Looking for more plants to keep a lid on hair algae! I do water changes, but I think more plants would help.
I love crypts, java ferns, and valisneria, although val can grow more than a foot tall if you let it. Anything fast-growing can help control nitrates.
Another thing you can do is reduce your light brightness or have your light on for fewer hours a day. I usually keep my lights on eight hours a day and that, along with a good population of cherry shrimp and ramshorn snails keeps the algae under control.
Heck yeah! I have a decent number of cherries and an Otto and corys. I probably leave the light on a bit too long. The hair algae is fairly manageable, just beating back a bloom from when I was away on a vacation.
More plants would be welcome, though, thank you for the recommendations!
Red tiger lotus!!! So fucking beautiful, I have one as a centerpiece in my 15g dwarf cichlid planted tank
Most of it is under a foot but it will put out lillypads that rise to water surface level
Ooooh, I’ve wanted lilypads :)
Oh man can they really get that amazing looking? I just put on in my 4gal nano, I had no idea they get this crazy. Great picture!
Yes they will grow!! Some root tabs and good light and they’re happy. They will also put out long leaves that act like little lily pads!
I really like Bucephalandra. They are kind of slow growing but super hardy and even put out little flowers. And it stays relatively small while still spreading, I started with it on a piece of driftwood and it filled that up and then continued to spread off the log and started rooting into the substrate.
I’ll have to check it out. Thanks!
I really love Cryptocoryne when it starts to “carpet”. It looks great and stays short. Also if you are having trouble with algae lowering the light intensity or leaving them on less is the best way to control it IMO.
I might have to check it out! Is that the one that has strings of vertical leaves across the bottom, bright red when exposed to lots of light?
Anubia Nana petite, mosses such as mini pellia, subwassertang, marimo moss balls, I’ll look at my tank and get ideas. I built a whole tank on this concept.
I like the look of moss balls :)
I sell them. Different sizes. I have over 100. I love them but their very slow growing.
I need to get my pesky hair algae under control before I get one. I thought I got it cleared up, then it came roaring back :/
What are your nitrates? I managed to find the imbalances in my water and go rid of all my algea issues. I run a high light tank. You need one high growth plant like I use hornwort. It keeps everything zeroed nutrients and nitrates zero because it’s a fast growing plant. I leave mine looped a strand around the tank heater and it floats. Within 2 weeks. Algea growth stopped and retreated. I had green dust algea. You can have 100 plants but if theur all slow growers and I’m guessing so then it’s not gonna make enough difference. Adjust your light schedule I stick to 8 hours on a timer. Feed less. Add less plant nutrients. Once your tank is balanced it feels so dreamy.
Hornwort, eh? Maybe I’ll have to give it a shot.
Nitrates are as low as my chemicals will test for, but they aren’t terribly high precision. I have small tank, so that is probably a contributing factor. I might try hornwort :)
Algea can’t grow if there is no nutrients, and see the goal is to have the plants uptake all the nutrient content so there isn’t anything for a 3rd party to consume. Thus you need a plant that is high growth speed which one of the easiest and cheapest to manage and buy is hornwort. Followed by a timed light schedule and I bet your issue will line out. If there is nothing extra for algea to eat it can’t survive.
I’d also like to hear opinions. I just set up a 10 gallon planted tank with Java ferns, a cryptocoryne, a dwarf water lily bulb, and some dwarf hair grass.
The dwarf hair grass is not doing well, turning white in many places. Not enough CO2? That would be a bummer, I’m not setting up an expensive CO2 infuser for a 10 gallon tank.
The others seem to be doing fine. Half on the java ferns are producing plantlets, the crypt sprouted a new leaf, and the lily is growing new sprouts every day.
What’s that twisty plant you have there?
The plant is Corkscrew val! It’s the smaller variety. It was a “free” plant that got scooped up with fish at the store.
It was happy at first, then started dying due to a lack of minerals. I started dosing the water with supplements, and it seems to be slowly improving again :)
Read my larger post above. Your tank sounds like it’s dying. I’ve been through this exact issue. Low Co2 most likely but without knowing permameters just a guess. Reduce your flow or airflow let the co2 build a bit. Keep a balances nutrient profile and a consistent light schedule. Java ferns rapidly reproduce plantlets when their struggling an dying. If you do these steps quick you can likely save it. I can’t speak for the hair grass though usually any carpet requires co2 or insane amounts of wait time while picking the right type if moss or carpet plants is a must. Its all about balance. You got to find it fast. Or the hobby and tank become a money and time sink.
For dwarf hairgrass, CO2 is what you need for it to grow quickly and thickly. It’ll grow more slow, otherwise. Also make sure to have some root tabs in the substrate nearby.
Also, that water lily, if its the kind you can get at PetSmart, will probably be the biggest plant in your tank.
red root floater
I have them and love them!
