I was wondering if anybody has kept any plants with larger sunfish? Mostly greens and longears. I was thinking about trying some vals, hornwort, and maybe somekind of moss to cover my driftwood. Or if you know of some better plants let me know. The tank will be a 75 with 4 40 watt bulbs and pea gravel as substrate.
Wolfie
Plants with larger sunfishs.
Started by
Guest_wolfie8000_*
, Oct 18 2006 06:45 PM
25 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_nativeplanter_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 07:07 PM
I keep my longear in with live plants. He doesn't bother them at all. I think he likes swimming around better, actually, in his jungle.
#3
Guest_nativeplanter_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 07:09 PM
Oh, but pea gravel will likely cause the plants some problems because it is so coarse. You might want to try the plants in pots, and if you decide you like it that way, you could plant the plants in paper pots, pinch closed, and put the pots into the gravel. That way they have a nice medium around their roots.
I've never been able to get anything to grow in pea gravel. It might be possible with some plants, but none that I've tried.
I've never been able to get anything to grow in pea gravel. It might be possible with some plants, but none that I've tried.
#4
Guest_wolfie8000_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 07:22 PM
I keep my longear in with live plants. He doesn't bother them at all. I think he likes swimming around better, actually, in his jungle.
What plants do you have with your longear? Mine tend to hide alot, thats why I was thinking of adding some more plants to make it thicker.
#5
Guest_nativeplanter_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 07:31 PM
Umm....to be honest I don't remember what is in there right now. When I get home from work I'll take a close look. I can probably send you some things that I have in there.
BTW, when you say 4 40 watt bulbs, I assume you mean fluorescent, not incandescent? (just to be sure, or your plants wont last very long at all!)
BTW, when you say 4 40 watt bulbs, I assume you mean fluorescent, not incandescent? (just to be sure, or your plants wont last very long at all!)
#6
Guest_wolfie8000_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 07:36 PM
Yea they will be fluorescent. I was thinking maybe two daylight bulbs and two cool white bulbs.
#7
Guest_nativeplanter_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 07:41 PM
That will probably look much too blue for your preferences. i would do at least 1 warm white (often sold as "kitchen and bath" lights)
#8
Guest_hmt321_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 07:50 PM
I have had good sucess with plants using florite under about 1" of gravel, i have had more sucess with rooting plants, they tend not to get moved around
#9
Guest_wolfie8000_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 07:50 PM
That will probably look much too blue for your preferences. i would do at least 1 warm white (often sold as "kitchen and bath" lights)
OK thanks
#10
Guest_nativeplanter_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 07:52 PM
Some people swear by fluorite; I think it's a bit pricey, and I do well with soil. Either way, the pea gravel will be fine as the top layer. It's the roots that need something more fertile to grow in.
#11
Guest_edbihary_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 07:59 PM
Some people swear by fluorite; I think it's a bit pricey, and I do well with soil. Either way, the pea gravel will be fine as the top layer. It's the roots that need something more fertile to grow in.
Fluorite? Do you mean the purple mineral? Where do you get that?
#12
Guest_wolfie8000_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 08:03 PM
The problem is the tank is already running and adding fluorite will make a mess of things. I will probably try using pots and see how the fish do with whatever plants I get. Do you use the cheap potting soil? I have been reading thru some of the topics in the El Natural section at APC to see what everybody there is trying to use.
#13
Guest_nativeplanter_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 08:05 PM
Yeah, I use the cheap potting soil. I've also used crushed pecan leaves with good success. Don't use anything too rich. If you've got good loam outside, I'd just use that. Adding crushed dead leaves to the mix helps raise the C:N ratio a bit.
#14
Guest_wolfie8000_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 08:08 PM
I don't think I have dirt outside, its pretty much all clay.
#15
Guest_nativeplanter_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 08:15 PM
Ah. That's what I have too. I would use some cheap potting soil (be sure it doesn't have fertilizers in it, as some come that way now), mixed with some crushed dry leaves. Next time I do a tear-down, I'm going to incorporate more leaf matter into the substrate.
#16
Guest_wolfie8000_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 08:27 PM
Fluorite? Do you mean the purple mineral? Where do you get that?
This is the fluorite I was think of.
http://www.bigalsonl...chemflourite7kg
#17
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 08:34 PM
Seachem describes it as "a specially fracted stable porous clay gravel". I bet the same effect could be gotten with pounding up the broken clay pots in my backyard. Not that I want to put in that kind of effort. I've noticed that the people who tend to use fluorite are also the ones who spend a lot of time dosing fertilizers into the water and generally fussing a lot.
#18
Guest_hmt321_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 09:19 PM
florite, will eventually disolve in water, its probably like clay be fore it is fired
#19
Guest_nativeplanter_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 09:26 PM
Actually, flourite is a fired calcined clay.
#20
Guest_wolfie8000_*
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Posted 18 October 2006 - 09:53 PM
How deep of a pot would I need? Would two inches be enough with some pea gravel on top?
Nativeplanter, if you want to get rid of some plants just let me know.
Nativeplanter, if you want to get rid of some plants just let me know.
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