My Banana Plants Keep Failing

[laritheloud]

So tell me something. I know banana plants are supposed to be easy, and my son chose one to put into his betta tank... but we've been through two banana plants and they never seem to grow well for us. The first one was completely consumed, bananas and all, by rabbit snails. (my bad, I put it in their tank the first time and they're utterly voracious.) I tried again, putting it in the 10 gallon betta tank where there are no big snails to eat them and after... oh, I don't know, two months? The leaves are all melting off and it's putting out hardly any new growth. My other plants are all doing fine, but I can't seem to succeed with banana plants!

Do they have special requirements I'm missing?

[BuzzDaddy21]

On 1/8/2022 at 4:55 PM, laritheloud said:

Do they have special requirements I'm missing?

I would think someone knows / I can`t keep guppy grass going.

Good luck.

[Ken]

On 1/8/2022 at 2:55 PM, laritheloud said:

So tell me something. I know banana plants are supposed to be easy, and my son chose one to put into his betta tank... but we've been through two banana plants and they never seem to grow well for us. The first one was completely consumed, bananas and all, by rabbit snails. (my bad, I put it in their tank the first time and they're utterly voracious.) I tried again, putting it in the 10 gallon betta tank where there are no big snails to eat them and after... oh, I don't know, two months? The leaves are all melting off and it's putting out hardly any new growth. My other plants are all doing fine, but I can't seem to succeed with banana plants!

Do they have special requirements I'm missing?

My entire experience with Banana Plants one plant in one tank. It grows at an incredible rate. Too much even. It gets it's own private root tab and has sent little roots down to get to the root tab. Maybe yours would like a nice root tab?

[Expectorating_Aubergine]

I've never had much luck with banana plants either. Well, the aquarium kind anyways. True bananas though *whistle* .... now that's  a plant that will eat all your nitrates and strip just about everything out of your water lickety split! Maybe try one of those teeny tiny banana tree cultivars. They are pretty decent house plants and take well to growing in water to boot...

Edited January 9, 2022 by Expectorating_Aubergine

[laritheloud]

On 1/8/2022 at 9:41 PM, Ken said:

My entire experience with Banana Plants one plant in one tank. It grows at an incredible rate. Too much even. It gets it's own private root tab and has sent little roots down to get to the root tab. Maybe yours would like a nice root tab?

It never sends roots into the substrate, so there's no point in giving it root tabs!

[lefty o]

i have the same success with banana plant, they die.

[laritheloud]

On 1/8/2022 at 10:17 PM, Expectorating_Aubergine said:

I've never had much luck with banana plants either. Well, the aquarium kind anyways. True bananas though *whistle* .... now that's  a plant that will eat all your nitrates and strip just about everything out of your water lickety split! Maybe try one of those teeny tiny banana tree cultivars. They are pretty decent house plants and take well to growing in water to boot...

I wish. If it's not aquatic, I have a black thumb. 😝 I also have cats that like to chew on plants so I have to be careful about plants in the house.

@lefty o glad I'm not the only banana plant killer. I wonder what it's missing?

 

[Expectorating_Aubergine]

Banana trees are completely pet safe, and grow like GANGBUSTERS! Especially when they are growing in water. Honestly I don't know about the aquarium banana plant. I've tried other related plants and had the same results 😅