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Please note: Live Plants cannot be shipped to Western Australia or Tasmania, due to quarantine restrictions. All other states are OK.
What do you need to grow plants?
Successful plant growth requires a balance of light, nutrients, trace elements, and carbon dioxide (CO2). The light should be provided in a spectrum the plants can absorb, must be of great enough intensity to keep the plant alive, and should be consistently on 10-14 hours a day. Most nutrients are supplied by fish waste. Some trace elements might be supplied by your tap water, but are more consistently obtained using commercial trace element mixtures. CO2 is supplied partly from the air and partly by your fish. If your plants have a deficiency of even one of these factors, their growth will be limited. (Don't panic about this; most of us don't need optimal plant growth.) Overabundance of one factor over another may cause problems, such as plant malnourishment, undue algae growth or toxic buildup.
What should I put in my substrate?
Gravel or sand is a good start! Size is an issue; with small grains the roots might not be able to get a good hold and the sand tends to compact, while larger gravel has a tendency to collect pockets of rotting detritus. Most believe the ideal size is 2-3mm gravel, while a few others like 1-2mm coarse sand (though it may be harder to find). The bottom 1/3 of the gravel can be supplemented with a fertilizer, of which popular choices are peat (softens water), laterite (a clay containing iron, usually used with undergravel heating systems), and soil. One word of warning: if you use an undergravel filter, it may suck your fertilizer back into the tank instead of keeping it with the bottom of the gravel.
How deep a substrate?
In general, it's good to match the substrate with the types of plant (or types of roots). For instance big Amazon Sword plants like deep gravel of 10cm, but Lilaeopsis grass can do fine with an inch or less. This can be helped by terracing the back of your tank to be deeper and planting your deep-rooted plants there. You also can't go wrong with a uniform 7cm of gravel all-around.
What kind of plants can I keep with fish X?
What kind of fish can I keep with plant X?
These are essentially the same question, though asking the second one shows you are a serious plant person. You need to match the habits of the fish with the plant. Big cichlids that like to dig should not be kept in a tank with rooted plants, though floating (or ephiphytic) plants are fine. Vegetarian fish should not be kept in a tank with plants they like to eat, unless the plants grow faster than they destroy them! Some algae-eating fish also turn out to be plant-eaters too. In general, try and learn the habits of your fish before you buy them and your plants, and be prepared to find out what works by several trials.
Some fish that can be kept with virtually any plants: small tetras, danios, rasboras, gouramis, discus, bettas, angelfish (Pterophylum), rainbowfish, Corydorus catfish, livebearers, killifish, dwarf cichlids, and in general most small fish.
Can you grow plants with an undergravel filter (UGF)?
Yes! Make sure you have enough gravel for the plants to be happily rooted. It should also work best with a very slow flow rate. Pluses of UGF may be an increased circulation to the roots. However, you will probably get roots growing in the plates, it will be harder to vacuum everything, and will be a major pain to pull and replant.
What temperature do I keep a planted tank?
This varies from plant-to-plant, but you can keep most aquatic plants from 22-27C.
What do you need to grow plants?
Successful plant growth requires a balance of light, nutrients, trace elements, and carbon dioxide (CO2). The light should be provided in a spectrum the plants can absorb, must be of great enough intensity to keep the plant alive, and should be consistently on 10-14 hours a day. Most nutrients are supplied by fish waste. Some trace elements might be supplied by your tap water, but are more consistently obtained using commercial trace element mixtures. CO2 is supplied partly from the air and partly by your fish. If your plants have a deficiency of even one of these factors, their growth will be limited. (Don't panic about this; most of us don't need optimal plant growth.) Overabundance of one factor over another may cause problems, such as plant malnourishment, undue algae growth or toxic buildup.
What should I put in my substrate?
Gravel or sand is a good start! Size is an issue; with small grains the roots might not be able to get a good hold and the sand tends to compact, while larger gravel has a tendency to collect pockets of rotting detritus. Most believe the ideal size is 2-3mm gravel, while a few others like 1-2mm coarse sand (though it may be harder to find). The bottom 1/3 of the gravel can be supplemented with a fertilizer, of which popular choices are peat (softens water), laterite (a clay containing iron, usually used with undergravel heating systems), and soil. One word of warning: if you use an undergravel filter, it may suck your fertilizer back into the tank instead of keeping it with the bottom of the gravel.
How deep a substrate?
In general, it's good to match the substrate with the types of plant (or types of roots). For instance big Amazon Sword plants like deep gravel of 10cm, but Lilaeopsis grass can do fine with an inch or less. This can be helped by terracing the back of your tank to be deeper and planting your deep-rooted plants there. You also can't go wrong with a uniform 7cm of gravel all-around.
What kind of plants can I keep with fish X?
