, Ludwigia, Vallisneria, Saggitaria, or Onion Plants...

Anubias, Java Moss, and Java Fern are considered mildly toxic, but the Silver Dollars should not feel the need to eat them (they supposedly taste aweful). You will, however, have issues with them eating any other plant, especially fine-leaved plants like Cabomba, Hornwort, and Vallisneria, as well as munching on the soft-leaved Swords, Crypts, Lilies, Banana Plants, and Water Sprite... Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Soop Nazi

EDIT: No, no, no! You certainly don't want a dimmer environment! You want to pump as much light as possible into that thing to get maximum growth (in which case you will need/want CO2 injection and liquid fertilizers).

EDIT 2: Haha! I'm still working on that lesson! By the way, the best way to light this massive tank might be industrial shop lighting... It will be relatively inexpensive compared to other "fish tank specific" lights, and will usually be more intense... It sounds like you're familiar with this sort of thing, but I'll add this anyway: you will need industrial wiring and circuting; plugging a shop strip of fluorescent lighting into a standard, home wall outlet will instantly short the fixture, and might cause sparking... o.O

Answer 2

If your apon is growing too big it might be a hybrid These are fairly common and grow much bigger than the true ones. As long as you don't have plants that require high light, under the apon (as they may suffer because of the shade it will produce) there is no problem with your plant growing growing too big as some fish like shade and would really appreciate it. If you don't like the plant growing this big you can prune it. There are a lot of different types of apons but they are rhizome plants meaning that the leaves ar attached to a thick root that grows horizontally; you can cut the longer leaves of the plant and let the smaller ones grow, cut the leaves almost at the rhizome at a 45 degree angle if not just leave it as is it will not do any harm. Good luck=)

Answer 3

Wow 5 feet is a very large aquarium. Good luck planting it!

Anacharis is also a very fast grower. It can grow up to 3 feet and will fill up your tank very nicely. Other bunch plants such as Hornwort will also do the trick. You could also try Amazon Sword and all the other large swords. Some of them can grow up to 2 feet if you care for them properly. Good luck with your tank! E-mail me for any questions!

ZTM

Answer 4

If you really want to emphasize the height, look at Vallisnaria. There are a few different varieties, with straight or curled leaves: http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/17254/product.web
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/887/product.web
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/17253/product.web
http://www.dennerle.de/Shop/Artikelbilder/Zusatzbilder/EZB_UWL_Vallisneria_Wald_2_DE9087.jpg - in back left corner
http://www.mgeisen.de/bilder/vallis1.jpg

This grows new plants along a rhizome at the gravel/substrate surface: http://www.akvaryum.us/plant-pictures/Vallisneria-americana-var.biwaensis.jpg I've seen the native American val growing in water 7+ feet deep (although the leaves didn't reach all the way to the surface).

Crinium (onion plant) is another with tall, slender leaves that emphasize height: http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/17276/product.web
http://www.azgardens.com/images/9root8.jpg but this one doesn't spread quite as easily. The advantage of this one is that fish generally are less inclined to eat it.

With the depth of your tank, I hope you have a good lighting system to reach into the mid/bottom regions until your plants are able to get some height. They aren't typically sold at more than 6-12 inches in length.

Answer 5

Check out the site below for a list of freshwater plants that would best suit your need.

Answer 6

5 feet deep? are you turning ur swimming pool into an aquarium or what? i'd say go to the ocean and get some sea weed.