plants die..!!??

Hey there , im in desperite need of advise on plants dying..
Heres the story , i have recently decided that i want to plant the back of my tank full of plants (Want the background to seem natural) , but ive ran into a few problems.. Firstly , i need to know wich plant are better to use , to do this??
Then also , ive bought a lot of plants from the petshop recently , but most of them die ( i noticed some of them didnt have roots when i bought them , and that might explain it , buy even some of the plants wich have roots also die.. Now i have heard that a CO2 pump can work wonders , is this true , and is it worth it??
Ive also heard that snail can damage plants? I have 4 golden apples in my tank..
At R25 per plant i cant afford anymore of my plant dieing..
I also have one totaly random question: What is the aproximate selling price of a 12cm bala shark?
Tanx :smile1:

 

Welcme skaapietjie

There can be a few reasons why your plants die.

1. The petshop is selling you plants thats not aquatic, yes they do that. So you plants will die after a while.
2. You do not have efficient light to keep plants.
3. Your fish or snails can be eating your plants.

If you buy real aquarium plants from a petshop they should not die easily. The plants petshops sell do not need CO2 in almost 95% of the cases and should grow easy. So do not spend money on CO2 just yet because its expensive and you need to go high tech with this or you wil run into some serious algae problems.

Get some decent lighting and maybe use the PFP method and you should be fine.

Gerhard

 

+1 Vis... agreed!

 

tanx.. i am currently using a 40 watt 900mm florescent light , is this sufficient , and how long should the light be on for? ive done some research and the plants are definately aquatic.. you might be right about the fish though , but i dont see them chowing the plant or uprooting them.. What i have noticed is that some of the plants dont have roots? do they grow roots after a while? okay , and i know i might sound stupid now , bur what is the PFP method? What plants grow dense and tall enough to cover up the back?? Thanx for the input gerhard , i appreciate it alot!! =)

Johan

 

Hi Johan how big is you tank?

 

ive got a 4 foot tank.. so my guess would be just over 200l

 

Hi Johan

40W over a 4ft is a bit to low. I would add another 30 or 40W. The 4 foot tank are usually deeper and the light do not penetrate so deep. Especially the light that plants need.

 

maybe show us a pic of ur plant? if u dont have a camera, show us a pic online of what ur plant looks like.. then we can better assist.. also, what fish do u have?

+1, 40w is very low for a 4ft.. in those conditions probably java moss and anubias is suitable.. (*be warned, anubias is illegal though)

 

tanx for the input.. ive got two SAE's and 2 CAE's then i have 4 balas , one red tail black shark , a chocolate catfish , albino pleco (stil very small) peppered catfish, 4 kuhli loaches , a pakistani loach and some tetras.. oh yea , and 4 golden apple snails..
Il try getting more light , but how do you guys recommend i do that??

 

Can you post a pic of your Setup? Then we can have a look at the hood and give some ideas.

 

PFP = Palmfiber Peat
To answer your question on PFP you should read this thread from Prof Dirk

http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/s...Chemicult-as-a-substrate.&highlight=prof+dirk

Hope it helps

Johan

 

imo.. PFP wont do much good if ur lighting isnt strong enough as plants cant take up any nutrients without proper lighting..(strength of lights and photo period in moderation ofcourse)

 

will do , il post them tonight..

 

@shihr Sorry forgot to add the part about the lighting

 

Just the tank with part of the hood..


The side of the hood , just to give you an idea of the shape (1200x450)


wanted you guys to see what plants ive got and what fish are with them..


Just anoyher picture , near the cave.. (All rocks are from the garden , but i did soak them for long)


Well thats the tank.. If you can help , any input would be appreciated..
Tanx

Johan

 

tanx for the link johan ( no , im not talking to myself) ive read it , and it seems like a good idea , although it meens il have to empty my tank.. i wil maybe consider this if the lighting does not fix the problem..

 

Hi Skaapietjie

Its like we first thought most of your plants are not aquatic and will die no matter what you do.
Are there a filter in the hood? If not you you should easily be able to fit another tube, look for the biggest that will fit, into your hood.

So you can go the PFP route because you might have to start over anyway. Just make sure you do not have fish that dig. Altenative would be to get easy to grow plants and enough light. You can then dose a little ferts to your water colomn.

I see your in Newcastle, if you were comming this way I could have given you some plants and gone with you to one of our LPS's to get real aquarium plants but I know the road is horroble this way.
Would you LPS order plants if you gave them the name?

P.S how heavy is that rock

 

the rock on the side , i thibk its near 50kgs , i nearly killed myself whilst trying to put it in the tank.. lol..
Tanx for telling me , do u think its worth going to th LPS and asking them why they sell plants that arnt aquatic? And would it be possable for you to point out wich of the plants arent aquatic? Tanx vis..
Il let you know if one day i maybe come that way. Do you come to newcastle often?

 

the stalky plant at the back and the spiky grassy plant isnt aquatic

 

its not worth telling them that the plants arent aquatic.. they not going to stop selling them anyways! most of them dont even know the difference between aquatic and normal plants.. those plants that arent aquatic are usually pond plants.. most LFS think that u can use them in the tank too..

if u do want to keep it, you have to makesure only the roots are submerged..