Hi, I bought about 6 plants for my aquarium but only 2 survived,apart from the moss balls,which were an Amazon Sword and another that I dont know the name of(tall small leafed floaty plant which sends fine roots off its stems down into the gravel).
Can anyone recommend any plants that may thrive in hard water?
Also is there any way to avoid them turning brown and the leaves dying off before regrowing?. Or is there a good supplier that sells plants that stay looking healthy given correct care?
Should I be using tablets under the roots?.
Is there a good website which lists which plants like certain types of water?
Thanks!
Kate

Hi

The Plants Alive website (we have a member discounted deal here - see the members forum) has really good plant listing and the website lists, temp and pH. Go to 'individual plants' to get the care requirements.

Plants being kept longer term (i.e. not just temporary plants for goldies to eat) will need feeding, root tabs or liquid ferts and ideally some liquid carbon if not using co2. Seachem Flourish Excel or Easy Carbo, seem to be popular.

I will go and have a look at the Plants Alive website now. Even better if theres a discount!
I didnt know about liquid carbon so thats a very useful piece of information I will research.
Many thanks

Liquid carbon - often referred to as poor man's co2.

Better to dose small amount daily IMO (as opposed to the weekly dose usually suggested on bottle) when main lights come on. I used to do the top tank in an evening when I was home.

Plants & lights on - take in co2 and produce o2

Plants & lights off - plants produce co2 of course.

Ive had a look at the PA website but it doesnt mention water hardness on any of the descriptions just pH and temp. Does hardness not matter to plants or is it just the pH they are sensitive to?.
Poor mans CO2!. Well that description fits me well

Usually stem plants are better adapted to hard water, though most can do OK if the balance of nutrients, light and CO2 is OK. Two that definitely grow well in hard water are Vallis and Hornwort.

Some Crypts are fine in hard water - I have a few growing in my Tang tank at gH 16, kH 14 and pH 8.2, but unfortunately I don't know which species they are.

Hornwort!!! Second vote for hornwort from me Elodea/Egeria also does well in hard water, as does cabomba. I've got C. becketii and C. wendtii (crypts) and they're ok. Hygrophila does well, as does ludwigia. Bacopa too. Moss balls, java fern, creeping jenny (can't remember the real name!) as well.

What plants did you get that died?

I have both cabomba and vallis in my water, which has a PH of 8 (can't remember actual hardness rating though). Both have grown fine, infact the cabomba reaches the top of the tank within a week of cutting back.

I don't use anything fancy, just tetraplant complete substrate and some root tabs from plantsalive. No liquid fert at all.

I've had good results with the following:

Ceratopteris thalictrichoides, Ludwigia palustris ("green" rather than red, unless you're going for something more high tech), Hornwort, Java Fern, various mosses, Bacopa monnieri, duckweed (ugh! - If you can find it Lemna trisulca the "Ivy Leaved Duckweed" is very nice and floats just below the surface- much better than the "normal" stuff, and much less likely to take over the tank), Vallisneria spiralis, Nymphoides peltata (AKA Water Fringe), Limnobium laevigatum and Samolus valerandi.

I never got on with Cabomba- it always shed the lower leaves and made a complete mess. Eleocharis acicularis, Hydrocotyle verticillata and Lysimachia nummularis and Stratiotes aloides (Water Soldier) never did well for me either, they'd grow for a while, sometimes quite well and then waste away pretty quickly.

I'm trying Blyxa japonica, Rotala rotundifolia and Limnophila sessiliflora in my rescaped WCMM/Loach tank and so far the Limnophila is doing pretty well (its a bit too soon to tell with the others). Echinodorus tenellus doesn't appear to be doing terribly well right now. The emersed leaves are dying off, but it doesn't seem to be growing immersed ones, although there are a couple of runners appearing.

None of my tanks (except the little shrimp one) are heated, and I use sand substrate with a few JBL balls (mostly for the Water Fringe), and don't dose CO2 (I've used liquid carbon on the smaller tank in an effort to control some algae, but I don't think it made any difference. I probably need to add ferts to that tank too. Even in an unheated tank Water Violet, and the UK native Milfoil species didn't do well. I'll definitely give them a go when/if I get a pond though.

When I had a tropical tank I had good results with Hygrophila siamensis "53B" and Crptocoryne wendtii.