Habitat - Indoor :: Aquatic plants?

[GThiele93]

I have Amazon Swords(completly submerged)in with my two baby sliders. one loves to just rest in them. none of them have eaten from it and I'm using Gravel to pin them down. I only put them in yesterday and they seem to be dying overnight the leaves seem to dry and wither turning brown. Im taking out the rocks tommorow(i would like to keep them though.).I was wondering if there is any good live plants that I can put in there for them to rest on or eat? im looking for alot of vegetion in the tank. Which should I watch out for ones?

[thegrandpoohbah]

Those sword plants you have were probably grown emersed. Once submersed in a tank they shed the old leaves and grow new ones. That is of course assuming you have adequate lighting to support plant growth. For swords I believe you need at least 2 watts of lighting per gallon of aquarium (WPG). They also require a nutrient rich substrate as they are heavy root feeders.

If you want a good tough plant that resists being eaten and does well with lower light levels I would recommend Anubias barteri: http://www.tropica.com/productcard_1.asp?id=101. A lot of people keep this plant in African cichlid tanks and they are known for being herbivores. It is easy to grow and very undemanding. Just don't bury the rhizome and roots in teh gravel or it will rot. You just tie it to rock, wood or other decorations and it will attach itself eventually.

[GThiele93]

Those sword plants you have were probably grown emersed. Once submersed in a tank they shed the old leaves and grow new ones. That is of course assuming you have adequate lighting to support plant growth. For swords I believe you need at least 2 watts of lighting per gallon of aquarium (WPG). They also require a nutrient rich substrate as they are heavy root feeders.

If you want a good tough plant that resists being eaten and does well with lower light levels I would recommend Anubias barteri: http://www.tropica.com/productcard_1.asp?id=101. A lot of people keep this plant in African cichlid tanks and they are known for being herbivores. It is easy to grow and very undemanding. Just don't bury the rhizome and roots in teh gravel or it will rot. You just tie it to rock, wood or other decorations and it will attach itself eventually.

Thank you,
I actully am looking for a plant that encourages eating I dont really mind anything else and looks are really not that important.

[FLhaven4strays]

My turtles like anacharis & water lettuce & water hyacinth.

Anacharis is super cheap and floats - doesn't need to be 'rooted'. Water lettuce floats too - it has roots that hang down a couple inches & it feeds of the nutrients in the water. The roots are what my turtles seem to like. My son's 25 gal hatchling tank has both anacharis & water lettuce in it now, but we've never tried bringing water hyacinth indoors (kept outside in the turtle pond). The first time I put anacharis & water lettuce in the tank they died within days. This time I used dechlorinator & a bubble wand & they've been alive & flourishing for over a week now.

[GThiele93]

My turtles like anacharis & water lettuce & water hyacinth.

Anacharis is super cheap and floats - doesn't need to be 'rooted'. Water lettuce floats too - it has roots that hang down a couple inches & it feeds of the nutrients in the water. The roots are what my turtles seem to like. My son's 25 gal hatchling tank has both anacharis & water lettuce in it now, but we've never tried bringing water hyacinth indoors (kept outside in the turtle pond). The first time I put anacharis & water lettuce in the tank they died within days. This time I used dechlorinator & a bubble wand & they've been alive & flourishing for over a week now.

Sounds very good when I have some more money I will buy a bubble wand and some Anacharis and water lettuce.That was exactly the information I was looking for. Thank you.

[emma]

Just be prepared to be cleaning out the tank a LOT with the anacharis. My turtles made such a mess that I had to clean out the tank 100% every 4 days!

[GThiele93]

Just be prepared to be cleaning out the tank a LOT with the anacharis. My turtles made such a mess that I had to clean out the tank 100% every 4 days!

o man How is water lettuce on the cleanliness scale?(anarchis being a 10)

[emma]

I have never tried that. Only the anarchis. But, since my turtles liked the anarchis so much, I kept buying for them, even with the mess it always made. But of course, I have a 20 gallon tank, which is a lot harder to clean out other than a 10 gallon. It would probably be easier for you.

[FLhaven4strays]

I haven't had much problem w/ the water lettuce at all....BUT it multiplies quite rapidly in my pond. Haven't had it indoors long enough to know how it grows indoors. I've found water lettuce to be cleaner than anacharis, though honestly the hatchling doesn't shred the anacharis like other turtles do...maybe as he grows. Anachris seems to make a bit of a mess all on it's own though - like dropping some green 'bits' when it's moved around too much, etc. I have to say most turtles REALLY go for it though...more than any other plant.