Live Plants

[BlackCamaroSS99]

Does anyone here have live plants in their tank?

Numerous people have told he they(africans) either dig them up or just eat them up and they die.

What if I get a wide leafed plant and put it in a plant plug? Do they still even make plant plugs?

I would really like some live plants for a small front grass section in the tank.....

[Overawed]

I try to keep live plants but my tank lighting is too weak for the most part. I have some growing now with natural light and they are doing good. The cichlids in those tanks are mostly juvies and they pay not attention to the plants. Probably because they are haps.

Anarcharis (spelling?) works good because its cheap and the cichlids love it. Its a good starter plants. Some plants need special attention and temps so be aware of those conditions in your tank.

Just make sure to wash the plants well in 90 degree water to remove ant parasites that might be attached.

[SGypsyMermaid]

many tanganyikans will ignore plants. frontosa and mbuna will rip the plants up just for the sheer joy of it. anubias species work--you can attach them to rocks and the fish don't usually eat them. i have floating water wisteria in my mbuna tank--they don't seem to like the taste. they like the floating cover, but it will fill up your filter with floating plant parts unless you put a sponge over the filter intake.

[BlackCamaroSS99]

I have mostly peacocks in mind....

[SGypsyMermaid]

i think that the peacocks will probably ignore the plants--you can try a species of vallisneria.

[BlackCamaroSS99]

How do I make sure the plants have no snails when I get them??

Theirs a way to kill them w/o hurting the plants right?

[SGypsyMermaid]

some people dip the plants in a bleach solution, others use very hot water...not all plants can survive this treatment, however. check out this site. they've got a lot of planted tank info: www.thekrib.com