# Fish uprooting plants



## Akashofficial (Feb 23, 2019)

Hey guys so I’ve had a 30 gal fall planted tank set up for awhile now. Maybe 7-8 months, and I just added 4 panda Cory cats. And I realized that my substrate is being moved around into small hills and my two plants in the front corners are being either up rooted or just in the fishes way. This has never happened before with this tank. It’s just two angel fish, a green cory, julie cory, twig catfish, Siamese flying fox, and a Chinese algae eater. The Chinese is 4.5 inches and the Siamese is maybe 3. My 4 pandas are not even an inch yet. My green Cory is three inches and barely moves he’s pretty old. The Julie is maybe 1.5 inches. But ya this only started happening with the pandas added. Any help cuz I’m so lost. Thanksss


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Welcome to APC! 

The first thing I notice is that the tank is probably not big enough to house a 4.5 inch fish, especially not for one that likes to dash around the tank periodically. I suspect that is what is disturbing the plants and substrate. I once had a couple of Chinese algae eaters in a 125 gallon tank, and they caused a lot of damage when they decided it was time to set a new speed record. I would limit the fish sizes to about 2 inches maximum for that size tank. And, as you probably notice, I'm not a fan of Chinese algae eaters or Siamese flying fox.


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## Akashofficial (Feb 23, 2019)

hoppycalif said:


> Welcome to APC!
> 
> The first thing I notice is that tuhe tank is probably not big enough to house a 4.5 inch fish, especially not for one that likes to dash around the tank periodically. I suspect that is what is disturbing the plants and substrate. I once had a couple of Chinese algae eaters in a 125 gallon tank, and they caused a lot of damage when they decided it was time to set a new speed record. I would limit the fish sizes to about 2 inches maximum for that size tank. And, as you probably notice, I'm not a fan of Chinese algae eaters or Siamese flying fox.


Thanks man I appreciate it. I am looking into bigger tanks.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

In tanks with bottom dwellers, you'll need plants with big root systems like swords, crypt, etc.. Any stem plants will get uprooted. Maybe plants that can be tied to rocks or driftwood will work like Anubias, ferns.


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