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New to live plants. Advice wanted.

2K views 20 replies 8 participants last post by  Hvnzfire 
#1 ·
I am new to the site as well as to live plants in my tanks. I was wondering if I could get some advice on what type plants I should get and how to keep them alive. Also where to buy said plants. I have looked at lots of plants. Here are a few I was thinking about. Fissidens spla, glossostigma elatinoides, and pellia. I have a 37 gallon freshwater tank, glass beads are what I have used for the gravel, I keep the temp at around 72 to 74 degrees, light is on 12 hours a day. I have a few goldfish right now. I intend to have live bearers mainly. I also will have a couple of plecos. Any advice as to were to purchase plants etc.. as well as advice on easy to keep plants for a beginner would be much appreciated. If you know a good place to buy fish that would be great too. Here in Tupelo, Ms. we only have a petsmart and I am not happy with the quality of fish or plants they have...not to mention the price for said items.:angel:
 
#2 ·
Welcome and glad you found a great site. My recommendation is that goldfish can eat many plants, especially mosses and smaller types. Pellia and Fissidens both are easy to grow without any real need for a required substrate. Their only real need is a decent light for their tank. What sort of lighting/wattage do you have on there now? I would suggest something with a 6500K spectrum. With T5 fixtures a dual (2 bulb) will get you 1.29 watts per gallon, while a quad would achieve 2.59 watts per gallon. In the long run I imagine you would be happier with the quad as you'll be able to keep more in the future.
 
#4 ·
Umm

I just replaced the 2 55 gallon tanks I had with this one. The box was thrown away before I got a chance to see what wattage etc... the lights were. I know this is horrible. It is an LED hood if that helps in the least. As far as the goldfish go. I only got them to break the tank in. They will go in a smaller tank I have when I get the other fish. I am glad to have found this place as well.
 
#5 ·
I just replaced the 2 55 gallon tanks I had with this one. The box was thrown away before I got a chance to see what wattage etc... the lights were. I know this is horrible. It is an LED hood if that helps in the least. As far as the goldfish go. I only got them to break the tank in. They will go in a smaller tank I have when I get the other fish. I am glad to have found this place as well.
You said "a few goldfish" in a 37, and that they will go in a smaller tank later?

How many is a few?
 
#14 ·
I hope you will return your goldfish. 4 goldfish will need 50 gallons of water. I have 4 goldfish in 50 gallons and nitrates rise in 4 days. I'm doing a 50% water change every 4 days. Smaller tank will require more frequent water changes and stunt goldfish growth resulting in early death. Goldfish are little in the beginning but grow quickly. My 1 inch telescopic in 6 months has grown to 6 inches with tail.

Search jasmines goldfish tank journal. She has a great thread about goldfish and planted tank.

My experience with my goldfish....swords, annibus, and tiger Lilly go untouched. Crypts are a bit hit and miss. Wisteria, duckweed and water lettuce are destroyed and eaten.
 
#7 ·
This is the dimensions of my 37 gallon tank 30"W x 12"D x 22"H. The LED hood I have has 7 plastic pods with 3 LED lights in each one. From what I have read u need an average of 1 LED light for every 15-25 sq inch of tank you have. Is this correct?
 
#8 ·
A fun livebearer to try out is Heterandia Formosa (dwarf livebearer) as it stays very small and can be very fun in a larger tank like that. It is a native, but can be found at a few places online for sale. Some of the Goodeids are also very cool and with most being endangered in the wild is something you can be proud of housing and are often sought after in the hobby. Try googleing Zoogoneticus tequila or Characadon Lateralis
 
#9 ·
LED's are not my strong suit when it comes to lighting. Most are low light, though there are a few that can support plants, they usually run quite a bit of money so I imagine you would know if it was exteremely expensive.
 
#11 ·
To buy plants i'd say on here. I've bought all my plants on here from members.
It's amazing how easy it is, and how much is on here to be offered. Benefit is also being able to network with others on here. If you need advice, or anything they will prob. be there to help you after the purchase unlike a store.
 
#12 ·
Ty guys. I was hoping to buy on here. I am betting I will get much better quality plants etc.. for my money. Are there ay specific members that sell often? I would really like to purchase the 3 types I mentioned in this post. If you could direct me to the right person(s) I would be delighted.
 
#15 ·
Here are a few I was thinking about. Fissidens spla, glossostigma elatinoides, and pellia.
Glossostigma - sold as "glosso" most of the time - needs quite alot of light. It is unlikely that a stock fixture will provide what it needs. Carpeting plants can be quite frustrating for beginners.

For (almost!) guaranteed success, try something like java fern, which you tie to a rock or piece of driftwood - don't bury the rhizome.

You can also try something like guppy grass (najas guadalupensis) which offers great cover for livebearer fry and it will live in low light to high light in any kind of condition.

Any variety of anubias should do well for you also. Same as java fern - don't bury the rhizome and consider tying it to a rock or driftwood.

I don't mean to sway you from what you have picked out - just wanted to offer you some alternatives that will allow you to have some success right from the start. Good luck!
 
#16 ·
Thank you guys. Saja the more I have thought about it I will probably return them (if allowed) or give them to the people I sold the 55 gallon tanks to. Headed to the sale section once I find it. Lol sorry I am such a noobie. I have about 20 tabs pulled up researching all u guys have told me and more.
 
#20 ·
Welcome to the site!!! The best advice I can give is to read as much information as you can before you put money into trying things out, it can get expensive quick. The need for wanting more or something better always takes over this hobby, hence my name lol...

The best way to turn your tank over to a planted aquarium would be to find a new home for the goldfish. Also, some plecos can be plant eaters - depending what species they are, and get to big for 37g. Some species are mainly veggie eaters, meat eaters, or both. It is very important that you also have a piece of driftwood in the tank for your pleco as some need this in their diet as well. Do you know what kind of pleco your looking to get?

Also, your substrate is VERY important. You can use what you have, but will have to add root tabs to provide nutriets to stem plants unless you change your substrate over. Which you could research for weeks all the different substrates people are using. Check out the sticky in the substrate section for more information on that.

As the others have pointed out, certain plants are almost guarenteed to thrive in most conditions. Anubias, java fern, mosses will slowly grow in a low light setup that you currently have, but these need to be tied to something. So if you dont have a lot of rocks or driftwood, it will look awkward with not having any hieght of plants in your 37g tank. So you will want some stem plants to grow in the background of the tank to give a more complete look.

Depending on what fish/inverts you do purchase some swim at different hieght levels so it is good to have your plants at different hieght levels too :thumbsup:

Recommendations on choosing someone to buy stuff from - every person has a rating next to their name (whatever number out of /100%). You can click on that and it will show you some information about what that person has bought/sold and if people were happy or not with what they got. I tend to lean toward people that have sold more because usually its better quality plants and packaged better, but some people need to start selling at some point so don't always discount them.

The main question is what you want to acheive, and how much are you willing to spend to get there. Ask your self this, and research tank journals to see other peoples setups and what you like.

If you have any other questions, I am always willing to help the best I can so PM me. Good Luck with your journey!
 
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