Plants are a great addition to aquariums of all shapes and sizes. They are not only good for the aquarium, but they are also very pretty. Also, it’s important to choose plants that are hardy, especially if you’re just starting out. One hardy plant you can add to your aquarium is Pothos which is a plant that is easy to take care of, even if you forget to water it enough. It has green leaves that are pointed and shaped like hearts. It’s not only pretty, but it also helps keep the water clean. In this article, we’ll talk about the wonders of putting Pothos in your aquarium.
Can You Put Pothos In Your Aquarium?
Pothos, also called Devil’s Ivy, is an easy-to-grow houseplant that does well in a variety of conditions. Pothos plants are also excellent at purifying the air because they can get rid of chemicals that are bad for you. But the best part is that this beautiful houseplant can also grow in water.
Pothos are great aquarium plants because they can grow in both the soil and water and they have many other benefits. It can get rid of nitrates in the water and give your fish places to hide with its roots. It’s also a tough plant that doesn’t need much care, which is good for a plant that will be grown in an aquarium.
Because of this, many people put pothos plants in their aquariums and terrariums to make them look nice. Even though this is a great plant, its leaves and sap contain calcium oxalate, which can be harmful to fish. If you want to put a Pothos plant in your aquarium, make sure to prepare it well so that your fish can stay safe.
How to Hang Pothos In The Aquarium
The Pothos plant will be a great addition to your aquarium, and it also has a lot of benefits. But if it’s not set up right, your fish may eat the leaves, which is bad for their health. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to hang Pothos in your aquarium, so that doesn’t happen.
1. Soak In Conditioned Water
After getting a few Pothos plant cuttings, it’s important to soak them first in water that has been treated to remove chlorine. This is done to get rid of any dirt on the plant’s surface and to give the plant time to heal the part that has been cut.
2. Place In Indirect Sunlight
After soaking it, put the Pothos plant in a container where the cuttings are in a place where they will get some light but not too much. This will allow the Pothos to grow its own roots.
3. Transfer The Plant
When the roots of a new Pothos plant are about 4 to 5 inches long, you can move the plant to any aquarium. Handle the plant carefully, so it doesn’t get damaged and leak its sap into the water.
4. Anchor the Root To The Substrate
To anchor the roots of your Pothos plant, put the roots in the substrate and then put a small pile of small stones around the plant’s base. You can also tie it down by tying the roots to rocks, driftwood, or other decorations in your aquarium.
5. Don’t Let The Leaves Touch The Water
When growing a Pothos plant in an aquarium, it is very important to keep its leaves above the surface of the water. This is because the leaves of the plant can contain calcium oxalate, which can be very bad for your fish. The plant should be held in place by the aquarium lid so that its leaves don’t fall in.
6. Supply Light
After that, you now have a Pothos plant in your own aquarium. But like any other plant, it needs to be taken care of so it can grow deeper roots and more leaves. As long as you have light and fish in your aquarium that will give it nitrates, it doesn’t take much effort to take care of.
Do Pothos Aid Your Aquariums Filter?
Any plant, including a Pothos plant, can help an aquarium by a lot. But what makes the Pothos plant stand out is how well it can clean the water in your aquarium. Because of how good it is, many aquarists put the plant right on the filter media compartment.
Pothos plants won’t physically filter out particles that are present in your aquarium, but they are great for biological filtration. They are great at lowering nitrate levels and stopping algae growth, so you don’t have to change the water in the aquarium as often to keep it clean and healthy. This is because they grow quickly and need more food, which makes them get rid of nitrates in the water more quickly.
But the Pothos plant is good for more than just filtering water, it also has many other uses too. It not only cleans the water, but it also stops algae blooms from happening. Its roots also make great places for your fish to hide.
What Are The Benefits Of Pothos In Your Aquarium?
Putting a Pothos plant in your aquarium is greatly beneficial for your fish and the water in your fish tank. Not only that, it also makes your fish tank beautiful. Here are the benefits the Pothos plant provides.
