Plant care? pics included

[aqua001]

Today I went to petsmart and got 4 water wystreyas (sp?) and 4 amazon swords from petsmart. They are healthy and snail free. I tried my best to root them in but they do not look natural. all i did was rinse them off and put their roots in the gravel. I heard that they do not need frets. Is this true? Also, I was wondering about how to generally care for them (trimming, cleaning etc.). Here is my tank so far: sorry, i know the glare is terrible, the camera was not liking me.

[aqua001]

no input you guys?

[lauralou]

I've never had water wisteria, but it's always on lists of easy care plants. I do have an amazon sword, and I don't fertilize my tank. The fish poop is the fertilizer. (You still need to keep up with the water changes though.) So I think you made good plant choices. The bottom line is that some plants do well in some aquariums, and some plants don't. Just be patient and see what happens with them.

Planted tanks never look natural until the plants have a chance to grow in. Your plants will grow much larger than they are now. If I were you, I would move them more toward the back of the tank. And I would clump the water wisteria together so it makes a big bush. Single sprigs of it aren't all that attractive. Then you could get some shorter plants for the foreground if you wanted to. Java moss is very easy and readily available. You can put a few pieces of gravel on it to hold it down at first, and it will root itself to the bottom.

I've never done any particular care on my amazon sword. If it did get a funky old leaf, I guess I would pluck it off with my fingernails... That's what I do with my water sprite plants. I've read that amazon swords can "melt" when put in a new tank, but that didn't happen with mine, so no experience there. If that did happen, I would remove any dead plant matter, wait, and hope it grew back from the root.

Good luck with your planted tank! They are awesome, and can be as interesting as the fish, if you are into that sort of thing. Plus, your fish will really enjoy having plants.

[Aus]

Wisteria will happily float around the top of your tank for ages before putting down roots and needing to be planted. Once planted, it will grow happily. Don't throw out healthy-looking green leaves that come off - if you let them float, they'll put out roots and you can plant them like a baby plant (which they are..) Mine grows fine on fish poo, but I have a small tank and shrimp as well.. a little drop of liquid fert now and then might be good for it. Wisteria looks great in a clump, as lauralou said, but leave the one you have there. Add a clump, if you want to buy some more. I like to have some floating as well as planted, the fish just love it.

Soggy, yellow, clear-ish wilty leaves should be removed. They'll rot and stank your tank up with ammonia.

The swords -might- need some root tabs now and then as they don't feed off the water column but the substrate. See how they do. And yep, don't pull them out if they die back a bit, they do like to adjust.

Your tank looks pretty. :) I'm sure your fish will like the plants, too.

[thekoimaiden]

Most plants don't need ferts but all will benefit from them; their growth will be faster, and they will use up more ammonia as the micro-nutrients in the ferts are the limiting reagent for growth. I fertlize all of my tanks to get the most growth possible. Wisteria will probably do better floating in your tank. They haven't established themselves yet, so you are fine to uproot them and float them now. Amazon swords will eventually outgrow your tank; they can get up to 20 inches tall. Four swords in that tank will take it over.

You shouldn't vacuum the substrate around either of your plants as a slightly dirty substrate is good for plant growth. You will also want to upgrade your lighting if you haven't. Your light should have a kelvin temp of between 5000K and 7000K. If you go with a fertilizer Flourish Comprehensive is one of the best.

[laoshun]

if you have enough money to get more plants i would, and bunching ur plants together gives a more natural look. So keep that in mind if you are going to further invest in your tank.

[aqua001]

Thanks you guys! Aus, about how long can water wisteria stay alive floating? Also, what do i do if the leaves are wilting or have brown spots on them?

[NapoleonUWS]

I have water wisteria in both of my tanks (planted in gravel) and it grows really well. I have very strong lighting in my tanks, not sure how it grows in low light.

[aqua001]

Thanks guys! i aquascaped it a little more today. Here is what it looks like:

[Aus]

It looks really nice. :)

The wisteria will float for.. well, I had a really big stem floating for three months or so, before the roots got so big I had to plant it. It's happy now, planted in the gravel and I have a new floating piece, also putting down roots.

You may even find, depending on what sort of lights you have, that it does -better- floating than planted..

I like how you've got your tank set up. Don't be afraid to try new plants! Just google them first, see what they need/how easy they are. Usually red plants are harder to keep (they like lots of light). There's exceptions, of course.

I just got a lovely bunch of maxilla - I've never tried this plant before! And banana plants, too. It's exciting trying new ones out, and if they die.. well, I have learned something about that particular tank and what I can grow in it.

If the leaves are wilting and look soggy and clear or unhealthy, pull them off and throw them away. If they're green (wisteria), let them float! They'll put down roots. :)

Your betta looks just like my first betta, Sid. He's lovely!

Watch out for that spike pink plant.. it may be too sharp/prickly for his tail..