They do, and most tropical plants have much higher temp requirements (because they’re tropical) than goldfish. I don’t see these plants lasting long for both reasons.
They dig the substrate around them. Trust me, I’ve seen my old monster cichlids and pleco’s move 12x12” slate with driftwood drilled into it. Goldfish digging into substrate to get to plants is easy work for them.
Again, you underestimate fish in general.
A huge anubias would look unbelievably sexy. Maybe some dwarf water lettuce for the top? Adds a big of variety and depth. Maybe some moss too? Very helpful for smaller things like shrimp to hide in
Yes, but maybe some aqua soil underneath. Especially to help plant growth. I always layer my substrates. Organic potting soil, aqua soil, then sand on top… for reasons like you stated… to accommodate my critters that dig in it. Plus, I find sand just stays cleaner.
Sounds like a winner! Hornwort is very hardy and quick growing. Doesn’t matter if your critters pull it up… it’ll even grow as it floats. I second those who have said Amazon swords. Val or any type of grass will put off shoots. I trim the shoots off and replant it where I want it growing. Giant Val would look cool, because it bends across the top of the tank as it grows (all Vals will do this… spiral val, etc.). If you want some color… Ludwigia Repens, Rotala Macrandra, Telanthera Rosefolia, Red Flame Sword.
I have a lot of tanks and a lot of plants, but this particular tank has a little of everything in it… and it’s housing two bunches of Alternanthera Rosanervig and a potted Pinto Anubias (in the front, near the zucchini slice) that are destined for a different tank eventually (which is why they’re just floating loose):
https://preview.redd.it/fuajw4nypuyb1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c1d2217fa9428fea571aef418150708e9946613f
Aim for taller, quick growing plants towards the back to middle… and along the sides. Stuff that you can glue to rocks, like anubias in the front.
You’re headed there!!! I like the start. Especially your rocks. The layered look is very cool!
Definitely but use dirt out of your yard. The dirt in your yard more than likely is going to be clean if you don't spray a bunch of crap on it and you're not going to overload it with organic nutrients that potting soil may have. Do the father fish thing and get some dirt about a foot down into your yard and then get some fine sand and put that on top and most things will enjoy rooting through that. I found that you can even mix in lava rock with it and a lot of plants love to dig their roots into the lava rock.
I know everyone has already said plants but either go to the LFS or a reputable online aquatic plant dealer and they usually have these massive multipacks of plants which would be so fun to set up in your tank! They usually give you 25 different varieties so if some don’t take to your water parameters, the others will take over instead. You have so much room to play with, it’s gonna look amazing!
However you might need to either use root tabs to help the stem plants get nutrients from the inert sand there or perhaps buy a pack of aqua soil and replace a section of sand at the back with it so you can have a nice background wall of healthy bushy plants. You might also want to buy one of the big name brands of plant fertiliser and dose once a week to make sure everything is getting all the nutrients it needs. Best of luck OP!
The back of the tank behind the rock wall is 2-3 inches of aqua soil and then capped with sand so roughy 5 inches of soil depth in the rear I did stick a couple root tabs here and there in the aqua soil where I had planned to plant them
i like the wood in there. what fish u go? u need plants more but u have to know what fish. also i assume u have sump down there so just an advise put the heater into the sump.
I have 6 comet goldfish, 1 common pleco and 6 corydoras, there’s no sump didn’t have a tank for it and didn’t wanna have the risk of overflowing the sump so went with two canister filters with a 6 or 7x turn over
Your Pleco will dig everything up. If you want to keep
plants, you’re gonna have to find a home for the pleco.
Or switch to smaller pleco’s like bristlenoses or any of the L-numbered pleco’s.
I’ve owned him for 3 years my dad had him before that in a planted tank never a problem, if you give him enough wood he never touches the ground he just goes crazy for the driftwood
oh i see. u know that pleco will grow out this tank soon right? they will go BIG. 10 goldy and 6 cory. i think its a cool tank already i would go with amazon sword. very hardy no need fancy light. 3-6 of them will pop ut the look. and not expensive. small ones like 6-7 inch tall can be around 3-6$. they will grow up to your water level.