1. Filters Nitrates From The Water
Pothos plants can remove nitrate and ammonia in the water. But the thing is the Pothos plant can do it faster than any other aquatic plants. This is because the Pothos plant grows faster when its leaves are above the water, so it can remove more nitrates from the water.
2. Prevent Algal Blooms
Algae can compete with your aquatic plants for nutrients, which can hurt your plants in the long run. But because pothos plants are so good at getting nitrates and other nutrients out of the water, they will stop algae from growing very quickly. Over time, your fish tank’s algae can be completely cleaned out by Pothos plants.
3. Provides Hiding Spots For Fish
Pothos plants can develop roots that are very strong and thick. This creates a cover for the fish to hide into, which makes them a great place for fish and fry to hide. It also makes great places for fish to reproduce and lay eggs.
4. Omnivore Fish Proof
There are many omnivore fish that will eat any aquatic plant that you put in the fish tank. This makes the Pothos plant the best option to put in aquariums with fish that have an appetite for plants because the roots of Pothos are so strong, fish won’t bother to eat them. This lets the plant grow and thrive and last longer than any other aquatic plants.
5. Makes Your Aquarium Beautiful
One great thing about the Pothos plant is that it gives a natural look to any aquarium you put it into. You can even hang the Pothos plant on the wall if there is enough light. You can make a jungle corner just above your aquarium by putting a clear fishing line on the ceiling and letting a plant grow in it.
6. Holding Substrate in Place
The Pothos plant has strong roots that keep the substrate from moving. This means that fish that like to dig or filter outflow are less likely to disturb it. It also helps the processes in the substrate that happen without oxygen.
7. Helps With Oxygenation
Adding a Pothos plant to an aquarium will help oxygenate the water. The plant uses the carbon dioxide given off by the fish during photosynthesis to produce oxygen, which is then recirculated to the fish.
Can You Submerge Pothos?
Pothos plant is a great houseplant that can also be grown in aquariums. Even though it is ivy, it can still grow on the bottom of the aquarium. But if you try to care for it like any other aquatic plant, you might hurt its growth and lose some of the benefits it can offer.
If you want to put the Pothos plant completely underwater, that’s alright because it will still grow underwater. But the growth will slow down a lot because there isn’t enough CO2 and oxygen in the air. Pothos plants can thrive being completely submerged in water for a short time, but they won’t last if they are submerged for a long time.
Because of this, the leaves of a Pothos plant that is submerged will stay small and round. It won’t help get rid of the nitrates, algae could also grow on the leaves, and its crooked leaves will make your tank look bad as a whole.
What Conditions Does Pothos Need To Survive?
The Pothos plant is a tough plant that can live in water, but it also has its own needs in order to stay alive. Make sure to give it everything it needs so that it can grow well. Here are the things a pothos plant needs to stay alive.
1. Bright Indirect Sunlight
Pothos plants do best with bright indirect light, but the plant can also survive with medium or low indirect light. Pothos can also grow in aquariums with artificial lighting. But this plant is not meant for strong, direct sunlight, which will damage the leaves, turning them brown.
2. Humid Air
Pothos can live in normal or perhaps even dry air, but to make them feel totally at home, you can raise the humidity to between 50 and 70%, which is what they would get in tropical areas.
3. Right Temperature
Most houseplants do best when the temperature is between 65°F and 85°F. The pothos plant is hardy and can live in temperatures higher than those, but it won’t grow well. However, if you want to keep your house cooler than that, don’t let the temperature drop below 60°F.
4. Type Of Soil
The Photos plant can grow in a good potting mix that drains well. It can also grow in water, but keep in mind that it likes a pH of 6.1 to 6.5, which is slightly acidic, but it can grow in values that are a little higher or lower.
5. Container
The roots of the Pothos plant grow very quickly, so it’s important to put it in a pot with more room for the roots to grow. Plant in a container that is 1 to 2 inches larger than its root ball and has enough holes for water to drain. It will also grow well in an aquarium.
