How to properly plant an aquarium?

[Kayli]

I am hoping to upgrade from a 10g to a 20g long tank in the coming months and would like to have live plants for my ACF (or plant in my 10g if I can't upgrade). I've never had aquatic plants before so I've been trying to do some research online, but I still have a few questions.

-Which would be a better substrate, sand or small gravel?
-Do I need to fertilize my plants?
-Are there any other plants besides anubias and pennywort that are hardy enough/safe for ACF?
-How long should I wait to add my frog to the tank after I plant?
-If I end up planting my 10g, should I move my frog to another tank first?

Thank you for any help! I really appreciate it.

[mpmistr]

1. Smooth and fine grade sand is more ideal (I personally like Caribsea's Moonlight Sand or Sunset Gold -- AVOID the black Tahitian Moon Sand it is very SHARP and JAGGED), small gravel can possibly be ingested and cause an internal blockage if the frog cannot pass it. Also gravel really doesn't hold plants as well as sand does anyways and you'll have to gravel vac it. I like sand personally because you can suck waste right off of the top of the sand when you do your weekly partial water change.

2. I don't really recommend using any fertilizer with amphibians since most contain iron and other heavy metals which are quite toxic.. I have used SeaChem's flourish tabs without much issue and I actually did contact them and they told me that they were safe for amphibians -- however I think this is because they are placed in the substrate and don't get into the water column. I would just play it safe and not use any fertilizers. I only use 1 root tab in my 40B because I have a cryptocoryne and they are heavy root feeding plants. These frogs are poop machines so they probably bring plenty of their own 'fertilizer' anyways, I've had luck with quite a few plants in my ACF tank.

3. Tons. Java Fern, Wisteria, Moneywort (bacopi), Indian Fern (Water Sprite), Amazon Frogbit, various mosses (java, flame, xmas), the list goes on and on.. I actually am not that fond of Anubias any more, it grows painfully slow and is algae prone.. being a slow growing plant it does little for water quality. Some of my favorite plants for these frogs is Indian Fern (which is usually sold as Water Sprite) and Amazon Frogbit, the best plants for your frogs well being are floating plants because they provide cover/shade and when they rest they will use them as an anchor to hold them at the waters surface to breathe/sleep. I would go with fast growing plants, Wisteria for me seems to grow especially fast.

4. Doesn't matter. What's more important is that the aquarium is fully cycled, 0 ammonia 0 nitrite and nitrates should be under 20ppm. Make sure you have good filtration, the more filtration the better as long as you don't turn the tank into a river rapid since strong current is not ideal. I like whisper filters for HOB but I think canisters with an adjustable spray bar are the best (just in case you've read that filters are bad for these frogs I just wanted you to know, that is total nonsense they NEED a filter).

5. I would only move the frog from the 10 gallon if you plan on using intense artificial light, CO2 injection, and fertilizers and are die hard about having a true 'planted' aquarium. If you're more interested in just having plants with your xenopus the easiest method would be adding some floating plants, they'll get the most benefit from that.

The last thing I will mention is do not bother with 'carpets' with ACF, they will kick it all up and you'll find up with all your carpet plants floating all over the place and clogging your filter. I attempted Dwarf Hair Grass and it just didn't work. Go with driftwood/smooth rocks and mosses if you want a carpet look. You'll also want to keep in mind that your Xenopus are not overly thrilled with bright artificial light (in fact they hate it, will hide), again I learned this first hand, I had to subdue my Finnex Ray2 LED (a popular fixture for planted tanks) strip quite a bit.

Good luck! If you can move your frog to a 20 gallon long I say go for it. The more water volume and space to swim the better!