2:42 Duckweed and other floating plants causing insufficient surface exchange 5:10 Lower / inner layers of heavily planted tanks dying off 8:10 Algae as a warning and back-up in cases of imbalanced nutrients 10:40 Carpeting plants ("any dense plant") dying, I think? 12:47 Plants that aren't aquatic plants just dying

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Thank you kindly!

Ah so there IS such a thing as too many plants. This was very useful for those us who love a jungle vibe:) I will definitely be thinning mine out a little. (Slowly.)

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us! I have had duck weed and salvinia completely wipe out colonies of fish and shrimp, I’ve made sure to always keep them to a minimum now.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Thank YOU for sharing

Don't use flowing water to workaround the covering duckweed issue, unless it is for a couple of days. I had crash a tank like that in the past. I had a nice layer of duckweed, but had the underwater pump was always making sure they had oxygen, until one night I had a power outage. It was it. all the fishes and shrimps were dead next morning.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Oh yeah, i can see where that could happen, for sure. Thank you

This was very timely for me. I have a small goldfish pond and recently noticed a plant I thought was a weed, was growing submerged in the pond. I happened on it at a nursery later that week and found it was actually a groundcover called creeping jenny. I searched on KZread and several channels claimed it could be used fulling submerged so I am trying a sample of it out in my tanks to see if it can adapt. I was concerned about the risk as far as melt back etc. and polluting the water. I will be doubly vigilant now.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

It will become aquatic :) but i like it emersed more. Its basically like an ivy or vine

@jessicasinclair323

Жыл бұрын

Creeping jenny is a ground covering creeping plant that flowers. It does the same on the surface of ponds as a creeping floater

@Handygrrl

Жыл бұрын

I could have written this post! Creeping jenny doing very well so far in two tanks

My heavily planted 200 gallon takes the nitrates to zero and the plants begin to starve. I add Seachem Nitrogen to give my plants the nitrogen they need

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

That , more fish or trimming are the basic options 😊

@DashDrones

Жыл бұрын

​@@Fishtorymore fish!

@VyvienneEaux

Жыл бұрын

mikimí loves your iriatherina werneri 🥰

@giftofthewild6665

3 ай бұрын

I just add more fish 😅

Something I'm trying next is a tank without *any* stem plants, and other problematic plants. If any are gonna be emergent, it'll be ferns, anubias, tall swords, bulbs, or similar. Things that won't grow out of control like floaters, get ragged like stems, or fill in infinite 3d space like crystalwort, subwassertang, or maybe even water moss, though that one will still probably happen since I've never had that cause any problems. This is hopefully a way to ensure that my plants will avoid running rampant even without pruning. The only real concern is getting enough column feeders in there, since non-floating column feeders tend to be so slow.

I swear that a majority of my tank maintenance involves removing layer after layer of duckweed and too dense a layer of hornwort. I leave SOME for babies and biofilm for my shrimp, but it’s a constant battle. I’m also having a lot of algae on the leaves if some plants…but the shrimp seem to love it!

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Yes its a commitment, but the fish and inverts love it

@lisagayhart2482

Жыл бұрын

Chickens eat duck weed if you have some

@robertbaker3174

Жыл бұрын

If you have any tanks that have mostly fish you can always set up a scud tank and throw the hornwort in there. I have a 40 breeder tank that the fish ate the scuds to the point that I could only be seen when I moved something or vacuumed the substrate. Still had shrimp babies survive. I have just recently seen baby shrimp smaller than the scuds I have in a small tank.

@hummingbird3771

11 ай бұрын

Great free compost!! The algae sounds like an accidental win-win for you and the shrimp! As long as it doesn't suffocate your plant. Have fun! (Just saw a comment about shrimp getting stuck in hair algae, fyi.)

alot of plant, during the night can cause lower oxygen since the plant take oxygen during night

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Yes this is exactly what i was talking about in number 1 with the duckweed causing that co2 to build up

I haven't had it happen personally but I've heard of people who've had fish die because of hair algae. They get tangled up and drown 😢 betta Fish are very susceptible to this.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Thats a good point, it definitely can be harmful in dense colonies

@chrishuynh_0043

Жыл бұрын

Haven't had fish yet, but I think I've unfortunately had some shrimp die overnight in hair algae - I imagine they were exploring and got tangled in before passing

@hummingbird3771

11 ай бұрын

@@chrishuynh_0043 I never thought it could happen to shrimp. Thank for the warning!!!

@hummingbird3771

11 ай бұрын

I saw an oto get stuck in an invisible strand once. It was fairly easy to manually remove while I dialed in my parameters, but still, otos are tiny and I could have missed it.

