When planning an aquarium, one of the key items you will need is a wide variety of aquarium plants. Aquarium plants are not only pleasing to the eye, they also serve an essential function in your aquarium. They come in several different types and there are some basic guidelines to help you choose the best plants for your aquarium. When you are planning the environment for your fish, having a basic understanding of aquarium plants will help make your efforts a success and allow you to provide the best possible environment for your fish.
aquarium plants
Having a proper selection of aquarium plants in your fish tank or aquarium is one of the best choices you can make for the well-being of your fish. They help mimic the fish’s natural environment, as well as providing other essential functions. Some of the benefits aquarium plants provide include improving water quality by allowing for natural biological filtration. They also remove nitrates from the water and work to oxygenate the water, resulting in healthier fish. Planted aquarium tanks have fish that are calmer and show reduced signs of stress, as well as increasing their chance of reproducing.
Once you have decided that adding aquarium plants to your aquarium is the healthiest option for your fish, you can select which plants you would like to include. When starting out, it’s important to start with a large number of plants at once. This will ensure that there are more plants than algae in the environment of the fish. Having a high density of plants in the aquarium tank will ensure that the algae present do not absorb more nutrients than the plants. This is the main reason why aquariums with a small number of plants do not thrive. Large quantities of plants can be had at club auctions at very reasonable prices.
a variety of plants
When selecting your plants, there are a variety of species available to choose from. The best species to plant for the first time are those that are relatively cheap and fast growing. This will ensure that your aquarium tank is ready in the shortest amount of time. Species to choose from include Vallisneria, Cabomba, Hygrophilia, and hornwort. When selecting your plants, it is important to inspect them for snails and snail eggs. For starters, the best plants that are guaranteed to be virtually snail-free are Hygrophilla lacustris (hygro willow leaf) and Nomaphila stricta (temple plant).
Add your plants to your tank
Before installing the plants you have selected, you must ensure that they are in perfect condition for the best health of the aquarium. This can be easily done by pruning the plants before placing them in the tank. To best prune your plants, you should remove the aged and yellowed leaves with a pair of small scissors or garden shears. When pruning rooted plants, you can remove visible soft brown roots as well as trim any white roots that appear on the plant. If you install stem plants, you can make a new cut in the stem before Saffron planting.
Once your plants have been properly pruned, you can place them inside the tank. This is best done with a half full tank for ease and efficiency. Make a small hole for the plant you are working with and then insert the plant into the hole while putting gravel over the roots, as algae can attack exposed roots. New plants can take a while to settle down and root properly, so try to avoid moving them unless absolutely necessary, as it takes a while for a plant to recover from a move. Your newly placed plants will need a very specific environment to ensure their optimal development. Algae can easily overtake a newly planted tank if there are elements within the environment that are out of balance. All lights should be placed on a timer with a rotating daily cycle of eight to ten hours. Lights should be reduced if excess algae begins to form. Once this environment has been properly established, a lighting cycle of ten to twelve hours per day will suffice.