Plant opinions

[ladymaiden]

I have had my 55g set up for about a year now, and I am having a terrible time with the plants. The problem is my fish keep shredding my plants. Since I have set up the tank I have had the following plants:

Bacopa
Cabomba (green)
Hornwort
Parrot's Feather (this was my favorite)
Jungle Val
Anacharis
Lloydiella
Amazon Sword (one they have not bothered this)

Any plant I put in with thin leaves, they shred. I end up with stems with no leaves, or floating plants I guess I need to buy larger, broad leaf plants. Any suggestions? My tank is so plain...I need help....

I have some decorations, but no where near enough. I am also planning to upgrade my lights as soon as I get the funds and maybe add CO2 later, right now, I just want to get something started AGAIN

[Avalon]

Historically, thin leaved plants have served as edible herbs. Some plants don't fill the bill, but when it comes to planted tank terms, it can be an indicator of an insufficient diet. A high protein diet alone can result in fish eating your plants. While this may not be completely indicative of the problem, it could be something to consider. Gouramis are bad about this, along with loaches (eating plants).

The other issue might be that your plants' current growth rates aren't meeting their potential (considering that fish may want to nibble). That's where you come in. The faster plants grow, the better; however I will warn that quality is greater than quantitiy. Maybe you should upgrade your CO2 before you upgrade your lighting. Lighting is easy to increase, but there's no substitute for a good supply of CO2 since it effectively increases the potential of your current lighting.