This is another example of why I prefer hornwort as my floater. I only have to thin out the oldest 2/3rds of darker stuff and leave the newest 12-18 inches every 8-14 days, and it is a nitrate blackhole! Plus free compost and the occasional sale. I love it!

I went out of town for work, and my roommate left the light on 24/7 on one of my tanks and I came home to a jungle! So this is timely for me.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

I Hope it helps Out

I love your nearly overgrown planted tanks. One day I will get there. A 160-gallon aquarium is tough to fill with plants and get that overgrown look

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

That is a challenge! Time heals all

@lisagayhart2482

Жыл бұрын

Like the person says I can eat anything and not gain weight…..after a few months it will be there .

Some plants are toxic to fish water if they fall in, I know someone who has a pond and they had to get rid of some plants because the leaves or needles were killing the fish

@curvingfyre6810

3 ай бұрын

Yeah, needles and pinecones especially, those are a 100% tank/pond killer

Your research/knowledge -first class. Some of the things you unravel in this channel. For example filterless aquarium now plants. Well done!

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Thank you

Legend has it - the beanstalk jack climbed was sessiflora.

Thank you for this video! My Amazon sword has 5 shoots out the water, and the submersed leaves are dying...now I know why!

Thank you. Always helpful with real life situations. ❤

Thanks Alex! Great info!

Love it Alex! 😁😁😁

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Thank you kindly.

This is great information. I notice that my pygmy corys are happy when thin out the floating plants, or they strike the surface more often, anyway.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Ive noticed the same!

Thank you for your time and knowledge. Greetings from Poland. PS, Your shrimp evolution video is the best I've seen so far. And I've seen many of them. Cheers. J.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so kindly! Have a great week my friend!

Hello Fishstory! Great video, excellent tips. Duckweed can be a nightmare to keep, and yes if not careful and kept in check; it will kill everything below. I also had layering problems with Naja guadalupensis to a point where fish could barely swim and getting all over other plants slowly killing them. It is very important to keep things under control or else your aquarium will crash as you mentioned. Unfortunately, for some of us, we had to learn the hard way.

Thank you for this...I have small tanks with the light that came with the tanks so it's not intense, I have planted tanks but no duck weed. I like to trim the plants or it gets too crazy. Constantly cutting the dumb rooty plants trying to live above the water line. One tank has Pothos sitting on top. I have the lights on timers.

👍 ! 👍 ! Helpful video.

Thank you Alex!

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Sure thing! Thank YOU

Super love how your aquariums are looking!!! #goals

@Fishtory

7 ай бұрын

Glad you like them. Thank you

Wow! Great content. I learned a bit more. Thank you

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Glad to hear it! Have a great weekend

I’ve had all those things happen to me. I consider it the planted tank learning curve.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Well i consider you a very knowledgeable fishkeeper, and you gotta live and learn to get there hah

Another great video answering all my questions and then some

@Fishtory

3 ай бұрын

Glad I could help

Great run through.

@Fishtory

28 күн бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it

You did a good job on this one, and It is so helpful for me:) I had already surmised the dead roots and plant matter + a sudden over growth of bubbly algae , is what caused the death of two of my goldfish in my outdoor 150gal container pond (thanks to the comments you had been making in your other recent vids). As I only had 4 fish in there, that would be a 50% loss. The tank is under stocked, had plenty of surface area, and with clear water , so I wasn't worried, but i had not yet turned the air bubbler- sponge filter back on (turned off for winter), and then we had that sudden increase in temperatures, 80s and 90s in may!? Not a good combination for oxygen levels, is my best guess. I will be more vigilant in the future, and perhaps add a fall clean up to the routine. Thanks Teach😊

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

I think your assumptions are 100% spot on, with the info provided. Nice! Best wishes moving forward

Simply excellent information I noticed that too many plants can be a problem with certain types of fish especially cichlids most of these types of fish like some room to swim excellent video

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Most definitely. Thank you

I like the new name! I tried my hardest to get duckweed out of my tank. Frogbit still takes over tho lol.

I moved the video to 1.25 speed and it feels better. Love how KZread has this feature. 😂

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Yeah just do that with anything i say lol many people do.

@MrGrombie

Жыл бұрын

@@Fishtory Yeah, a lot of people I noticed in videos speak a bit slowly for others to better understand them I guess. So speeding it up brings it up to normal conversational speed. lol

@23ele

5 ай бұрын

I watch most aquarium channels at 1.5x. I notice almost all of the channels speaks slower and or clearer, but I’m used to speaking and listening people speak faster in real life.

