Tiger barbs and plants question

[jonah]

Are tiger barbs plant-safe? I'm setting up a 55g planted tank and I was wondering if having a school of tiger barbs would limit my success.

Here's my possible fish:9-12 tiger barbs, 10-20 zebra danios, 5-6 giant danios, 2 pearl gouramis, 5 skunk loaches and 2-3 clown loaches. I might also add my 6 glo light tetras and 3 otos if they can hack it with the Asians.

Here's the latest plant list:Anubias barteri, anacharis, cabomba, hornwort, water sprite and java fern.

Here's the water: pH8.2, gh and kh are 15. I might soften the water a little by adding peat or cutting with distilled water.

Here's the tank: standard 4' 55g with 110w AGA pc lights, 50lbs of kitty litter mixed with 20lbs of pea gravel, 250w heater and a Fluval 404 cannister filter. The filter will come off of my established cichlid tank so it's bio filter is already built up. I have another 80w AGA NO light strip that I can add for a total of 190w (about 3.5w per gallon). I'd like to avoid CO2 if possible, but I might add a homemade kit later.

Nothing is written in stone, but I'd really like to have the tiger barbs in here. Any suggestions or comments on any of this is welcome.

And yes, I did say kitty litter for substrate. I read about it on www.thekrib.com and I just had to give it a try. :D

[SGypsyMermaid]

tiger barbs are no problem in a planted tank. the loaches might be a problem until the plants get established, unless they are small. they won't eat them, just knock them over and uproot them by rushing around.

[Scotty]

Hey Jonah,

As a long time planted tank keeper, I noticed a couple of possible hitches in your plans. You seem to be on the fence between a high light and a low light tank, and this might cause you some problems.

If you go with the full 190 watts of light, lose the Anubias and the Java Ferns. Replace them with Saggitaria and Swords. At this wattage you will absolutely need supplemental CO2. You need to strike a balance between the three limiting factors to plant growth, light, CO2 and nutrients. With that much light, the CO2 will become the limiting factor, and the "excess" light will create an algae problem, especially if you have too many slow growers (Anubias and JF) in your tank. Finally, at this wattage, you need at least some really fast growers like Hygrophilia Polysperma to suck up the nutrients. I can send you some cuttings if you can't find it locally.

If you go with the lower wattage, lose the Cabomba. It needs a lot of light and CO2 to do well. You can add a DIY CO2 if you want to, and I would still recommend some H. polysperma as it will grow in that wattage, and help maintain water quality.

Whichever way you decide to go, lose the Anachris. It does better in cooler temps. Kitty litter is great, but add a 1/2" layer of mixed peat, organic potting soil, and laterite down first, then cover it with the kitty litter. This will create a layer of "locked down" nutrients and iron, that will only be available to rooted plants, and not algae. This will give your plants a leg up when the tank is new. Hope this helps, and let me know if you have any questions.....Scott 8)

[BadAndy]

I've always read that tiger barbs will pick at your plants unless they are fed a certain amount of green vegetables. Although, I will defer to the greater knowledge of Gypsy and Scotty. I have tank with 9 tiger barbs - they don't eat the plants . . . but they are plastic.

[jonah]

Hey Jonah,

If you go with the lower wattage, lose the Cabomba. It needs a lot of light and CO2 to do well. You can add a DIY CO2 if you want to, and I would still recommend some H. polysperma as it will grow in that wattage, and help maintain water quality.



So if I ditch the Cabomba, I could just use the 110w PC's and not need CO2 and keep everything, but anacharis? Could I keep the anacharis in a low light guppy tank that's about 72 degrees? I hate to just throw it away. I'm trying to keep it simple for now, so I'd rather not do CO2 yet.

Any other low light plant suggestions?

Thanks,

[SGypsyMermaid]

Any other low light plant suggestions?

crypts, java moss, java fern, thai onion plants.

[Scotty]

The Anacharis will be fine with the guppies. Gypsys plant suggestions were great, and I would again advise you to add some of the faster growing stem plants as well. Pruning them back will help maintain your water quality. With 110 watts and a good fish population, you shouldn't need CO2. In my lower light tank, I had a DIY CO2 unit, and the plants actually began growing too fast and the tank became a (beautiful) pruning headache. I was pulling out a 5 gallon bucket of plants every couple of weeks :roll: If you want to make the DIY unit that is mentioned on The Krib, you can set it up when you initally set the tank up for about two months. This will get the plants off to a great start. Then disconnect it, and save it to hook up after a heavy pruning. This regimin has worked well for me for years now.

[jonah]

With the 110w set-up, how long should I set the light's timer? The tank is near a westside window with venetian blinds that are closed most of the time. There isn't any direct sunlight on the tank.

I added a Cryptocoryne ciliata yesterday. I also got a bit confused and bought an Amazon Sword at the store, something Scotty recommended with higher light, not lower light. :oops: Will it be okay? or should I find a new home for it?

One last thing, I saw this plant called micro swords. It looked like lawn grass. The tag said it had the same requirements of the crypt, but I never know how true those tags are. Any suggestions on fertilizers? I've always used those tabs that you stick in the gravel. Is liquid better?

[jonah]

Gypsys plant suggestions were great, and I would again advise you to add some of the faster growing stem plants as well.

Dumb question: What do you mean? Which plants are faster growing stem plants? I assume at this point that a stem plant is something like a crypt or amazon. Which one's grow the fastest?

Thanks for your patience. :)

[Scotty]

Hey Jonah,

At 110 watts you should be able to keep the sword, it will just grow slowly. Once my tank got up and running, I let it fertilize "au natural" :wink: Fish poop and water changes. If you already set up your gravel bed without iron enrichment like laterite, you will need to add a commercial iron supplement. Start with about half the recommended dosage and work your way up if necessary. Start out with some kind of in the gravel, solid fertilizer tabs, and after a few months, depending on your fish population, you might not need to use them anymore. I avoid liquid fertilizers, especially in new tanks because it will also be available to the algae. The solid "root fertilizers" will give the higher plants a leg up on the algae.

Micro swords are good at your wattage also, and will spread a nice "lawn" around the front of the tank. Stem plants are ones that you get as cuttings in a bunch (like anacharis, but not that particular species). They tend to be fast growers that work well in the background. Hygrophilia Polysperma and Rotala indicia are two excellent examples. Regularly pruning them will keep nitrates and algae growth at almost zero.

Lighting needs to be adjusted to each individual tank. Start with about a 12 hour photoperiod, and adjust as needed, and don't forget to add the DIY CO2 reactor for at least the first month. This will get the plants off to a great start while the fish population is still low.