# How to keep live plants healthy....



## Jay Ack (Aug 12, 2008)

i have a 80 gallon freshwater tank and i have a couple live plants in there and i want to know how to maintain and grow the live plants. a fish store told me i need alot of light but i have a black ghost in the tank i cant have to much light. what is the best way to maintain my live plants?


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

To specifically answer you, we need to know what are the plants (species), what is the pH and temperature in the tank, and what type and wattage of light is over the tank?

In general plants need light and nutrients to grow and live. The above info will help us offer suggestions.


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## fishkid (Jul 29, 2008)

Also, with the black ghost knife, you probably won't want to go with rooted plants. I would suggest plants like _Bolbitis_ (african water fern), java fern, and anubias.


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## Jay Ack (Aug 12, 2008)

well i forgot the name of the plants i have, but they are in the bucket that they were in when i baught them from the store. i just put them inside the gravel. so far all my fish are doing great and i havent noticed anything with the plants yet. but its only been 4 days.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Jay Ack said:


> well i forgot the name of the plants i have, but they are in the bucket that they were in when i baught them from the store. i just put them inside the gravel. so far all my fish are doing great and i havent noticed anything with the plants yet. but its only been 4 days.


You didn't answer my questions on water parameters and light, so not much I can add yet. Except that you seem to have stem (bunch) plants, as opposed to plants with a root system from which the leaves arise at their base. You can confirm this and indicate your light and water if you'd like advice on keeping them alive.

Byron.


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## Jay Ack (Aug 12, 2008)

ya thats the plants i have. the water temperature is 80 degrees F, ph is 6.8, ammonia 0, nitrate 0, nitrite 0. im not sure how many watts my light is it doesnt say on the bulb or anything. its for discus fish though. and for some reason when i turn on my light all my fish go to one corner.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Jay Ack said:


> ya thats the plants i have. the water temperature is 80 degrees F, ph is 6.8, ammonia 0, nitrate 0, nitrite 0. im not sure how many watts my light is it doesnt say on the bulb or anything. its for discus fish though. and for some reason when i turn on my light all my fish go to one corner.


If it is a fluorescent tube type of light (and not a "normal" screw-in incandescent bulb), and assuming your 80-gallon is 48 inches in length, the tube is probably 40 watts. Are there two tubes in the fixture, or just one? If 2, that's 80 watts which is not a lot of light for stem-type plants. Some will "grow" under that little light but many will not. You would have better luck with rooted plants like Amazon swords in your tank (if my assumption on the 2 tubes of fluorescent light is correct) and provided the tubes are full spectrum.

The light must be on for at least 8 hours a day, and given the low light (my assumptions again) 12 hours would be preferable (and probably necessary). But again this may not be enough for stem plants, depending upon what they are. Swords would grow OK under 80w of full spectrum light on for 12 hours every day.

Your water parameters are fine for plants except the nitrate reading of zero which rather puzzles me, but if you only have the one knife fish that may be the reason for no nitrates. Plants need nitrate, and at a slightly acidic pH (excellent for plants) the ammonia produced by the fish will largely convert to ammonium which plants also absorb. Liquid fertilizer will probably help. If you decide to pursue the plants, I and others can offer more suggestions. But you're going to have to figure out what exactly the light is, and provide what I've indicated, to have any success with plants.


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