Love the new name. It's going to be easier for me to remember now lol

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Thank you. Itll be a shift over a few months, but "@fishtory" works right now, already... id yuh need me. Cheers

Yup. To a certain degree I've experienced all of these events in my aquariums.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the confirmation 👍 hah

Your tanks are so nice!

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Thank you

Get a duckling to feast on the duckweed 😅

@Jacksprat265

Жыл бұрын

Or a goldfish 😂

Thanks!

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Thank YOU!

Excellent

This was very good.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Pattie ( 6 out of 10 patty stars)

Is water grown Basil ok? As well as: Mimosa* Lucky bamboo* Wild Blue violets* southern shield fern* Water Celery* Ponysfoot* Samolus valerandi* Liverwart* Javamoss* All of these are found in the spring I got my fish from. *this spring is on my property so I am not stealing anything, just as a formality. Thanks for any help, aquatic plants be expensive and petco stock is pewp.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Theyre all fine if the plant can get air above water with roots in the water...we call that emersed growth in the hobby...vs true aquatic or submerged growth.

Good content

Your the best u tube channel 😊

@Fishtory

4 ай бұрын

Why thank you kindly... now just get other people to hear that lol. Have a great weekend

@vblackwell3347

3 ай бұрын

​@Fishtory Oh, but we do. You're just too modest to realize it AND we're too forgetful to always hit the 'like' button! Dammit! 😊

Another excellent video! Will keep a beady eye on the creeping jenny i just added to tei tanks and not let it grow above the waterline......(?)

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Yeup!

Looking good😊

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Thanks man

I think the white fungus is due to lack of light and water flow reaching the bottom. I had it happen to me when i traveled and the solution was to open the lights and filter (was fixed when i woke up the next day). Starting to get this now in my 'filterless' shrimp tank and when i moved things around the white fungus seemed to look smaller and smaller. I have a 0 in and out policy now so I guess im going to leave it and update you on what happens. (scutellaria, hydra and planaria population all seem to have solved themselves with time)

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Yeah so that can do it sometimes but this is getting a bunch of extra light whike i was gone

havent had this problem in my tubs yet! here's hoping i don't find out this year.

I have a question of everyone. I want a low flow planted tank. I don't want to have plants in the small pea to small bean sized river stone, just floating and attached plants water spaniels, guppy grass, java moss. Is that a good idea? Also I bought a in-tank low flow mini pump with spray bar submerged to "stir the water" twice a day...is that good or bad? I have a 20 gallon long. Thanks. Edit: I have bubbler filter sponge on 24/7.

Very interesting look at too much of a good thing

@Fishtory

3 ай бұрын

Yes indeed

Added a few large water lettuce from ebay, to my year old dirt aquariums and noticed an oily residue from them once washed and also in the tank, similar to the rainbow effect when chemicals are seen in puddles. The lettuce started breaking down after a few days in both tanks. In last 24 hrs I've had mountain minnows, snow white plecos and Buenos Aires tetras die off. Did an ammonia/nitrite/ph test and all were normal. Then did a 50% water change. I'm wondering was the oily residue or plant breakdown to blame? These are the first die offs since using the dirt method.

I’ve never had a problem with duck weed in my tanks with plenty surface agitation- movement of any kind would pulverize them into mush. It is taking off in one of my daphnia cultures 😂 less turbulence so they are happy

@curvingfyre6810

3 ай бұрын

Honestly, I'd just remove it all. For a daphnia colony, floaters are a match made in hell. More dissolved nutrients in the water, and more light penetrating through the column means more floating organisms for daphnia to filter, and the water movement problem as well of course.

@PotooBurd

3 ай бұрын

@@curvingfyre6810 if they weren’t living in a dark green water I would definitely remove it. If the nutrients are too thick it will suffocate the daphnia- the duck weed is hopefully stalling that while my culture settling in.

I have 10 litre shrimp tank near the window andd it gets so many light that all plants are covered with hair alagea. Alagea grows even on live snail shells. And even one shrimp has spots of green alagea. It is not neglected i do water changes but it is interesting to watch what direct sun does to a tank.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Oh yeah true sunlight will usually do that. Im all for water changes if you dont want the algae...i just dont mind most types of algae

I have great results with growing house plants outside of the aquarium and the roots dangling in it. My favorite is Hawaiin Umbrella (Scheffera Aboricola "Luslane"). The light is natural sunlight from nearby windows. I have very little algae, and the water perimeters are perfect. I do like your aquariums, but my wife lives here too and likes a "clean looking" aquarium. So, I have to respect that.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the plant recommendation!