6. Well Watered Soil
Water your plant every one to two weeks, letting the soil dry out in between. You should water more often when it’s brighter and less often when it’s darker. Leaves that turn yellow and stems that turn black are signs of overwatering, while plants that don’t get enough water will slowly die, and their soil will dry out.
Why Is The Pothos In Your Aquarium Turning Yellow?
The Photos plant is tough and can live in places where other plants die. But that doesn’t mean it will grow on anything, and some things can even make it slowly die and turn its leaves yellow. Here are some things that could be making your Pothos plant turn yellow.
1. Dead Roots
When you place your Pothos in the aquarium for the first time, the roots may die, and the leaves may shrink, become yellow, and fall down. This is a normal thing that happens when plants are moved to new places. Most of the time, the roots will grow back as the plant gets used to living in the water.
2. Insufficient Light
One reason why the Pothos plant is such a well-known houseplant is that it can grow in places with little light. But, like other plants, Pothos can’t make food without light. If your plant is in a dark area, its leaves will start to turn yellow, and its stems will get thin and bare.
3. Low Nutrients
The signs of a nutrient deficiency depend on which nutrient your plant is missing. When a plant’s leaves are yellow or very pale, it usually means it doesn’t have enough nitrogen, iron, or phosphorus. If there is yellowing between the veins of the leaves, that means the plant doesn’t have enough magnesium or manganese.
4. Needs To Be Transferred
Pothos grows quickly and can easily reach a height of 3 feet in one year. But if the roots don’t have enough room to grow, the plant won’t grow as much, and the leaves will quickly turn yellow or brown. You can also tell if your plant is rootbound if the roots are coming out of the drainage holes in the pot or if the roots are sticking out of the soil.
5. Bacteria
One thing that can cause the Pothos leaves to turn yellow is bacteria which are commonly called bacterial leaf spots. Bacterial leaf spots can happen on your Pothos if it is kept in a very humid environment or if you mist it to make it more humid. The most common sign is brown spotting with something like a yellow halo with its leaves, which is followed by the leaves falling over.
6. Leaves Are Old
As the Pothos plant grows, it will “retire” older leaves and utilize the nutrients from them to feed newer leaves. So, if the rest of the pothos plant is healthy but the leaves are turning yellow in the bottom, you don’t need to worry. Let the leaves dry out completely, and you can just pull them off after a few days.
7. Overwatered or Underwatered
A Pothos plant may be quite forgiving even if you forget to water it for a few days. But the leaves will slowly turn yellow if the plant doesn’t get enough water. Overwatering is also the main reason why pothos leaves turn yellow, as it is easy to do by accident because it is a tropical plant, so you might think it requires a lot of water to survive.
Can Pothos Plants Ruin Your Aquarium?
Pothos is a common houseplant that can also grow well in aquariums. But the plant’s leaves and sap contain things like calcium oxalate that are bad for your fish if they eat them. But we can easily avoid it so it doesn’t ruin all of our work on our aquariums.
There are so many people who put Pothos plants in their aquariums that it’s hard to see how they could ruin anyone else’s. Pothos is often used in hydroponic and bioactive terrariums, as well as aquariums. It is a popular plant that helps the filtration system in your aquarium.
Make sure to keep the plant’s leaves above the water so that the fish don’t eat them and get sick. The roots and vine are tough, so your fish won’t care about them. Keep an eye out for dying leaves that might fall or droop into the water, as your fish might also eat them.
Recap
The Pothos plant is a great example of how plants can be used for more than one thing in an aquarium. These plants can be used in place of pricey filters and will reduce the amount of nitrates in water which can prevent the growth of algae. The plant also makes the tank look natural and provides hiding places, which will make your fish happy. Even though the leaves and sap are poisonous, the plant will be fine as long as you can keep it above the water. The Pothos plant is a good addition to any aquarium, just like any other plant that both you and your fish will surely enjoy.
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