Deciding What You Need

The first questions you should ask are:

Do I want plants?

Plants are particularly useful in aquariums; in the same way that the Amazon rainforest is said to be the lungs of the earth, plants in an aquarium can do a huge amount to keep the water clean, oxygenated and provide cover for fry and more timid individuals

Unfortunately plants are not always possible; they require lighting, some form of substrate (usually). Furthermore many fish (Cichlids in particular) will dig up plants, and others will quickly eat their leaves.

Luckily there are plants that act as exceptions to all of these rules; Java moss, Java fern and anubias can tolerate very low light levels. Killifish keepers often keep these plants in their banks of unlit tanks. The plants requiring no substrate include the above 3 mentioned species (though they look terrific attached to stones or bogwood) but also hornwort, and all the floating species, such as Riccia, Salvinia and frogbit. When it comes to fish eating leaves, Java fern once again stands out as being particularly the species of choice; fish and snails do not seem to eat this species.

Many people fail with plants. Its note really their fault, and there are a variety of reasons. Firstly many species sold as aquarium plants are actually marsh plants that require some sort of dry period. These will slowly rot and die, if left submerged. The second reason I come across most often is the use of an undergravel filter. These are simply not plant friendly – and least to rooted plants. Undergravel filtration should be left for tanks with no plants or just tough non rooting varieties such as our friend Java Fern!

The third reason is probably insufficient lighting; old or insufficient tubes, and too much surface planting. An aquarist that avoids these pitfalls can soon be in a position where he or she is throwing out bags of plant matter. Forget Co₂ injection, undergravel heating and the addition of trace elements. If you have not got the right lighting and filtration, these things will not help you!

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