I've been designing a rack with a quite a few grow-out tanks on it and I was planning to use a sump for filtration. Then I started watching some hydroponics videos where they use square PVC tubing with a pump to have water flows through it. I was thinking I could connect these to the tanks and grow edible plants in them and filter the water through the roots at the same time. I'll have valves and airlines for Matten filters for each tank too so I can tailor the filtration for each if need be but was wondering what sort of TDS levels would be generally safe for aquarium fish as they're recommending 800 for the plants and I can't imagine that would work well for the fish but then you see people using fish like Koi and Tapia for this purpose all the time..

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

It will work with african cichlids, some thai and Vietnamese fish from limestone creeks, and most livebearers. Sounds really cool! Best of luck

How to naturally increase the surface exchange in an aquarium in a filterless tank? Do bettas help, since they are always moving the surface a bit?

Hello! I am a big fan of yours! I love your videos! In the background of your Angelfish tank I notice a plant that appears to be Poaceae sp. “Purple Bamboo.” There aren’t many videos about this plant on the Tube. I’m thinking about putting this in the back of my planted bowl which is about 9 gallons. Do you have any opinions about this plant? If so, I’d love to hear them. Thanks again! ♥️

@Fishtory

Ай бұрын

It will outgrow that quickly haha it is a weed. I think I cut away most of mine after 4 years. But it there's still some in there, I'll do a spotlight on it ASAP. Thanks 😊

Can you name some of the fish species we can keep that do prefer very heavily planted tanks they can barely swim through?

@vikkirountoit497

Жыл бұрын

I'm like to know more about this too.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Sure! Rasboras of almost any type, gouramis, bettas, hatchet fish and killifish pencil fish

Try pea puffer fishes. They love eating snails.

Thanks for Sharing! about surface plants growing all over the water top in an aquarium with an hang-on filter. Should i still remove some of it or all the gas exchange is happening trough the filtration and it’s ok to leave the plants be?

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

You will be fine :)

anyone a plant expert that can answer my rotala and sessiflora are just stalks with leaves on top , Ive just upgraded my light and added root tabs . question is will leaves grow back or should I trim to the base ?

@Jacksprat265

Жыл бұрын

Trim them and replant the nice bits

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Id trim them about an inch from the base, if theres no leaves they'll need that stem cell signal of damage to possibly grow more

@dax8753

Жыл бұрын

@@Fishtory thanks not all bad trimming plants meant I could count the amanos , turns out I have 9 not 8 lol

goldfish eat it all ! they love duckweed

I love to have a heavily planted tank problem 😂

Yoooooo!!!

your sleeve dipping into the duckweed was almost painful to watch

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Lol yeah later it was quite annoying

Thanks for the heads up on non-aquatic plants. I put some regular grass from my yard into my substrate a week ago and since you said something I am just going to watch it more heavily than I would have and pull it if need be.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, you got it! its all a big balancing act. If you have any sort of electric filtration it should prevent most issues honestly. But if you're "filterless" it can sneak up on you

@trippin9899

Жыл бұрын

Bro whaaat? Is this a legitimate method? With the grass? (Genuinely asking, I don't mean to be rude)

@Handygrrl

Жыл бұрын

Hope it didn't have pesticides on it from the neighbors yard blowing over....

Question ~ while we're on the subject of plants. 🤔 I've read that using a fertilizer with an iron supplement will keep red plants stay red? Also, will adding an iron supplement be harmful to my bettas? 🤔 Thank you! 😎

@voluntaryismistheanswer

Жыл бұрын

I used those hydroponic red clay balls/clay I dug in my substrate, and the reds are decent

@karenhann8956

Жыл бұрын

@@voluntaryismistheanswer thank you for the tip! Going to look into it.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

So a lack of nitrogen and strong light in the flowering spectrums ... so red light more than blue...has actually been shown to make the colors come out better than iron. Iron us an old wives tale that no one scientifically confirmed. It wont hurt your fish, but its simply one or the essential nutrients, and not the key to colorful plants. Best of luck

@karenhann8956

Жыл бұрын

@@Fishtory ❤️ Thank you! That actually makes sense! 🤔 Like I always say "your the wizard!"

How do you hold all those houseplants on the back of your aquaroum?

@Fishtory

2 ай бұрын

They're in the aquarium with roots wrapped around wood actually

My daughter leaves her lights on all the time eeeee the hornwart grows like crazy i don't think her goldfish likes it lol the patty seem to be fine ! But yah i have to cut it out all the time ,at the point of just throwing it away as i don't sell online lol my fish store is hour half away boo

I lost a fish once that got caught in the roots of a java fern. Unrelated but I had a white cloud try to eat a snail and die because it blocket it's air way.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Yes there are those random head scratching moments lol. Ive lost several fish to getting stuck between the filter tubes and glass

I have a 10 gallon tank and i have gravel for substrate for now. but i want to change it because i want to try my hand in aquaplants. can i make do with black sand in the botton and aquasoil on top? thanks!