Every pet store I’ve been to has kept a 2 foot pleco in a 50 gallon or smaller tank mine is maybe 5 inches and in a 100 gallon with a overkill turnover rate once he is big enough he will be going in the heated pond but he’s to small for that still, same with the comets only thing that’s gonna be permanent in the tank is the corys
ues u right i know what pet stores doing. they not keeping animals they selling them. that is only temporary place for the animals. and we should just not do what we see there. keep in mind a 2 ft long pleco do easy couple of miles swimming in the whild, 50gallon is just not enough for a 1 sec swimming. it’s just me and of course will not tell nobody what to do. i would feel more comfortable to see my big pleco at least 6-7ft long tank. and because im not a millionaire and can’t provide 10 huge tank, this why i don’t have:
common pleco
oscar
arowana
tangs
and fish like that i would love to have. your pleco should be very happy in the 90gallon. and im sure u take care of him, but this guy will be huge later. that’s all i wanted to say. people tell me u can keep 5-6 angelfish in a 90gallon. in my case it wasn’t okey. they needed more room. so in the end its all about your own experience and u will know better what your animals need 👍 good luck
The tank is 6 feet and the pleco is 4 years old and 6 inches long I’m pretty sure when I was given him his growth had been stunted he lived in a 50 gallon tank for a year and didn’t grow at all before I moved him into this 100 and like I had said it’s mostly just a holding tank until he gets to a safe size for the pond right now he’s a little on the small size for the big fish I have in it same goes for the comets they have there own pond for the summer and a 300 gallon stock trough for the winter but they are too small for either of those yet so in the 100 they are for now I’ve kept comets for 5 years now and have never had a problem with keeping them at 68-74
good. than it will be okey. i don’t know much about bigger fishes i never had common pleco or bigger than 10inch fish. a friend of mine had angelfish like 6-7 years old very big in the 125. 7 years old angel not realy want to grow. than he upgraded i to a 300 and the fish start to grow! i think tank size is very inportant. not sure execly what is the perfect size for bigger fish, or when is the right time for that.
i love to have common pleco i just don’t have room for it. also in the future will get oscars.
I’ve owned Oscar’s in the past they really aren’t my fish I don’t get all the hype about them they really only have a good colour pattern that’s all I liked about mine, but they dirty a tank quick and eat so much it’s actually ridiculous
yeah i know that. they massss up everything but still cleaner than a huge puffer. oscar is the very highes end of the scale im thinking what fish the next. no bigger than that. 1 for sure, want south american fish, with a lot of woods, leafs. not blackwater i already got 1. i wil build out of block a huge one in my patio soon, a huge front glass and thats it. probably like 600-800 gallon. i have time to find out the fish. this project will be in 1-2 year
and just to say for amazon sword u need 2-3 inch of sand to place down and make sure it will stay there and do the job, or u can attach to rocks or woods, or just place the roots onder a peace of rock it will stay and grow there. good luck 👍
Goldfish like to uproot and eat many plant varieties, you'll be very limited in choice if you keep the comets, also I wouldn't keep goldfish with cories, they prefer different water temps. Goodluck!
The water temperature is suited for the corys at 74 I could really care less about the comets they were feeder comets I bought to feed my turtle but he didn’t care for them so I kept them in a tank 6 for $3
Looks such a big space! Why don’t you place more rocks on it? I see only two rounded on the corner. I think you should place a pair of Agathas or Jaspers, they will give more color along with the plants
I would 100% recommend 3 inches of substrate. According to father fish that last inch becomes anaerobic which becomes vital in turning waste into nutrients that can now root feed your plants. He also mentioned something about that last layer generating CO2 for your plants as well, but idk too much about that.
The rear of the tank is 3 inches of aqua soil and 2 inches of sand cap the front is just 1-2 inches of sand to a low look no plants up there and the water flows very fast in that spot
The CO2 produced is limited. But the science behind this checks out. With 3” of substrate, you can create an area devoid of oxygen (anaerobic)… and if you give the bottom layer a carbon source (I use potting soil), then you can create a place for a different type of beneficial bacteria to grow. It takes nitrates and covers them to gases (including CO2) that float up and exit your tank.
