FLFishChik Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 (edited) This is my very new 29g Community tank. It’s home to 16 Cardinal Tetra, 6 Panda Corydoras, 5 Nerite Snails and will eventually feature a short fin Betta and some Ghost Shrimp. Right now, it’s scaped with artificial plants as I was too intimidated by live plants. I will eventually change over to live slowly (remove an artificial plant and replace with live one at a time), but for now I’m quite proud of it! What do you think? Edited July 8, 2022 by FLFishChik Misspellings 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 It looks great! You picked nice looking artificial plants. Nice hardscape layout too. Your idea of adding one plant a a time is valid, but I have a different perspective. I’ve found my tanks to be healthier when they have a large plant mass. I’m not sure if there’s actual evidence for this, maybe when there’s lots of plants I’m less concerned with small problems that appear on one or two, but maybe there is some scientific reason. In any case getting a whole bunch of hardy plants isn’t really that much more maintenance than one or two. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLFishChik Posted July 8, 2022 Author Share Posted July 8, 2022 I think I’m just afraid of killing the plants 😂. I really don’t know why it’s such a scary thing for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 On 7/7/2022 at 6:31 PM, FLFishChik said: I think I’m just afraid of killing the plants 😂. I really don’t know why it’s such a scary thing for me! 😁 I know where you’re coming from. It’s hard to invest time and money into plants in the tank or the garden and then have them not thrive or die. It took me years to get to the point in my horticulture hobby where I was ok with some plants just not working for me. I still like to experiment with new plants but I tend to stick to the ones that grow best for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradfordAquatics Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 Getting past the fear of killing the live plants can be hard, but totally worth it! Anubias has been a rock solid plant for me that never causes a fuss. I think that would be a great one for you to start with so you can build up your confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 I think you watch a couple Coop newbie planted tank videos, pick some easy fast growing plants as well as some slower rhizome plants and you go for it. A 29 g is a great tank for learning with plants. With some root tabs we can turn that gravel into an excellent planted tank substrate. Get an all around fertilizer like Easy Green, dose per package instructions and see what works in your water. Speaking of that what’s your parameters? pH, gh, kh, nitrates? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 On 7/7/2022 at 6:31 PM, FLFishChik said: I think I’m just afraid of killing the plants 😂. I really don’t know why it’s such a scary thing for me! I see some anubias in your future. PSO is a GREAT and easy plant. Bacopa Caroliniana as well seems to be tolerant to my mistakes. The plant you have in the back, middle is actually a version of bacopa, so that's an easy one to one replacement and you can get your feet wet with plants! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLFishChik Posted July 8, 2022 Author Share Posted July 8, 2022 On 7/8/2022 at 2:12 AM, nabokovfan87 said: I see some anubias in your future. PSO is a GREAT and easy plant. Bacopa Caroliniana as well seems to be tolerant to my mistakes. The plant you have in the back, middle is actually a version of bacopa, so that's an easy one to one replacement and you can get your feet wet with plants! I’ll have to look into those! Thank you! On 7/7/2022 at 10:55 PM, Patrick_G said: 😁 I know where you’re coming from. It’s hard to invest time and money into plants in the tank or the garden and then have them not thrive or die. It took me years to get to the point in my horticulture hobby where I was ok with some plants just not working for me. I still like to experiment with new plants but I tend to stick to the ones that grow best for me. Yes. It’s a bit intimidating- especially when you hear how others tried and everything fief 😂. That would be my luck. But I think I’ll try Anubias as others have suggested and go from w! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flumpweesel Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 I started with just one plant at a time and removed the fake ones as they grew in this also allows for you to take it slowly. Fish don't care either way. Live plants can make things easier for you though. But in a new set up the nutrients will be low so just like with fish adding slowly one at a time helps them establish and saves you from having to buy fertiliser. Some great suggestions for plants have already been made so no need to add. Your tank looks great as it is though so no need to rush into this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLFishChik Posted July 8, 2022 Author Share Posted July 8, 2022 On 7/8/2022 at 1:19 AM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said: I think you watch a couple Coop newbie planted tank videos, pick some easy fast growing plants as well as some slower rhizome plants and you go for it. A 29 g is a great tank for learning with plants. With some root tabs we can turn that gravel into an excellent planted tank substrate. Get an all around fertilizer like Easy Green, dose per package instructions and see what works in your water. Speaking of that what’s your parameters? pH, gh, kh, nitrates? I’ve been watching a few. I think I’ll look into the Anubias soon. It seems the most forgiving. My parameters are pH 7 and nitrates are currently at 5ppm last I checked on Monday (I did a 20% water change last Sunday). I don’t have gh or kh readings as I just learned those were a thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 On 7/8/2022 at 3:07 AM, FLFishChik said: I’ll have to look into those! Thank you! Yes. It’s a bit intimidating- especially when you hear how others tried and everything fief 😂. That would be my luck. But I think I’ll try Anubias as others have suggested and go from w! If you get two plants and one dies you’ll feel bad but if you get six and two die you’ll have a base of four plants that you know you can keep. The best thing about aquatic plants is that you don’t have to water them! 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaloJ Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 On 7/7/2022 at 8:31 PM, FLFishChik said: I think I’m just afraid of killing the plants 😂. I really don’t know why it’s such a scary thing for me! Your tank looks great, although I’m not a fan of artificial decoration in the aquarium I understand your point here, when I install my tank buy a beautiful Echinodorus ozelot that is at least 20 cm tall, it's supposed to be an easy plant to care for, and withered like a rose after a while. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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