When we first started keeping freshwater tropical fish – we did have one major disaster which wiped out the whole tank. It was a particularly horrific circumstance which we could have avoided but I didn’t count as “our fault”…
We had gone away for a short holiday and yes, you’ve guessed it, the thermostat on the tank heater broke, the temperature of the water soared – the fish were well and truelly cooked…and my family and I were in tears on our return…
I was so shaken by the experience that for a while we kept only plants in our aquarium as we didn’t have the heart to add new fish.
Slowly over time we realised how fantastic a properly planted tank can be and how exotic the plants can make the whole aquarium look, a properly landscape tank adds enormous visual impact. And of course, when you add fish, plants play an important role in aquarium life as they add oxygen to the water and help to absorb nitrites that are toxic to the fish.
Some form of light is mandatory…
The most important factor in the growth of plants is the sun, and in the freshwater tropical fish aquarium, strong lighting replaces the sun and is used to preserve the health and splendour of the plants.
Wayne Vandre, Horticulture Specialist, comments that light is the all-important source of energy used by plants in photosynthesis. But light is not just one simple, well-defined entity. The plant response is influenced by light quality, intensity and duration. Experiments show that maximum growth of most plants is under cool white fluorescent light.
It is important to realise that skimping on the quality of lighting will affect the quality of plant growth that you get and therefore the overall quality of tank life.
Types of plants
Landscaping a tank can be fun and it is essential to get different types of plants to give the tank that exotic look. There are many diverse ranges of aquatic plants. Tubers will have to be fixed to the base of the tank by their roots. Floating plants plainly float in the tank do not need to be anchored and will not usually require fertilizer. Rooted plants, like tubers need to be anchored to the bottom of the tank normally tied to pieces of rock or wood. These species usually grow to be fairly tall and will help to fill the aquarium.
Normally, the water and the fish in the tank will supply the nutrients and fertilizers essential for plant growth. Extra supplements are rarely needed. The filtration system is crucial to maintaining healthy plant life in the tank. Under gravel filters restricts the composition of the gravel in which the plants are rooted and produce a steady flow of bubbles that disturb the surface. All other kinds of filtration systems should work well for plants and it is good to keep water movement in the tank, but not too mush disturbance at the surface as CO2 is lost, essential to the survival of the plants.
All of our aquariums have vigorous plant growth, which enables us to have contented and bright tropical fish that are in great physical condition.