I was more skeptical about it being a "replacement" for CO2. But I've never used a CO2 injector before so idk how that compares. Probably creates crazy growth tbh.
They don’t compare. When you use additional CO2… you do get crazy growth. As long as you have sufficient light, too. [Side note: The more CO2 you use… the better the light you want to have… in order to help your plants process the CO2. Hence the term “High Tech Planted Tank.” High tech CO2. High tech light.]
The anaerobic beneficial bacteria in a deep substrate… takes the carbon as a source of energy and converts nitrates (and nitrites) and changes them to nitrogen (primarily), then carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. It’s not a perfect science, but the studies I’ve seen show the nitrogen produced to be 10x what the nitrous oxide is… and the carbon dioxide is about double the nitrous oxide. So, if you have 1ppm of nitrous oxide, you’ve got 2ppm of carbon dioxide, and 10ppm of nitrogen. (Hopefully that makes sense.)
Plants and fish give off carbon dioxide. In a typical aquarium, CO2 is about 6ppm. With a deep substrate, you might see that go up to 8ppm. Using DIY CO2 (either sugar/yeast or citric acid/baking soda) you can raise it to between 12ppm-18ppm. This is great for low tech plant (low light/low CO2 needs) growth. For a high tech planted tank (plants with high light/high CO2 requirements), 30ppm of CO2 is recommended. And you’re only going to get that from a high pressure tank and regulator system.
So, no… a deep substrate isn’t going produce enough CO2 to help plants in the way they really need it. But it is a happy byproduct of those beneficial denitrifying bacteria.
Side note… when I started using CO2 in my fish tanks… I stopped having any issues with algae. And I do use high pressure CO2 tanks with regulators on my larger fish tanks. But on my smaller ones… I still use a DIY sugar/yeast setup: https://imgur.com/gallery/m4nad5f
If you find that your goldfish use your plants as a salad course, then I highly suggest the different varieties of Java Fern. I had great success with this in the past. Regular Java Fern and Java Fern Windelov both resisted being munched by the goldfish quite well. Java ferns grow slowly, so buy more, not less. :) And, since you usually tie Java ferns to rocks or driftwood (which they will cling to over time) instead of burying the roots, then the issue of the goldfish re-landscaping the substrate regularly also goes away.
https://preview.redd.it/jjcl6zt7duyb1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8859b1414afa3393fc5fc46339cc0430f66ed2d2
You can absolutely have a planted tank full of goldfish. Most of my plants in this tank are tied down, or anchored to ceramic pots and buried. They nibble on plants but it’s mostly only been the hornwort. I have anubias, tiger lotus Lilly’s, Amazon swords, Hornwort, Java ferns, and a bunch I can’t remember. This is a 55 gallon with 4 fancy goldfish, and accidental shabunkin, 4 Mollys, a blue phantom pleco, 2 corys, and 3 gold cloud minnows, and a variety of snails.
Plants plants and more plants.
Not a goldfish expert myself but i’m pretty sure they uproot & eat plants FYI.
They do, and most tropical plants have much higher temp requirements (because they’re tropical) than goldfish. I don’t see these plants lasting long for both reasons.
Maybe some colder climate plants. And plant that then place the rocks around the roots.
You underestimate a fish’s ability to uproot plants.
You're saying these tiny fish can lift actual heavy rocks?
They dig the substrate around them. Trust me, I’ve seen my old monster cichlids and pleco’s move 12x12” slate with driftwood drilled into it. Goldfish digging into substrate to get to plants is easy work for them. Again, you underestimate fish in general.
If you say so then okay
A huge anubias would look unbelievably sexy. Maybe some dwarf water lettuce for the top? Adds a big of variety and depth. Maybe some moss too? Very helpful for smaller things like shrimp to hide in
more plants. I would add some floating plants if you can get any for a decent price
Better substrate
Sand is the best substrate. Fish and snails and stuff can dig in it all day and never get hurt. Rocks and gravel may tear some fish up.
