Adding Plants to already established aquarium

[Pedro]

What would be the way to add plants to an already cycled tank with fish and
live plants?

Thanks

[John Thomas]

Pedro wrote:
> What would be the way to add plants to an already cycled tank with fish and
> live plants?
>
> Thanks
>

Here's what I've done:

1) Figure out what your lighting conditions are, and if any of the
residents will eat them.

2) Once you've got that figured out, buy the appropriate plants.

3) In order to prevent a snail invasion and reduce the chance of other
cuddly cuties invading your tank, put the plants in a 10 mg/l (1% by
weight) potassium permanganate solution for 10 to 15 minutes. Rinse the
dipped plants with clean water.

4) To further reduce the chance of introducing disease into your tank,
minimize transfer of water from the source where you purchased the
plants and quarrantine the plants in a fish free environment for two weeks.

Handy URL: http://www.applesnail.net/content/various/eradication.htm

3 + 4 might seem like overkill, but since your tank is already
established, I'm going to assume introducing icky organisms into the
tank would be a bad thing :-) I also use Yo-Yo loaches to eat snails in
my quarrantine tank.

P.S. Since I have a molluscan lawnmower named Petunia Pig in my main
tank, I usually put one plant in at a time and check to see if Petunia
eats it or not. So far, she's munched on Anubias, Crypts, and Java Moss
and left Duckweed and Hornwort alone. Java Ferns are next. (Petunia is
an Apple Snail, Pomacea caniculata)

[Billy]

"Pedro" > wrote in message
m...
> What would be the way to add plants to an already cycled tank with
> fish and
> live plants?
>
> Thanks

1: Research the needs of the plant you wish to add, and determine if
your tank meets those needs.

2: Research the max size of both the new and existing plants, then
determine the planting location so as to avoid a short plant being
starved of light, or a slow-grower choked out by a fast grower.

3: Consider aesthetics, of course. <g>

4: Some people believe in a "bleachwater" dip to kill off pond
snails. Other do not. I do not. I tried it several times, and now
prefer a couple snails to the risk of harming the plants. Better, I
just keep a couple loaches in my planted fresh tanks:)

5: Put em in! Take care not to damage roots, if they have them.


billy

[Elaine T]

John Thomas wrote:
> Pedro wrote:
>
>> What would be the way to add plants to an already cycled tank with
>> fish and
>> live plants?
>>
>> Thanks
>
>
> Here's what I've done:
>
> 1) Figure out what your lighting conditions are, and if any of the
> residents will eat them.
>
> 2) Once you've got that figured out, buy the appropriate plants.
>
> 3) In order to prevent a snail invasion and reduce the chance of other
> cuddly cuties invading your tank, put the plants in a 10 mg/l (1% by
> weight) potassium permanganate solution for 10 to 15 minutes. Rinse the
> dipped plants with clean water.
>
> 4) To further reduce the chance of introducing disease into your tank,
> minimize transfer of water from the source where you purchased the
> plants and quarrantine the plants in a fish free environment for two weeks.
>
> Handy URL: http://www.applesnail.net/content/various/eradication.htm
>
> 3 + 4 might seem like overkill, but since your tank is already
> established, I'm going to assume introducing icky organisms into the
> tank would be a bad thing :-) I also use Yo-Yo loaches to eat snails in
> my quarrantine tank.
>
> P.S. Since I have a molluscan lawnmower named Petunia Pig in my main
> tank, I usually put one plant in at a time and check to see if Petunia
> eats it or not. So far, she's munched on Anubias, Crypts, and Java Moss
> and left Duckweed and Hornwort alone. Java Ferns are next. (Petunia is
> an Apple Snail, Pomacea caniculata)

I'm another permanganate fan. It's much easier on plants than bleach.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Derek Benson]

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 01:31:27 GMT, "Pedro"
> wrote:

>What would be the way to add plants to an already cycled tank with fish and
>live plants?
>
>Thanks
>
The only thing I do with new plants is rinse them with water in the
kitchen sink, the water being about the same temp as tank water. The
chances are very good that snails or snail eggs and creepy-crawlies
(Hydra for example) will be washed away. Oh, the other thing I do is
if the plants are in those little pots with that weird sponge-stuff, I
take them out of the pot and take away that packing stuff from the
roots. Then I put them in my tank with the other plants and fish.

-Derek

[Larry]

Oh, the other thing I do is
>if the plants are in those little pots with that weird sponge-stuff, I
>take them out of the pot and take away that packing stuff from the
>roots. Then I put them in my tank with the other plants and fish.
>
>-Derek



Is it important that the plants be taken out of the black pots? I
have small rock substrate and find it easier to dig these in.

Larry

[NetMax]

"Larry" > wrote in message
...
> Oh, the other thing I do is
>>if the plants are in those little pots with that weird sponge-stuff, I
>>take them out of the pot and take away that packing stuff from the
>>roots. Then I put them in my tank with the other plants and fish.
>>
>>-Derek
>
>
>
> Is it important that the plants be taken out of the black pots? I
> have small rock substrate and find it easier to dig these in.
>
> Larry

Yes, though the effect varies by the type of roots and the porosity of the
wool used. I've had plants grow huge, with roots which simply pushed their
way out of these pots, and plants whose roots simply rotted away inside the
wool. You are supposed to remove them, but ymmv.

If your substrate is not good for plants, then get a bag of something like
flourite and use larger flat ceramic pots.
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Larry]

>If your substrate is not good for plants, then get a bag of something like
>flourite and use larger flat ceramic pots.


Is there anything I can add to my gravel to help my plants that will
not make the substrate look gunky?

Or just leave alone? I removed the black pots by the way. Thanks for
the advice on that.

Larry

[lgb]

In article >,
says...
>
>
> Is there anything I can add to my gravel to help my plants that will
> not make the substrate look gunky?
>

Eco-Complete. Spendy but works great.

--
BNSF = Build Now, Seep Forever