Question re: plants in inert substrate

[MichelleRenee68]

I have a 30 gallon tank with a large Discus and some nice little dithers and am looking to add some greenery to the tank but I am unsure if I need to change substrate. I have small river pebbles in the bottom and was wondering if there were some plants that would do well in that rather than changing up the substrate.

I was thinking of changing the substrate to black sand if and when I do change it up.

Any suggestions, pointers, ideas??

Thanks :)

[armthehomeless]

You don't need to change your substrate.

Anubias would work well. What temp do you keep your discus tank at? That may be more of a limiting factor.

[txunade]

I love Anubias and Java fern because they are hardy and can be attached to drift wood or sit on sand and gravel. For anubias, do not bury the whole root system too deep, just enough to hold them in place. Fertilizer will help those plants in innert substrate tho. Hope it helps

[MichelleRenee68]

The tank is right at 84-85 degrees due to the Discus needing the warmer water.

[armthehomeless]

I'm no plant expert, but swords, Valisneria, hygrophilia, anubias, and ferns should all withstand higher temperature. You'd want root tabs for those at the front of the list.

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[MichelleRenee68]

I have been reading about root tabs. They seem like a great way to pull off growing plants and keeping them healthy. Thank you all for your help :)

[Roshan8768]

You definitely don't need new substrate. I run inert sand in my 20H and good lighting, heavy stocking, and root tabs let me grow most plants just fine. GL!

[txunade]

I bought some seachem flourish tabs from Amazon.com and this stuff is quite good