Selecting Plants
When selecting plants for your aquarium, you want
to select plants that have approximately the same water requirements as each
other and the fish. Also keep in mind the actual light level reaching the
plants, and what types of lighting are required. For more information on
lighting, click here. When first setting up plants in
your aquarium, use the faster growing plants, typically these would be stem
plants. Always keep in mind the adult size of the plants during selection, much
as you would in selecting your fish. During the planning stage be sure to
remember to choose nicely contrasting plants such as reds vs. light greens, fine
leafed vs. broad leafed plants, and also such obvious things as short ones which
would be more towards the front and center, and tall vertical ones along the
rear and sides of the aquarium.Plants & Fish
There
are some fish that simply should not reside in a planted aquarium, because they
may eat the plants, or simply dig them, up and make a mess of the aquarium. Some
typical examples would include the following:
-Ancistrus
-Plecostomus
-Most cichlids
-Goldfish
-Puffer fish
-Loaches (some loaches undoubtedly will cause problems with the roots as they
dig a round in the substrate, however most times, Kulli loaches and clown
loaches can be kept in planted aquariums without a problem).
Some of the preferred fish, as far as algae eating is concerned, are Chinese
algae eaters, black Molly's, and Otocinclus.
Fish
that to go along nicely with a planted aquarium there are many that come to
mind. Some examples are Cory's, Barbs, Gourammi's, Angelfish, etc.
 Maintaining Plants
When you have live plants in an aquarium, you also
have a little extra maintenance, as far as keeping your plants looking healthy
and keeping your water clear and safe for your fish. Make sure you remove dead
or decaying leaves from the plants, as they can cause potential problems in the
water.
Algae Problems?
Wonder what all that greenish, brownish
stuff is growing in your aquarium? Algae are relatively simple plants that range
in size from one-celled microscopic types to large seaweeds. Algae are also very
hardy plants that have tremendous reproductive capacity. They can enter your
tank airborne, or be carried by new plants, snails, and items from another
aquarium. Excessive algae growth will over run the tank if water quality is not
properly maintained. As you know algae can be a very annoying problem in an
aquarium. A main cause of algae in a freshwater
fish aquarium is light. Depending on the lighting in
your tank and how long it is on, can defiantly cause algae problems. You will
usually want to turn off your light at night, such as when you go to sleep.
Sunlight is the worst when it comes to algae, so if your aquarium is near a
window, you may be in for a algae nightmare. It is best to keep your aquarium
away from windows, direct sunlight, or any sunlight for that matter.
So you need to get rid of the algae in your aquarium?
Well there are a few ways to do this:
First, is a more natural way, and that is with algae eating fish or snails. Such
fish we found were best for this include Chinese
algae eaters and Plecostomus. However Plecostomus' can get very large in time,
and usually out grow the aquarium. Chinese algae eaters however don't get very
large and do a great job at keeping the aquarium algae free, considering you
have the correct amount of algae eaters for your size of aquarium. We would
recommend 1 algae eater for every 10-20 gallons of water. Remember when using
Plecostomus' you may not want to purchase very many, because of the size that
they can grow to.
Another way is the not so natural way, and that is using chemicals, such as
Algae Destroyer.
Using chemicals works for some people, but then it may not work for others. We
have had great results in our aquariums with the use of this product, and it is
safe for fish as long as you follow the directions. Algae Destroyer, took
about a week or two until the algae finally died off. After that no algae grew
for a few weeks, and when there was more, we simply added more of the chemical.
Some disadvantages using a chemical to kill algae is that you can't have live
plants in the aquarium, because the chemical will usually kill them too.
Then there is the dreaded scrubbing. Scrubbing algae works fine for most
aquariums, but requires more work. There are special scrubber sponges for algae.
When choosing a scrubber you want to make sure you get one that will work for
your aquarium, for example, if you have an acrylic (plastic) aquarium make sure
you get one that is made for acrylic, otherwise you may end up scratching the acrylic.
The one pictured to the left is for glass. Usually acrylic sponges are
white.
Disadvantages of the scrubbing method is that you can't exactly scrub your
plants or all areas of your aquarium. This is when the other methods of getting
rid of algae come in handy.
Fish
Facts - Previous Page
|
