Fertilizers safe?

[Elliriyanna]

Are plant fertilizers such as Seachem Flourish safe to use in an ADF tank? I want the very best for my little ones

[mpmistr]

I would recommend against this.

[Elliriyanna]

Thats what I was thinking as well ... especially with frogs... I just keep having the planted tank people telling me I need this and that

[mpmistr]

Get fast growing plants that don't need fertilizers.

I suggest water sprite, wisteria, java fern, anubius, ect.

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

Well,
I have been using it for years on my planted 46g bow front.
with no ill effect to my DAF.
I use only
Flourish 250mL
and follow the directions to the letter.



Now that is on a tank that has a lot of small fish like neon tetras and one small frog.
So not a lot of wastes for the plants to process.

Now ACF are kinda heavy waste producers.
and if you don't have a lot of plants and only a few frogs.
then you shouldn't need any fertilizers.
But if you have lots a plants and only one frog then maybe.

[Elliriyanna]

Thats what I was going to use

and I did order low light low maintenance pets

I am thinking of underdosing a bit since it says one teaspoon for every 60 gallons 1 - 2 times a week ... I only have a 5 gallon so I would only need like a drop each dose ...

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

5 gallons how many frogs do you have?

you really don't need the fertilizer.
For that small of a tank and even just one ACF.

[Elliriyanna]

I dont have any ... The tank is in the works ... I am still cycling my current 5 gallon and I have another on the way which will be the ADF tank.

I want my plants healthy and future my frogs ...

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

OK,
if you are setting one up then it would be ok.

And if you are getting your plants from a Local fish store. ( a real one not like petsmart)
then it will have some good starter bacteria to get your cycle started.
Now the plants from places like petsmart that are in tubes with hydrogell
do not have the bacteria as much as ones that are in a tank when you buy them.

The only positive thing about getting the plants that are in a tube is that they are 100% snail free.
But I like having snails they help keep things clean.
and when they start to get out of control I just thin out the herd a bit.

BTW with only 5 gallons I would stick with a max of two ACF's and that will be a bit
cramped when they get to adult size.

also FYI ACF are banned in a lot of states.
if you get them keep them until they pass do not release them.

[Elliriyanna]

I actually ordered them from the planted tank forum members As far as cycling the frog tank I have been discussing that lol and I have it all planned out ... it will be cycled using my current tank.

This is off topic but how many would you recommend in a 5 gallon? I was thinking a pair would do well using the 2- 2.5 gallon rule.

I don't want to start any more ADF threads lol

[mpmistr]

If you must use fertilizers I would use a half dose. The copper and iron is toxic to frogs. Flourish is mostly carbon I'm not sure if its a true fertilizer in the classic sense. I know people with shrimp tanks avoid fertilizers as they are as toxic to inverts as they are amphibians.

[Elliriyanna]

Actually the invert thread I posted on said go for it just follow the instructions ... I kind of need them in the frog tank because it will have LED lights so they will need the extra help

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

Wow I didn't know that.
I just started to keep amano shrimp in the same tank.
But I added them about 6 months ago and haven't noticed anything.

I have 14 neon tetras 4 cherry barbs 2 ottos 3 emerald corys 5 amano shrimp 7 ADF (6 froglets 1 adult)
Count less snails.
and I haven't had any problems.
I use the recommended dose every time I do a water change every 25% 15 days.

and haven't had a problem. I guess I am just lucky.
also on that 46G I use all LED lights.
and my plants do great.
I use the marineland single bright light.

[mpmistr]

Actually the invert thread I posted on said go for it just follow the instructions ... I kind of need them in the frog tank because it will have LED lights so they will need the extra help

This is my 40 gallon breeder.

I've never used fertilizers in this tank, ever. This is actually before it became so over grown I had to move half of the plants to another tank.

Here's what I have in my tank right now.

1. Water Wisteria (completely over grown, spread like wildfire)
2. Water Sprite (same as Wisteria)
3. Duckweed (I bought this as 'dwarf water lettuce' but I am pretty damn sure it's stupid duckweed, it grows fast and eats nitrates for breakfast though and gives frogs shade, just high maintenance)
4. Amazon Frog Bit
5. Moneywort
6. Pennywort
7. Christmas Moss
8. Vallisneria (recently removed but grew FAST)

Seeing as you have only a 5 gallon I'd obviously pick a smaller amount of plants. I grow all my plants with a Finnex LED and I've never had problems. I've actually bought some plastic (like the kind they put under florescent lights) to diffuse the light because it's so bright I worried it may hurt my frogs vision when they bask.

Wow I didn't know that.
I just started to keep amano shrimp in the same tank.
But I added them about 6 months ago and haven't noticed anything.

I have 14 neon tetras 4 cherry barbs 2 ottos 3 emerald corys 5 amano shrimp 7 ADF (6 froglets 1 adult)
Count less snails.
and I haven't had any problems.
I use the recommended dose every time I do a water change every 25% 15 days.

and haven't had a problem. I guess I am just lucky.
also on that 46G I use all LED lights.
and my plants do great.
I use the marineland single bright light.

Flourish is kind of a CO2 supplement.. it's not really a fertilizer. I think it's shrimp/invert safe but I wouldn't over do it..

I wouldn't want to poison my frogs or shed any time off their life spans so I try to keep it natural and just use plants that grow well without much any additional help.

Xenopus provide a lot of 'fertilizer' anyways.. if you catch my drift.

[Elliriyanna]

Well ... It sounds like my best bet is to just see how the plants do without any fertilizers and only use them if needed. I didn't know LED's could grow plants so well

My plants
* Anubias Nana
* Java Moss
* Java Fern
* Lucens
* Lucens x Willisii
* Subwassertang
* Green gecko hybrid


And I plan to get some floaters and hornwort

[mpmistr]

Well ... It sounds like my best bet is to just see how the plants do without any fertilizers and only use them if needed. I didn't know LED's could grow plants so well

My plants
* Anubias Nana
* Java Moss
* Java Fern
* Lucens
* Lucens x Willisii
* Subwassertang
* Green gecko hybrid


And I plan to get some floaters and hornwort

I tried anubias and java fern in my tank and for whatever reason they just seemed to attract algae and not grow well. I think they had a hard time with the other plants in my tank, which grew much much faster.

Be warned that slow growing plants like java fern and anubias WILL attract algae.

[Elliriyanna]

Thats ok those are going in my betta tank and I plan to add some ghost shrimp which should help with cleaning them.

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

I wouldn't put shrimp in with a beta.
I did and then next day the shrimp was gone. LOL
at least a male beta.

[Elliriyanna]

Not all Betta's are the same ... I have had ghost shrimp thrive with a male Betta ... and of course there are some that will eat or attack anything lol

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

I know, I had a male beta in my 46G for years and he never bothered any of the other fish.
Not the same beta as the one that ate the shrimp, he was a bit of a bully.

For a while I had a beta in every room in the house.
Now I don't keep them since I travel so much and the wife won't change water.
Only feed.
So it wasn't fair to them so I gave them to a local hotel that rented them to the guests
for $2.00 a night and the manger feeds them.
all the proceeds goes to a local no kill shelter.
Last year they collected over $400.00 and all of the fish are over 3 years old.

Here is Fred He was the most laid back beta I have ever owned.