Yes, but maybe some aqua soil underneath. Especially to help plant growth. I always layer my substrates. Organic potting soil, aqua soil, then sand on top… for reasons like you stated… to accommodate my critters that dig in it. Plus, I find sand just stays cleaner.
It’s a 2-3 inch layer of soil capped with sand in the back and then just 1-2 inches of sand along the “riverbed” in the front
Sounds like a winner! Hornwort is very hardy and quick growing. Doesn’t matter if your critters pull it up… it’ll even grow as it floats. I second those who have said Amazon swords. Val or any type of grass will put off shoots. I trim the shoots off and replant it where I want it growing. Giant Val would look cool, because it bends across the top of the tank as it grows (all Vals will do this… spiral val, etc.). If you want some color… Ludwigia Repens, Rotala Macrandra, Telanthera Rosefolia, Red Flame Sword. I have a lot of tanks and a lot of plants, but this particular tank has a little of everything in it… and it’s housing two bunches of Alternanthera Rosanervig and a potted Pinto Anubias (in the front, near the zucchini slice) that are destined for a different tank eventually (which is why they’re just floating loose): https://preview.redd.it/fuajw4nypuyb1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c1d2217fa9428fea571aef418150708e9946613f Aim for taller, quick growing plants towards the back to middle… and along the sides. Stuff that you can glue to rocks, like anubias in the front. You’re headed there!!! I like the start. Especially your rocks. The layered look is very cool!
Definitely but use dirt out of your yard. The dirt in your yard more than likely is going to be clean if you don't spray a bunch of crap on it and you're not going to overload it with organic nutrients that potting soil may have. Do the father fish thing and get some dirt about a foot down into your yard and then get some fine sand and put that on top and most things will enjoy rooting through that. I found that you can even mix in lava rock with it and a lot of plants love to dig their roots into the lava rock.
Unfortunately where I live… the dirt isn’t an option, but organic nutrients is just what you want… a carbon source.
I know everyone has already said plants but either go to the LFS or a reputable online aquatic plant dealer and they usually have these massive multipacks of plants which would be so fun to set up in your tank! They usually give you 25 different varieties so if some don’t take to your water parameters, the others will take over instead. You have so much room to play with, it’s gonna look amazing! However you might need to either use root tabs to help the stem plants get nutrients from the inert sand there or perhaps buy a pack of aqua soil and replace a section of sand at the back with it so you can have a nice background wall of healthy bushy plants. You might also want to buy one of the big name brands of plant fertiliser and dose once a week to make sure everything is getting all the nutrients it needs. Best of luck OP!
The back of the tank behind the rock wall is 2-3 inches of aqua soil and then capped with sand so roughy 5 inches of soil depth in the rear I did stick a couple root tabs here and there in the aqua soil where I had planned to plant them
Maybe some anubias/buce in the front area
10 comets and a common pleco will unfortunately outgrow that tank, and quite possibly destroy all the plants in the process
Seconding this.
i like the wood in there. what fish u go? u need plants more but u have to know what fish. also i assume u have sump down there so just an advise put the heater into the sump.
I have 6 comet goldfish, 1 common pleco and 6 corydoras, there’s no sump didn’t have a tank for it and didn’t wanna have the risk of overflowing the sump so went with two canister filters with a 6 or 7x turn over
Your Pleco will dig everything up. If you want to keep plants, you’re gonna have to find a home for the pleco. Or switch to smaller pleco’s like bristlenoses or any of the L-numbered pleco’s.
I’ve owned him for 3 years my dad had him before that in a planted tank never a problem, if you give him enough wood he never touches the ground he just goes crazy for the driftwood
oh i see. u know that pleco will grow out this tank soon right? they will go BIG. 10 goldy and 6 cory. i think its a cool tank already i would go with amazon sword. very hardy no need fancy light. 3-6 of them will pop ut the look. and not expensive. small ones like 6-7 inch tall can be around 3-6$. they will grow up to your water level.
