Question: Live plants?

Hi everyone,

Firstly let me say hello again, I haven't posted in a while.

Anyway I recently upgraded my axie's (Haggis) tank, and am now looking for ideas on how to decorate it. I have a hide in it for Haggis and a air-stone and plastic frog that releases air bubbles. I want to add live plants but in the past these have died because I will not use a light because of the stress it will cause haggis. I have been told that I should be feeding the plants with food and fertilizer. However I do not know if these will harm Haggis. Anyway I would like advice on low maintenance plants like java moss, as my local fish shop has them on offer. (I would use silicon plants but these are upto £5 EACH, whereas the live plants offer is 5 for £6).

Also I want to put sand on the bottom of the tank (currently bare), so is sand like beach sand ok, or am I best using child's play sand.

Also on a separate note, my Haggis is about 2-3yrs old and eats 2-3 earthworms every other day with no hesitation. However he/she looks a little skinny but is in good health never hungry (i.e. never eats the food as soon as it enters the tank). I have been told by an expert in amphibians etc that he/she is fine and not to worry. I am just wondering if anyone else experiences this same issue.

As for lighting..it's fine to use a light a few hours a day, just make sure Haggis has a space to escape from the light. Java moss or java fern are extremely easy and require little to no maintenance. Use play sand, and make sure to wash it well...you never know what may be lurking in beach sand.

As for the feeding...how skinny is Haggis? If he is very skinny (his body is MUCH thinner than his head), it may be an illness, or just underfeeding. However, if his body is only slightly thinner than his head there's no issue. A picture would help assess the situation.

Live plants are fantastic for tanks...not only do they look great but they also help maintain a healthy environment in regards to the parameters.

water wisteria, and cabomba have been working well for me. I have less than 1 wpg, and they grow, just not quickly like they normally would. I would stick to low light plants, and even if they don't grow super fast they'll still help the water quality.

If you can get hold of some elodea that usually does quite well in an axie tank and has the added advantage in that it absorbs lots of nitrates from your water. You can usually get it in pet shops that sell cold water fish. I bought some about 3 years ago, a small bunch and from that I have planted out several tanks, given big carrier bags of the stuff to friends... It really grows like wildfire (which is why its classed as a noxious weed in some countries). As Eric says you will need lighting for a few hours each day, I just light my tank from one side using a 40 watt equivalent (7 watt actually) energy saving bulb which gives off no heat and it's plugged in to an inexpensive timer switch. Lighting the tank from the side also makes sure that there are good areas of light and shade which means I can look in and enjoy seeing Ro and Speckled Jim easily but means they have plenty of shade, even when they are out of their hide.

Well, I am currently dabbling in the world of real plants, and saw Lilaeopsis recommended, so I planted some, and the axies LOVE it! I planted two small lawns either side (hoping they will fill out a bit though) and each of them spent most of yesterday 'hiding' in their grass. I think they liked feeling like they were in the jungle.

Planted tank forums recommended splitting the lilaeopsis into individual strands and planting them a cm or so apart, to get the best coverage, but that is definitely not a good idea with axies, luckily I saw the error in this early on, and simply teased it apart but left it attached to itself by the runners. The first thing the axies did was try and pull the stuff up/eat it.

I like the sound of that, is there any chance you can post up some pictures?

morphyrichards said:

I like the sound of that, is there any chance you can post up some pictures?

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Sure, I'll get some up asap!

Brazilian Micro Sword - Lilaeopsis brasiliensis

heres some info on it Mewsie & Morphy Richards, mewsie any pics yet of your tank lol

hey mewsie, how much light do you have in your tank? I've never had good luck with carpet plants, but I've always wanted a nice carpet of something growing.

carsona246 said:

hey mewsie, how much light do you have in your tank? I've never had good luck with carpet plants, but I've always wanted a nice carpet of something growing.

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Not tons, the tank is near a window, which has several hours light a day (plenty of axie gloomy spots), but from doing research on forums, the word seems to be that lilaeopsis will grow more quickly, and more squat if there is a lot of light. In lower light conditions it will grow taller and more slowly, which is perfect for me.

The axies seem to like the jungle aspect of it, perhaps they feel secure? It's a little taller than them, so I am guessing they feel hidden, which is my reason for not wanting it to grow too squat, I'm putting moss in on slopey things for a carpet area.

But - we'll see what happens! As I say, am new to this live plants business, ask me again in a couple of months, perhaps it will all have died!

Sorry about the shonky picture - I can't work this fancy schmancy camera. I'll get Scott to take some proper pictures tomorrow when he isn't playing Call of Duty

Anyway, Chester has spent most of the day in his private jungle, without tearing any of it up! I really hope I manage to keep this stuff alive, it looks nice and the 'lotls love it.

I'm going to have to get me some of that Brazilian Sword grass, it looks great!

I currently have wisteria, java moss, najas grass, giant hygrophila, anacharis, and narrow-leaf java ferns. They're all great plants.