Anything Koi

Is it good to have moss balls in a goldfish tank?

Also can u suggest a few attractive aquarium plants? its for a new 30 inch (142 litre) tank, its empty right now with treated water, filter and gravel but I wanna put in my couple goldfishes after its decorated with new plants I was trying to make a lush environment for the fishies.

Realize that any plant that’s edible your goldfish is going to nibble and destroy. And if it has to be rooted in the gravel, the fish will tear them out. That’s why goldfish tanks typically use artificial plants.

It’s not a BAD idea ever to put plants into a fish tank though. It makes the setting look more natural and helps to remove ammonia and nitrate from the water, so it provides a healthy environment for your fish. But if you can, stick with plants like Java moss or Java fern which most fish won’t eat. These can be tied to pieces of driftwood until they take hold themselves. So nothing to tear up when your fish root around in the gravel for food.

If you wanted to try using rooted plants, put some larger rocks or driftwood around the bases that’s big enough that they can’t be moved by the fish. I’ve also heard to use rough rock like the lava stone, that the roughness discourages fish from *mouthing* them.

Some moss balls being sold now are made out of Java moss. This will look like wiry stems with small *leaves* coming off the sides. The ends of the moss grow outward and will make a large tangle of strands if you don’t keep it trimmed. Real moss balls [Marino moss] looks more feathery and will stay round and relatively small.

What you’ll be able to keep will also depend on what kind of lighting you have in the tank. The Java moss and Java fern both do well in low light. Another plant you could try is anything from the Anubias group. This is another plant that doesn’t need a lot of light, and some stay relatively small and they have thick leaves that are harder for fish to chew.

You can find pictures and read more about these and other plants in this website. http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php

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