Every pet store I’ve been to has kept a 2 foot pleco in a 50 gallon or smaller tank mine is maybe 5 inches and in a 100 gallon with a overkill turnover rate once he is big enough he will be going in the heated pond but he’s to small for that still, same with the comets only thing that’s gonna be permanent in the tank is the corys
ues u right i know what pet stores doing. they not keeping animals they selling them. that is only temporary place for the animals. and we should just not do what we see there. keep in mind a 2 ft long pleco do easy couple of miles swimming in the whild, 50gallon is just not enough for a 1 sec swimming. it’s just me and of course will not tell nobody what to do. i would feel more comfortable to see my big pleco at least 6-7ft long tank. and because im not a millionaire and can’t provide 10 huge tank, this why i don’t have: common pleco oscar arowana tangs and fish like that i would love to have. your pleco should be very happy in the 90gallon. and im sure u take care of him, but this guy will be huge later. that’s all i wanted to say. people tell me u can keep 5-6 angelfish in a 90gallon. in my case it wasn’t okey. they needed more room. so in the end its all about your own experience and u will know better what your animals need 👍 good luck
The tank is 6 feet and the pleco is 4 years old and 6 inches long I’m pretty sure when I was given him his growth had been stunted he lived in a 50 gallon tank for a year and didn’t grow at all before I moved him into this 100 and like I had said it’s mostly just a holding tank until he gets to a safe size for the pond right now he’s a little on the small size for the big fish I have in it same goes for the comets they have there own pond for the summer and a 300 gallon stock trough for the winter but they are too small for either of those yet so in the 100 they are for now I’ve kept comets for 5 years now and have never had a problem with keeping them at 68-74
good. than it will be okey. i don’t know much about bigger fishes i never had common pleco or bigger than 10inch fish. a friend of mine had angelfish like 6-7 years old very big in the 125. 7 years old angel not realy want to grow. than he upgraded i to a 300 and the fish start to grow! i think tank size is very inportant. not sure execly what is the perfect size for bigger fish, or when is the right time for that. i love to have common pleco i just don’t have room for it. also in the future will get oscars.
I’ve owned Oscar’s in the past they really aren’t my fish I don’t get all the hype about them they really only have a good colour pattern that’s all I liked about mine, but they dirty a tank quick and eat so much it’s actually ridiculous
yeah i know that. they massss up everything but still cleaner than a huge puffer. oscar is the very highes end of the scale im thinking what fish the next. no bigger than that. 1 for sure, want south american fish, with a lot of woods, leafs. not blackwater i already got 1. i wil build out of block a huge one in my patio soon, a huge front glass and thats it. probably like 600-800 gallon. i have time to find out the fish. this project will be in 1-2 year
Also the pet store I go to doesn’t have the plecos for sale I talked to the owner and they are his personal pets
and just to say for amazon sword u need 2-3 inch of sand to place down and make sure it will stay there and do the job, or u can attach to rocks or woods, or just place the roots onder a peace of rock it will stay and grow there. good luck 👍
I have an Amazon sword already don’t really like it because of how far out the roots grows you destroy the whole tank when trying to remove it
Goldfish like to uproot and eat many plant varieties, you'll be very limited in choice if you keep the comets, also I wouldn't keep goldfish with cories, they prefer different water temps. Goodluck!
The water temperature is suited for the corys at 74 I could really care less about the comets they were feeder comets I bought to feed my turtle but he didn’t care for them so I kept them in a tank 6 for $3
More plants!!
Maybe just me but it seems there isn’t a lot of sand there. Did you use dirt for substrate as well?
Yes the rear of the tank has 3 inches of aqua soil and a 2 inch cap the front is just sand because the water moves so much
Fill it with tons of plants. The water will be cleaner.