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

You can, but you probably want to cap the soil layer with 1 or 2 inches of sand to lock those nutrients in...so ammonia doesnt bleed into the water slowly for months. But you can also cycle it for 1 or 2 months and burn through the loose ammonia if you want...but it takes time, flow, water changes, plants and bacteria colonization

My pearlweed gets so thick that it will have a die off in the center of the mass. And if you don't catch it soon enough the whole tank will get sick and loose oxygen.

Any idea why I can’t comment on your most recent video? 😢

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Its fixed

I think im having that problem. My 5 gallon tank has 3 shrimps and a couple of snails and a shit ton of plants. I added amazon frogbit and my pearl weed seems sad

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Could be lack of nutrients ...try root tabs or a little liquid fertz once ever 2 weeks perhaps

@-.Meylin.-

Жыл бұрын

@@Fishtory thank you, i thought so too so i added ferts yesterday. They are pearling today :3 they don't seem sick they just slowed down on growth a lot

Do you think its possible to setup a filterless heavy planted tank with newts alongside shrimps and snails?

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

The newts will eat the shrimp pretty much immediately unfortunately

@Trollrijas

Жыл бұрын

@@Fishtory would the snails alongside all microbiota be enough to deal with the newts waste? I am planning to do a tank based on a wild pond, taking the vegetation from it, is it safe to do this? (regarding microorganisms related to the plants and the water of the pond itself)

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Hmm depends on their diet and size etc. But i would guess it isn't that different from a carnivorous fish of a similar mass like a small Oscar

hi im at a loss. i have a lot of plants but not as many as you. i use ro water. i have checked and believe that i have no substrate or decorations that are raising ph. i have been using co2 injection. but slowly over time the ph of my tank has been going up to 8, 8.2 so on and so forth. what do you think can be causing this? thank you any others viewing this message any info would be helpful. obviously the ph goes down during co2 injection but when off at evening and night. the ph drifts way up.

@Fishtory

2 ай бұрын

Hmm are you feeding a food pellet with a bunch of calcium or something. That does have me a bit stumped...because it's gotta be something in the tank/water causing it, if your RO unit works properly

@markgarrett2968

2 ай бұрын

@@Fishtory no im not. ive tried to go the very little water change method that you do. i do have duckweed,and quite a few more plants. the only thing i can think of is dead snail shells that im late to remove,leaching calcium maybe too much combined with little water changes. thank you for the response. im going to try a 50 percent water change and remove empty snail shells and see what happens

@Fishtory

2 ай бұрын

@@markgarrett2968 shells could be it!

Im still learning about the different types of plants I can get in my fishtanks. The main plants I have are java fern and frilled java fern. I have other plants, they just glo under blacklight. I have neuro issues that result in waking up during the night, and my fishtank helps me relax. I did plant one lily, but so far all I got is bulb. 😁 I want to get a better light for my tank, so I can try some of the more difficult species. Hope Everybody has a great day!

@Alhabeeb43

Жыл бұрын

I recommend getting a Bucefelandra, Anubias nana, Java moss, and maybe even some floating plants like Salvinia minima . They are 'easy' low light plants. I think lilies need a high photoperiod.......but goodluck. If you will get a stronger light, then i recommend adding more plants to compensate so you dont get an algae bloom. Have a great day and enjoy your tank 🙏 3 main types are: Stem plants (mostly from soil), Epiphytes (nutrients from water) and bulbs........i think 🤣

@HeyItsCeeJay

Жыл бұрын

The hygger light is fantastic and is priced right too!

@abfmkarin

Жыл бұрын

Continues light is not good for the animals and the plants Blacklight is light.They will at some point become sick and die.They need sleep like we do.

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

You got this! Have a great week

When my plants have die off or new stem plants loose some stems I leave em in tank . Let nature take its course

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

If you do water changes it will also prevent that

So basically don't do what you did 😊

grow the full beard my guy,it looks better

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

My wife makes me trim it...but sometimes i do grow it out haha

My angel fish keeps eating their eggs. Wonder why? They raised and hatched the first bunch she laid. But the last 2 or 3 she lays them and the same night or next night she eats them all. What should I do? Should I take her out when she lays them? Thanks

Good video, your teeth look great btw

@Fishtory

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!