What kind of fish can I keep with plant X?
These are essentially the same question, though asking the second one shows you are a serious plant person. You need to match the habits of the fish with the plant. Big cichlids that like to dig should not be kept in a tank with rooted plants, though floating (or ephiphytic) plants are fine. Vegetarian fish should not be kept in a tank with plants they like to eat, unless the plants grow faster than they destroy them! Some algae-eating fish also turn out to be plant-eaters too. In general, try and learn the habits of your fish before you buy them and your plants, and be prepared to find out what works by several trials.
Some fish that can be kept with virtually any plants: small tetras, danios, rasboras, gouramis, discus, bettas, angelfish (Pterophylum), rainbowfish, Corydorus catfish, livebearers, killifish, dwarf cichlids, and in general most small fish.
Can you grow plants with an undergravel filter (UGF)?
Yes! Make sure you have enough gravel for the plants to be happily rooted. It should also work best with a very slow flow rate. Pluses of UGF may be an increased circulation to the roots. However, you will probably get roots growing in the plates, it will be harder to vacuum everything, and will be a major pain to pull and replant.
What temperature do I keep a planted tank?
This varies from plant-to-plant, but you can keep most aquatic plants from 22-27C.
Customer Reviews
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Healthy value Review by Jon
Customer Rating I ordered 10 and received 13 all very healthy looking and larger than i thought they would be for that price. (Posted on 11/05/12)
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easy to grow Review by richard
Customer Rating Plant arrived quickly in good condition and after being in my 650L tank with low/medium lighting for 3months has plenty of runners and new growth. Should fill a section of my tank in no time. Recommended for beginners with large tanks. (Posted on 14/04/12)
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Top plant Review by SusieQ
Customer Rating just bought 4 of these to see what they were like as i hadnt seen them before, i was happily surprised with there size and impact in the tank, they make an cool single plant but would make an amaising wall along the back of my tank so i will definitely be buying more of these and the fish love swimmimg though them.. oh and two of the larger plants i got had little spirally runners coming from the center of them one of these appears to have a bud on it , not sure if they flower or if this is its way of running of a new plant but it is pretty cool all the same ... and hey who can argue with the price right :)
Buy these guys you wont be disappointed :) (Posted on 10/11/11) -
Newbie Needing Help Review by lucy
Customer Rating I just started my setup- and have some fontinalis attached to a rock, multicoloured gravel (not fine-not overly course) and two Johanni?
I want a good background plant - like this, that is easy for beginners - but I need to know how to plant it, if it will be ok for what I have?
It sounds low maintance from the above review, but I need more info on initial setup than the general info in the description.
Any advice appreciated as I am VERY new to all this!!! (Posted on 26/10/11) -
Fast Grower Review by Michal
Customer Rating I received this plant in very good condition. I planted it into my aquarium and only days later it had grown new shoots and flower stalks. Great fast grower. (Posted on 3/10/11)
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Fantastic val Review by Moss
Customer Rating I bought 10 of these to fill out the background of my non-co2 tank and after a month they have established themselves really well and are shooting out lots of runners. The give a lovely green curtain to the back of the tank. Also nice if you let them grow longer with the longer lengths floating on the surface for fish who like a little overhead plant cover.
Very easy care and rewarding for beginners or those of us who sometimes despair that any plants (except java fern!) will thrive in their tank in the longer term! (Posted on 25/09/11) -
Great for a beginner Review by Joel
Customer Rating Bought 3 bunches of vallisneria for my new/first tank. They are doing really well a few months on, and all three have shot of runners and are growing fast.
Very easy plant.
Info: 250L tank, with 1.2M UV light. (Posted on 29/08/11) -
Excellent Product and Value! Review by Rob D
Customer Rating this is a great plant for beginners or low tech set-ups.
when used as a background plant and allowed to grow they can be stunning
i purchased 5 of these beauties and received about 8 including runners
hard to beat that
(Posted on 25/11/10) -
Excellent low-light plant! Review by David
Customer Rating This plant is a great low-light plant... full stop!
not only is it useful for tanks where high lighting is not used, but also tanks where there is no co2 injections or ferts added. I have grown this plant successfully under a wide range of conditions and lights, and it grows the same in all of them... FANTASTICALLY!
I'd recommend this plant for a newbie to plants along with anubias nana (foreground), java fern (mid-ground also with a nice piece of driftwood with java moss or fontinalis moss attatched to it) and this for the back!
There are also some varieties such as the corkscrew if you don't happen to like the ribbon style. Personally, I like the ribbon style the most and I feel it is one of the most beautiful backround plants available.
P.S. to livefish.com.au Thanks Guys! The arrival was in great time and was well packaged too! All my plants arrived in okay condition and ready for planting :) (Posted on 11/11/10)