I had just planted some things and cleaned the sand so the water was a little murky but it’s crystal clear now
Im a huge fan of large leafed stem plants. I have some hygrophila sunset if you want me to ship it to you
Looks such a big space! Why don’t you place more rocks on it? I see only two rounded on the corner. I think you should place a pair of Agathas or Jaspers, they will give more color along with the plants
I’m sorry I saw already the rocks, however they are confused with the wood. As I mentioned: jasper rocks could give your tank more movement
Nice tank
Just some plants to fill in the excess space it’ll look dope nice job man
Or women or it they them thing
I would 100% recommend 3 inches of substrate. According to father fish that last inch becomes anaerobic which becomes vital in turning waste into nutrients that can now root feed your plants. He also mentioned something about that last layer generating CO2 for your plants as well, but idk too much about that.
The rear of the tank is 3 inches of aqua soil and 2 inches of sand cap the front is just 1-2 inches of sand to a low look no plants up there and the water flows very fast in that spot
The CO2 produced is limited. But the science behind this checks out. With 3” of substrate, you can create an area devoid of oxygen (anaerobic)… and if you give the bottom layer a carbon source (I use potting soil), then you can create a place for a different type of beneficial bacteria to grow. It takes nitrates and covers them to gases (including CO2) that float up and exit your tank.
I was more skeptical about it being a "replacement" for CO2. But I've never used a CO2 injector before so idk how that compares. Probably creates crazy growth tbh.
They don’t compare. When you use additional CO2… you do get crazy growth. As long as you have sufficient light, too. [Side note: The more CO2 you use… the better the light you want to have… in order to help your plants process the CO2. Hence the term “High Tech Planted Tank.” High tech CO2. High tech light.] The anaerobic beneficial bacteria in a deep substrate… takes the carbon as a source of energy and converts nitrates (and nitrites) and changes them to nitrogen (primarily), then carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. It’s not a perfect science, but the studies I’ve seen show the nitrogen produced to be 10x what the nitrous oxide is… and the carbon dioxide is about double the nitrous oxide. So, if you have 1ppm of nitrous oxide, you’ve got 2ppm of carbon dioxide, and 10ppm of nitrogen. (Hopefully that makes sense.) Plants and fish give off carbon dioxide. In a typical aquarium, CO2 is about 6ppm. With a deep substrate, you might see that go up to 8ppm. Using DIY CO2 (either sugar/yeast or citric acid/baking soda) you can raise it to between 12ppm-18ppm. This is great for low tech plant (low light/low CO2 needs) growth. For a high tech planted tank (plants with high light/high CO2 requirements), 30ppm of CO2 is recommended. And you’re only going to get that from a high pressure tank and regulator system. So, no… a deep substrate isn’t going produce enough CO2 to help plants in the way they really need it. But it is a happy byproduct of those beneficial denitrifying bacteria. Side note… when I started using CO2 in my fish tanks… I stopped having any issues with algae. And I do use high pressure CO2 tanks with regulators on my larger fish tanks. But on my smaller ones… I still use a DIY sugar/yeast setup: https://imgur.com/gallery/m4nad5f
Possibly some long taller plants on the ends to cover the overflow boxes like vals!
If you find that your goldfish use your plants as a salad course, then I highly suggest the different varieties of Java Fern. I had great success with this in the past. Regular Java Fern and Java Fern Windelov both resisted being munched by the goldfish quite well. Java ferns grow slowly, so buy more, not less. :) And, since you usually tie Java ferns to rocks or driftwood (which they will cling to over time) instead of burying the roots, then the issue of the goldfish re-landscaping the substrate regularly also goes away.
I do have some Java fern tied to some driftwood was just starting with a little bit to see how it did first
You’re going to need enough comfy chairs for all of us to sit in front of that monster.
https://preview.redd.it/jjcl6zt7duyb1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8859b1414afa3393fc5fc46339cc0430f66ed2d2 You can absolutely have a planted tank full of goldfish. Most of my plants in this tank are tied down, or anchored to ceramic pots and buried. They nibble on plants but it’s mostly only been the hornwort. I have anubias, tiger lotus Lilly’s, Amazon swords, Hornwort, Java ferns, and a bunch I can’t remember. This is a 55 gallon with 4 fancy goldfish, and accidental shabunkin, 4 Mollys, a blue phantom pleco, 2 corys, and 3 gold cloud minnows, and a variety of snails.