The Puffer Forum

I see the phrase 'well-planted' thrown around in forums and articles on fish care. I use it myself and have no concrete way to describe this subjective term.

Someone needs to define what that actually means, as I see photos of all ranges of plant densities in tanks described as 'well-planted' o.O

I used to describe our puffer tank as well planted, but it may just be a little jungle with out-of-control plants.

IS there a measure, somewhere, of plant density that qualifies as well-planted? Is this just an empty subjective term people use to describe a tank with several plants in it?

Does a specific number of plants per gallon qualify something to be well-planted? Our tank has 10 clumps of plants (we are too nooby to separate things, we just plop bunches of plants in) in it, and it is a 20 gallon. A 1:2 ratio of plants to gallons?

Can we create a Puffer Forum definition so we all have an idea of well-planted?

TOPuffers wrote:I see the phrase 'well-planted' thrown around in forums and articles on fish care. I use it myself and have no concrete way to describe this subjective term.

Someone needs to define what that actually means, as I see photos of all ranges of plant densities in tanks described as 'well-planted' o.O

I used to describe our puffer tank as well planted, but it may just be a little jungle with out-of-control plants.

IS there a measure, somewhere, of plant density that qualifies as well-planted? Is this just an empty subjective term people use to describe a tank with several plants in it?

Does a specific number of plants per gallon qualify something to be well-planted? Our tank has 10 clumps of plants (we are too nooby to separate things, we just plop bunches of plants in) in it, and it is a 20 gallon. A 1:2 ratio of plants to gallons?

Can we create a Puffer Forum definition so we all have an idea of well-planted?

There is a term 'heavily planted' and it is pretty much accepted that the term refers to around 70% of the substrate being planted. In theory this makes sense but there are so many variables involved that any specific number of plants or substrate densities is meaningless.

Firstly you have epiphyte and floating plants that aren't planted in the substrate but above it.
Secondly you have some tanks where the entire substrate is planted but the plants in them are kept so well groomed that the entire mass would be equivalent to a couple of large Amazon Swords.

I said earlier that the figure of a 70% substrate density is meaningless but it may not be entirely meaningless if we were to visualise what a 70% planted tank might look like and apply it to suit our own layouts in a constructive way.

'Well planted' would mean entirely different things to different people with some basing the term on aesthetics, others on how it would suit a 'biotope' project and others on high and low level planting that allows different fish to establish territories and to break-up 'lines of sight'.

Sorry, I meant to also say that I like the look of your tank and for a Dwarf Puffer tank it is 'well planted'

Agreed. Highly subjective. My current planted tank is "heavily-planted" but, as I have sadly neglected it, it is not "well-planted". It is a jungle. But the snails don't complain...

some day i'll get around to correcting that situation...some day....