Putting some ornaments and plants in your aquarium is a must. Especially if you want to make your pet fish at home in the fish tank. Plants are also important in maintaining a balanced, healthy environment, for they help in the oxygenation process by using carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen into the water.
There are plants that you can buy in stores and be put into a fish tank. There are some issues, however. Plants may contain snail eggs or other harmful organisms that may disturb the equilibrium of your aquarium. To prevent this, you might consider buying some seeds instead and grow plants that you are going to put in your fish tank.
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Things to Consider in Growing Aquarium Plants from Seeds
The first thing to consider is the type of plants do you want to grow and put in your aquarium. You can grow grass, ferns, and others. This consideration depends, in turn, on what pet fish do you have in your fish tank. A particular plant may or may not be compatible with a particular fish.
After deciding on what plant to grow, the next thing to do is to decide on the method. Particular plants could be grown differently. As far as aquarium plants are concerned, you can either plant it outside of the fish tank or inside. Again, the method will vary depending on the type of plant and the type of fish you have. It will also depend on the time you have on your hands.
Make sure that you also have everything that you need in growing the seeds. You must have the proper lighting, or even sunlight, water, fertilizer, as well as the substrate, which is the soil or gravel you will use in growing the seeds. Having enough of these, and coupled with proper use, will grow your seeds quickly and healthily.
Methods of Growing Aquarium Plants from Seeds
Here are the following methods in growing the seeds into the aquarium plants
Growing them outside the aquarium
The most common method is to grow the seed outside of the fish tank, then transfer the plant to the aquarium once it germinates. It has several advantages over other methods. They will not be prone to disturbance by bottom fish dwellers. It is also easy to provide them with sunlight.
Another advantage is you can already have your aquarium with your pet fish in it while still growing your plants.
In this method, you usually have a pot or a tray bed where you plant the seeds. You wait for them to germinate after a few days. Then you transfer the plants to the fish tank.
The drawback of using this method is that it takes a lot of effort, a lot of material, and a lot of time. Compared to other methods. Planting itself does not require strenuous effort, but you need to be careful in transferring your plants from the tray bed to the fish tank.
Growing the seeds inside the aquarium
There are several methods you can use to grow aquarium plants inside the aquarium. Here are the following:
Plant the seeds directly
You can grow seeds directly into your fish tank, provided at first, that there is no water or fish. In this case, you must use a substrate that is conducive to planting and growing seeds while submerged in water.
To do this, put the seeds directly into the substrate, then wait for it to germinate. Once it has grown to a few inches, you can add water. Slowly add water to the fish tank, but do not submerge the plants. If you think that the plants can already survive underwater, you can fill the fish tank and then put your pet fish in it.
Planting carpet seeds
Planting carpet seeds in your fish tank is quite meticulous and taxing. It requires a lot of effort and patience on your part as a fish-keep. It is, however, one of the more rewarding tasks as far as fish keeping is concerned. It provides great scenery for your aquarium and aesthetically pleasing. It will give a natural ambiance to your fish tank.
To plant carpet seeds in your fish tank, do the following steps:
- Prepare a bottle of water, a sprayer, and half an ounce of macro fertilizer
- Divide evenly the macro fertilizer between the bottle of water and the sprayer
- Pour into the substrate the bottle of water mixed with fertilizer, spread it evenly
- Prepare the seeds, then put them into the substrate, spread it evenly
After spreading the seeds in the substrate, spray the substrate with fertilizer. Make sure that you sprayed upon all the substrate.
Use any cover that will allow both evaporation and light. Observe and monitor the texture of the substrate. A dry the substrate might need some additional fertilizer, and spray on it. Wait for the seeds to germinate. It usually takes a third of a month before the grass or plants start emerging.
Once they have emerged, you can slowly put water in the fish tank. You must do it slowly so as not to overwhelm the grass with water, which might kill them. Wait till the plants fully develop before filling the rest of the aquarium with water. You can now put your pet fish and set up the fish tank.
One major drawback of planting directly and growing the seeds inside your aquarium is that you have to wait. The seeds must germinate first and grow before you can finish setting up your fish tank. You can do planting inside the aquarium if you have time, and still preparing the aquarium.
But if you want to do some aqua scaping, then carpet seeds and growing grass and the like is surely advisable. It will take some time, but it is worth all the trouble.
Conclusion
Growing seeds into aquarium plants may be meticulous and taxing compared to buying plants, but it has its rewards. You can examine the plants as they grow, making sure they do not have organisms that may harm or disturb the peace of your dear, pet fish. You can also see the fruits of your labor, which in itself, is already fulfilling.
You can have your very own style, do some aqua scaping and design the interior of the fish tank using those growing plants. It requires great effort and some amount of work. The overall beauty that may result from all of these efforts, more than compensate for it. A true fish-keeper is dedicated not only to making his pet fish alive but to providing a better, beautiful environment for them.