Getting paid tomorrow, replanting entire aquarium

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Sallermander

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I have a pachytriton newt, my plants just look boring so I'm thinking of going onto aquabid for these new plants, what kind of plants should I look out for?

Temp ranges from high fifties to low sixties

So I need plants that can tolerate these temperatures and take a beating from my powerhead
 
Sallermander said:
I have a pachytriton newt, my plants just look boring so I'm thinking of going onto aquabid for these new plants, what kind of plants should I look out for?

Temp ranges from high fifties to low sixties

So I need plants that can tolerate these temperatures and take a beating from my powerhead
Click to expand...


i have java ferns that seem to thrive pretty well in my unheated tanks, although my temps are about 64-68.

and they do just fine with or without filtration.

ps, they reproduce pretty well too, by growing plantlings at the tips of oldler leaves
 
Hi, have look at the Vivaria - plants section... someone is always asking about plants (I did a few months back, too :happy:
My personal favourite is Ludwigia...mainly because is does really well in my tanks. Bacopa monnieri and Hygrophila Polysperma are also good. Not sure what sort of current you are talking about...look the plants up and you will be able to tell if they look sturdy enough.
Usual recommendations are java fern, java moss, anubias, recently someone mentioned Trichocoronis Rivularis Oak.
There are some good websites about aquatic plants, this is just one:
PlantGeek.net - Plant Guide

Make sure you clean/disinfect the plants really well - otherwise you might drag snail eggs, planaria etc. into your tank.
 
I'd check PlantGeek.net - Plant Guide, and looking into the "easy" to "medium" species as a start.

Regarding the temp ranges, my tanks have had no problem with frontinalis, anacharis, java fern, anubias sp., duckweed, and amazon frogbit.
 
Would subwassertang be able to handle the low temps? Sorry to butt in, but I was planning on getting some of this off E-Bay. I've heard good things about this plant, thanks!JVK
 
Hi,
Usually lots of plants are suitable for keeping in lower temperature tanks, but most of them necessitates an accommodation period. This is because they come from other tank (fish tank, or culturing tank) with other culturing conditions and warmer water.
I find that even Egeria densa or Elodea sp. have some problems in the first days in a cool water tank, but usually some stems survive and regenerate a hole new plant.
If you have a source of plants that come from a cool water tank will be just ok. If not, keep in mind that some substances can speed up the accommodation process. I use some "feropol" from GBL. This is a substance that encourage the photosynthesis process because contains iron in an accessible form for the plants and is totally harmless for fish or newts.
Good luck!
 
My fellow people, let us not forget that Pachytritons are stream type salamanders, and as so they will not require one single branch of a plant. You can get them a huge aquarium filled with rocks like a canyon and a 800l/h filter and you´ll get them into mood for sure.
Don't waste money on what doesn't worth for... Even their eggs (if you manage to breed them) are laid in rocky surfaces and holes in them.
 
water wisteria is an awesome easy to grow plant. It looks good, doesn't need much light and grows fast so it will help with the water quality
 
eljorgo is mostly correct. Pachytriton are typically found in fast, cold, rocky mountain streams. P.granulosus is found in coastal hill streams, where water will be a bit warmer and streams probably less steep. They compare very well with Rhyacotriton and Dicamptodon, though without the heat sensitivity of the former: streams are fast, cool, mostly composed of rock cobbles, with very little plant, life but lots of sediment and plant debris in the cracks below the rocks, and lots of invertebrate prey.

HOWEVER...I have seen pictures of Pachytriton discovered under rocks on steep hillsides where the water is nothing more than a steady trickle between the cobbles, and the seepage is essentially invisible because of the ferns and other vegetation growing over it. Not aquatic plants mind you, just moisture-loving forest plants.
 
Okay... I know that plants aren't necessary for their natural habitats... But they are still good for water quality, for at least until the cycling is complete, right?
 
While it´s true that vegetation in Pachytriton habitats is scarce and mostly reduced to aquatic mosses, there are many benefits from having plants in a captive Pachytriton enclosure. Plants definitely help maintaining water quality and offer cover which for this species is of great benefit. They act as visual barriers, which is important when housing more than one of these animals together.
Many people have had great success keeping healthy Pachytriton in heavily planted aquariums, so it´s definitely not a problem.

If one wishes to keep it "natural", then using a variety of aquatic mosses or perhaps some liverworts would be best, and definitely preferable over a "no plants" option (not that having zero plants can´t work).
 
I've had really good luck with Java ferns and anubias, which will probably hold up really well under a current. Eldodea/anachris, are probably not good, because even if you weigh them down or they root, they always end up floating at some point for me which could cause problems for your filter. water wisteria, in my experience, is constantly breaking into smaller pieces, even in a still tank, so I'd stay away from that. I have had a hard time with bacopa in my tank, it grows really slowly, and does not branch out at all. I think that is due to my poor substrate, I thought it was also temperature, but evut apparently does well with it. There is a plant that i haven't tried but hear works well in current, that is african water fern (bolbitis heudelotii) I always thought it looked really cool, you should try it if you can find it.
 
Azhael said:
While it´s true that vegetation in Pachytriton habitats is scarce and mostly reduced to aquatic mosses, there are many benefits from having plants in a captive Pachytriton enclosure. Plants definitely help maintaining water quality and offer cover which for this species is of great benefit. They act as visual barriers, which is important when housing more than one of these animals together.
Many people have had great success keeping healthy Pachytriton in heavily planted aquariums, so it´s definitely not a problem.

If one wishes to keep it "natural", then using a variety of aquatic mosses or perhaps some liverworts would be best, and definitely preferable over a "no plants" option (not that having zero plants can´t work).
Click to expand...

I like the moss idea, can you guys name some recommended mosses? Java I know is one... Moss balls? Weeping moss?
 
Java moss is all I have experience with. I keep my newts in the basement over the summer because i don't have air conditioning. one of the tanks I keep down there all year round so I don't have to keep tearing down and setting back up my tanks. It sits in a corner of the basement about five feet from a glass block window on the north side of the house (= almost no light). The java moss in that tank grew to where it had filled the tank and i had to take some out. It is an awesome plant. with higher light you can get it to grow as a carpet almost.
 
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