# I might have a problem...



## MapleNeko (Sep 19, 2016)

I think I've become addicted to live plants xD last time i was here the only live plant i has was hornwort, since than i've slowly been going a little crazy and now i don't have a single silk plant in my betta trio, all live. Did anyone else start with just one plant and kinda spread out like i did? also! what do you guys do for ferts, right now i've been using flourish and it seems to be working well. anyways! today (being black Friday and all) my local petstore was having buy one plant get one free and same deal for fish so i got 4 really nice plants and 6 cherry shrimp today! anways heres some pics


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## SpazPlayzz (Sep 19, 2017)

Is the snail in the first picture real? I dunno if it's just the way i'm looking at it but it looks huge!!!


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## MapleNeko (Sep 19, 2016)

SpazPlayzz said:


> Is the snail in the first picture real? I dunno if it's just the way i'm looking at it but it looks huge!!!


Yes i actually have an even bigger one as well! There some older nerites, one of mine is two-three ish and sbout the size of a twoonie


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## SpazPlayzz (Sep 19, 2017)

MapleNeko said:


> Yes i actually have an even bigger one as well! There some older nerites, one of mine is two-three ish and sbout the size of a twoonie


Wow had no idea a nerite (if it is in fact a nerite) could get that big.


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

Nice tank.

So, coming from someone who can pretty much grow a mean heap of algae and can't even keep Cabomba alive even though it's classified as a weed and invasive species in some states, I'll tell you what I have:

For my root tabs, I've used Flourish Tabs, the root tabs that RusselTheShizu recommends (sorry, don't have it saved on this computer) and home made Osmocote tabs.
I've had the most success with the Osmocote tabs, the plants literally exploded into a jungle. This, however, I never used on a tank with fauna as it's messy and leaves behind little granules that never completely go away. I don't know what it would do to the fauna and won't experiment.

For my liquid fertilizers, I've used Seachem Flourish, Seachem Copper and I bought a PPS-Pro package from GLA.
Can't say one or the other that either is better. The PPS-Pro is a little more work to dial in the exact dosage for your tanks and you have to dose every day, but I can control the algae a little better using it. Also, I only ever mix up half a batch as the full batch will get moldy before it's done. For the investment of the package and treating 25g of water daily, I think I'll have fertilizer for the next decade.
The Seachem copper is for the red root floaters that are now green with short roots.


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## captainpixie (Nov 27, 2017)

ohhh there so pretty  I'm starting off my first planted tank with java moss for my shrimp, we'll se how well that goes, I have a very black thumb sadly but java moss was recommended for the beginning so finger's crossed


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

I had to drop in and compliment the tank. It's gorgeous!

Is that Jungle Val on the far right? :I Mine never grows. I currently have about 20 individual plants, all of whom are yellow-green and dying. Luckily they're only $3 per 8 or so at my LPS so I won't lose too much $ when they die. How do you keep yours looking so nice?


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## MapleNeko (Sep 19, 2016)

ThatFishThough said:


> I had to drop in and compliment the tank. It's gorgeous!
> 
> Is that Jungle Val on the far right? :I Mine never grows. I currently have about 20 individual plants, all of whom are yellow-green and dying. Luckily they're only $3 per 8 or so at my LPS so I won't lose too much $ when they die. How do you keep yours looking so nice?


I don't think that's jungle val! it was an unnamed potted plant that i literally bought the week before its decided it don't like my tank and its slowing going brown to my disappointment. And tbh on the other plants? idk lol, i think he bright LED bar really helps as well as my weekly dosing on flourish but other than that im a lazy plant keeper lol. I think the best way to go is pick the plants that look the healthiest in the lowlight setting at most pet stores, and i wish plants were that cheap here! its literally like 6 dollars a plant)


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## MapleNeko (Sep 19, 2016)

captainpixie said:


> ohhh there so pretty  I'm starting off my first planted tank with java moss for my shrimp, we'll se how well that goes, I have a very black thumb sadly but java moss was recommended for the beginning so finger's crossed


Thank you and best of luck with your first planted tank!


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## MapleNeko (Sep 19, 2016)

Veloran said:


> Nice tank.
> 
> So, coming from someone who can pretty much grow a mean heap of algae and can't even keep Cabomba alive even though it's classified as a weed and invasive species in some states, I'll tell you what I have:
> 
> ...


Thank you so much for all the info! i'll have to look into that, i try to avoid root tabs as my snails have a bad habit of plowing through the poor plants. once against hank you for all the pointers really excited to try it out!


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## Marxy (Nov 26, 2017)

MapleNeko said:


> Thank you and best of luck with your first planted tank!





ThatFishThough said:


> I had to drop in and compliment the tank. It's gorgeous!
> 
> Is that Jungle Val on the far right? :I Mine never grows. I currently have about 20 individual plants, all of whom are yellow-green and dying. Luckily they're only $3 per 8 or so at my LPS so I won't lose too much $ when they die. How do you keep yours looking so nice?





MapleNeko said:


> I don't think that's jungle val! it was an unnamed potted plant that i literally bought the week before its decided it don't like my tank and its slowing going brown to my disappointment. And tbh on the other plants? idk lol, i think he bright LED bar really helps as well as my weekly dosing on flourish but other than that im a lazy plant keeper lol. I think the best way to go is pick the plants that look the healthiest in the lowlight setting at most pet stores, and i wish plants were that cheap here! its literally like 6 dollars a plant)




You're tank and bettas look beautiful!!  

I also just wanted to add, another overlooked thing to have with live plants is a good, fertilized substrate, instead of just gravel or sand. It makes a huge difference!  Lessens the need for fertilizers too, which can be easier on fish & invertebrates. Always good to look into the plants you're buying before you get them too, and to know their requirements- some are more demanding than others


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## MapleNeko (Sep 19, 2016)

Little update on this tank! After letting it be for a bit and weeding out plants that werent hardy enough for my black thumb this is what we have! It was a little disheveled after I had a room Reno so I'm happy that I finally got it cleaned up


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## bevsies (Feb 11, 2016)

MapleNeko said:


> the size of a twoonie


Hello, fellow Canuck!


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## HKLuterman (Jan 24, 2018)

Your tank looks great!


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## poisonousgiraffe (Jan 24, 2018)

your tank looks really awesome, your bettas look like they're loving your plant obsession too  I actually started off with terrestrial plants, then got a tank to try growing aquatic plants, and now I have 4 adorable bettas frolicking in planted tanks . . . definitely worth it even though my wallet is looking a lot thinner these days

other than things like substrate, keeping plants alive has a lot to do with choosing healthy looking ones, and patience. sometimes a plant starts to look ugly and sad, and it stays that way for a long time before you see any improvement. You can actually kill a plant from over-fertilizing too, but sometimes the symptoms of over-fertilizing look exactly the same as under-fertilizing because plants are just like that.


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## Granberry (Mar 9, 2012)

Oh my goodness, I dream of a tank like yours! I have a water softener - it does not dump sodium into the tap water but it does take out all the minerals. So if I have plants and I give them lots of great light, fertilizers, and CO2 tabs, they want to grow, but there isn't enough minerals in the water to allow them to. They are leggy and weak. Fertilizers apparently don't replace minerals. So I have to add Seachem Equilibrium to my water to add the calcium and such back into the water that my water softener took out. It's a pain in the neck, but I want my tank to look like yours!! 

I also wanted to compliment your bettas! The red and white feathertail halfmoon seems to look a lot like Valentino, the one in my Avatar pic. And your red and blue one is lovely too. 

I''ll be following along to see how things go!


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