Aquarium Plants
Plants in your aquarium can be as important as the fish are to some people, and they provide a vital function as well as being very attractive if planted and arranged correctly. Plants oxygenate the water and help the fish breathe in addition to keeping the chemical balance in the water just right. They can also put the correct bacteria into the water in new tanks to ensure that waste is broken down appropriately to keep the tank clean. However, for most people it is the appearance rather than the scientific benefits that attract them to plants, and the fish appreciate the shady areas to explore and hide under.
To grow your plants well in the aquarium you need the right balance of light and nutrients. It can be a difficult balance as most aquariums only have a single light tube, and this sometimes isn’t enough for the plants to grow with, however if you have too much light it can encourage excess algae growth. You can help balance this by adding nutrient supplements or fertilizers.
Never keep your tank light on for more than 12 hours a day, not only does it use a lot of electric it also can encourage algae growth. When planting your new tank try to put in some fast growing plants at first to get an established base before any algae can set in, you might also want some algae eating fish, such as Otocinclus species (catfish), to help with this as they won’t eat your plants. You could also use some floating plants to put shade in areas that you’re not planting in- if you have dark loving fish like catfish they’ll definitely thank you for this.
Caring for your aquarium plants couldn’t be easier and there are some very simple steps to making sure they thrive in their environment. Removing any of the yellowed or dead leaves before you plant them will ensure that they grow right, and the same goes for roots. The roots should be pale and rigid if they’re healthy, not brown and limp- dead roots will just rot and add substrate to your tank and cloud it. Taking away the bottom few leaves of the plant which won’t get any light will ensure that the nutrients will go to the leaves higher up and will ensure that the new root system can cope. Take note as to whether your plants need planting in the sand or gravel, or whether they need to root themselves to rocks or bogwood. Things like Java fern and Java moss grow best this way and have to be planted correctly.
When your plants start to grow bigger, naturally they will need trimming. Once the plant reaches the surface of the tank you can start to take cuttings and these can be replanted to create more greenery in your aquarium or to replace older plants. These new plants will soon root and thrive with the other plants. Other plants reproduce via runners, and once these get to about a third of the size of the mother plant they can be cute and replanted in the aquarium.
