Plants for the lazy loach owner.

[Karatepig]

Starting a 55g soon, and I plan on having some cheap, hardy, and low-maintenance plants. I have never done live plants and I would love to have some that I really don't need to add anything to the water for or something like that.

Stock list:
Polka-Dot Loach / Botia Kubotai x5
Black Kuhli Loach / Pangio Kuhlii x6
Cardinal Tetra / Paracheirodon axelrodi x10
Gold Neon Tetra / Paracheirodon innesi x10
Sailfin Pleco / Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps x1 (Already got this guy, healthy as ever.)

[The Skinny Chef]

anubias, and crypts are very easy plants that do well in most light set-ups, and do not require ferterilzers. they are also slow growers so you won't need to trim them often.

hygrophila is another easy to grow plant species, that doesn't require ferts. they can grow rather quickly and require more frequent trimming.

[Karatepig]

anubias, and crypts are very easy plants that do well in most light set-ups, and do not require ferterilzers. they are also slow growers so you won't need to trim them often.

hygrophila is another easy to grow plant species, that doesn't require ferts. they can grow rather quickly and require more frequent trimming.

Alright thanks, will look into those plants.

[NancyD]

Java ferns are easy too & come in a few leaf shapes. You don't plant them or anubias, but tie them to rock or wood with sewing thread.

[Diana]

Fish food contains a fair amount of N, P and most traces.
Is low in K, Fe and Ca.

Water changes can take care of the Ca, if your tap water is over 3 degrees GH.

Even in a low light tank I would plan on adding a source of K and Fe.
Something as simple as Leaf Zone is a reasonable place to start.

Instead of a 55, why not go with a tank the same length but a lot larger, a lot more room for the fish? A 75 is also 4' long, and 21" high, but sticks out about 6" farther, so the footprint is MUCH better for bottom dwelling fish, and is a LOT easier to decorate. The 55 is so narrow (12") that it is very difficult to make plants, driftwood and rock look good.

[The Angry Loach]

Wisteria all the way. They come in a lot of shapes and sizes and grow well. They root through quickly, too. But, the best thing to do with any plats in any loach tank it to weigh the plants down. Just placing a stone on the roots won't help you. They will dig that up. Most pet store have a piece of metal wrapped around the base of most plants, but I'm not really sure how safe those would be to keep in the tank for too long. So far, I've yet to find anything strong enough to keep plants in place where loaches are involved. Now, Not to be a total pain, but walmart actually carries all of ONE fake plant that looks real and I'm serious about that. It's base is heavy enough to keep it down and it holds a lot of stone for extra weight. Not to mention loaches eat plants. Like lawn mowers, really.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Penn-Plax-Aqu ... s/20976062

They've changed it a bit since the four I've purchased over the years but they are really nice.

[Dojosmama]

Anubias and java ferns have rhizomes. Never bury the rhizomes in the substrate -- they will rot. You can bury the roots and leave the rhizomes sitting on or above the substrate, as long as it isn't buried. The other alternative is to tie the plants to driftwood or rocks with fishing line (which is invisible).

If you have loaches that like to bury themselves in the substrate, such as weather loaches, they could dig up any plants in the substrate.

Some fish like to dig.

You also can enjoy floating hornwort, elodea (anacharis), which you need only to lay on the surface of the water. These don't even need to be rooted into the substrate, and they grow well.

I would recommend Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive, which you can add to the water during water changes. I always dose conservatively, using less than the label suggests, because the plants I've mentioned don't need a lot of ferting. A little won't hurt them, and may enhance growth.

Wisteria is also a good one.

Lighting requirements are low to medium for these plants. Another one I have in my tanks are Amazon Swords -- the dwarf variety. They are doing well, too. I also have crypts, and I do use root tabs for these.

When using root tabs, get the non-copper variety put out by API. They also are iron-enriched.

Still, you could get by without ferting, but the plants really appreciate the extra nutrients.

-- Dojosmama

[james79]

please explain the meaning of API? thanks.

[bookpage]

http://www.amazon.com/API-Root-Tabs-10- ... +root+tabs

[The Skinny Chef]

personally i prefer the flourish root tabs. i have been using them for almost two years now.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_ ... oot%20tabs

cooper or non cooper makes no difference, the amounts are so small that they will not effect water chemistry.