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June 11th, 2009 by KittyKitty

What really hurts for a fish-keeper, is the first major tragedy that happens to you – our early freshwater tropical fish experience wasn’t great. It was a particularly gruesome situation 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 aquarium 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 as time passed we realised how brilliant 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 fish are added to the tank, nitrites start to build up but with good plant life in the tank, oxygen is released, absorbing the nitrites leaving the water cleaner and healthier for the fish.

Some form of light is mandatory…

The sun is the most significant factor in the life of a plant, and in a freshwater tropical fish aquarium, lighting is equally as central to maintain the health and beauty 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. Plant growth and activity are strongly influenced by the intensity quality and duration of the light source. It has been proven that the best growth of plants in an aquarium is under cool fluorescent light.

Fundamental to the quality of plant growth is the quality of the lighting that is provided, giving the tank a much better overall quality.

Varieties 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 need to be anchored by the root to the bottom of the tank. Floating plants do what it says on the tin – they float! They do not need to be fixed to anything and dont require special food. 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.