Plant ideas

[hollyh]

I need some thoughts on some taller plants I can put in my tank. I don't really like how the tank looks now and I think it needs some height.

I have 2 types of Anubias, 2 types of Java Fern, and some water sprite. The shorter leaved Anubias has been in the tank the longest, I've had them for 8 months or so. My little beasts are eating all the new shoots of the Anubias and pull the water sprite out of the sand. Although they haven't been fussing with the water sprite for a little while now. The ferns and the other type of Anubias are pretty new and I can't tell if they're bothering them. Everything is super glued to rocks except the water sprite

So any thoughts on something that'll grow a little higher, have a chance to survive, and will do ok with the sand substrate. I probably have low/med low light, the light is a Current Sat+.

Here's a picture of the tank.

[Hidr]

I have some swords in my tanks. And the java ferns that get tall.

[LisaCGold]

Your tank is beautiful! I've heard of goldies that will nip at the anubias even though they are some of the toughest plants. And you seem to have these kind of goldies. One thing that will help (but not totally unfortunately) is to make sure you feed your goldies high quality fish food so that they are receiving nutrient dense food. Another option is to clip a piece of red lettuce in the tank and let them nibble on that. Maybe that might satisfy some of their need for greenery.

I also was on the hunt for tall plants in order to make my tank more aesthetically pleasing. I settled for a piece of driftwood with anubias attached to it. My fish don't attack the anubias, but you could attach java fern to the a piece of tall driftwood. See a pic of my tank in my signature below.

There are also taller versions of anubias on ebay.

Swords can get quite tall, but the leaves are more tender than anubias and are not bitter tasting like java fern so your ferocious goldies may make it a salad.

Another option to get something interesting going vertically is to add an artificial plant like this: http://www.amazon.com/MarineLand-47431905481-Marineland-Bamboo-ML90548/dp/B00BUFSKYW/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411517675&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=floating+bamboo+aquarium

You can float it or plant it into your substrate. If it is too big, you can cut it down. And the best thing: your ferocious goldies can't tear it up!

I hope this helps.

[HomerJay]

Maybe you could try some type of Vallisneria. They grow tall, and don't require high light. There are a few different types, my favorite being the corkscrew val. They would probably need root tabs as they are heavy root feeders.

[Acro]

I've used, and I suggest:

Vallisneria sp.

Swords

Aponogeton sp. (not madagascariensis)

Crinum thaianum

Nyphaea zenkeri

Also, you can often find dry bulbs for Aponogeton, Crinum and Nyphaea sold at wallyworld and chain petstores in packages like this:

The benefit that you won't have to treat the plants for pests, and if they don't spout (or if they are already dead in the package) you can send them to the company and they normally send you 2 or 3 times the amount of bulbs in return!

Be sure that if you plant, plant big! This will allow the goldfish to spread out the abuse. If you have 2 or 3 plants, they will focus their energy on only those plants and beat them up. If you have several plants, you'll have better luck. It would look nice having that whole back wall planted!

Good Luck, keep us posted on what you do.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Acro

[jmetzger72]

I use Mopani Wood to give my Anubias some height. I also have some Anubias Hastafolia which are taller. I get all my plants in the plastic tubes from Petco.

[Daniel]

You could also try some of the more noxious weedy stems—for example, hygrophila polysperma.

[GoldenSpoiledRotten]

I'd just order a ton of water sprite. They can't demolish it all at once (safety in numbers), and if you dose liquid ferts they tend to grow super fast! The roots don't need to be buried and the plant can be weighted down with plant weights.

Edited September 24, 2014 by ChelseaM

[ShawneeRiver]

Height is hard. I'm always trying to get plants to reach the surface, but it's never happened in my main tank.

If you try vals or swords, you will have to plant them, and you might need more substrate for that. Sand is fine, but it has to be deep enough to hold the roots. I'm a big fan of crypts -- the fish don't eat them, there are lots of varieties and they get a nice, broad root system, so once established, they will stay put.

The easier way to get height is to get a big rock or piece of driftwood and add taller varieties of anubias.

[hollyh]

Thanks for all of the ideas everyone. Going to give some of the plant suggestions a try, see how some different varieties do in my tank. And look for a piece of wood that would work for me, then I can tie some of my ferns to it. And plant lots of whatever when I do. Sounds like I might need to try a few things since I don't have the well behaved variety of goldfish. Or go with the fake variety to get some height.

Your tank is beautiful! I've heard of goldies that will nip at the anubias even though they are some of the toughest plants. And you seem to have these kind of goldies. One thing that will help (but not totally unfortunately) is to make sure you feed your goldies high quality fish food so that they are receiving nutrient dense food. Another option is to clip a piece of red lettuce in the tank and let them nibble on that. Maybe that might satisfy some of their need for greenery.

I also was on the hunt for tall plants in order to make my tank more aesthetically pleasing. I settled for a piece of driftwood with anubias attached to it. My fish don't attack the anubias, but you could attach java fern to the a piece of tall driftwood. See a pic of my tank in my signature below.

There are also taller versions of anubias on ebay.

Swords can get quite tall, but the leaves are more tender than anubias and are not bitter tasting like java fern so your ferocious goldies may make it a salad.

Another option to get something interesting going vertically is to add an artificial plant like this: http://www.amazon.com/MarineLand-47431905481-Marineland-Bamboo-ML90548/dp/B00BUFSKYW/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411517675&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=floating+bamboo+aquarium

You can float it or plant it into your substrate. If it is too big, you can cut it down. And the best thing: your ferocious goldies can't tear it up!

I hope this helps.

I feed them Hikari Lionhead, Omega one, and New Life Thera A+. With some solient green and BWs. Probably not enough BW but I try to mix everything up. They get fed 3 times a day whatever I grab. Enough so that there is some to eat on the way down and some to forage on the bottom of the tank. I need to weigh them both again to see if they're getting enough.

I've done lettuce in clips, but the mess in the tank drives me crazy. I pick little pieces of lettuce out for days, but they do like it.

[LisaCGold]

You feed them well. You just have some adventurous fish. One of my Goldie's tears up marimo moss like tomorrow. It is hilarious, but sad because I love the look of marimo.

[*Amanda*]

Try searching for plants labeled "XL" or "mother plant" at aquariumplants.com. I got the rose sword mother plant, and it is VERY tall and healthy.

[BrettFish]

Any thoughts on moneywort? I know it's not on the list but its leaves look pretty thick and I think it would look nice as long as it's hardy enough.

[Gcourtney]

moneywort is a very quick grower and get rather tall as long as your fish dont eat it   and what i do is that i grow it immersed in pots on my patio  (its actually considered a land weed /groudncover)and if it ever happens to die off in the tank i just cut some off and put it in my tank