Ok guys, I'm looking to play around with planting my 29 gallon tank when I get it set up at the end of the month. I need to know which plants you guys have had luck with your fish not completely eating down to nothing! So far, with the two plants I've put in the ten gallon (anacharis and an unknown) the goldfish ate them like mad for about a week, then slacked off and have not touched the new leaves in at least two weeks now, so I've got some hope I can have other plants too.

The new tank will have a 55w compact flourescent light, and a plant substrate topped with gravel. I tried asking on a plant forum if anyone knew some plants that would hold up to the goldies, and was told to get different fish /sigh.

What plants have worked well for you? Which did your fish think were the most appetizing things ever?

I didn't have any good luck in my goldie tank with
live plants,You can try philidorthan plant? they never
touched it ect ect.
But this is a house plant.Ummm java moss and java fern is
also good.

Please do NOT use the house plant philodendrom in your fish tank----That plant is considered a TOXIC plant..House plants shouldn't be used at all really-They only last for a short time,decompose,and mess up your tank... Java moss,Java ferns, onion plants,amazon swords,anubias etc. Try a few of those to start with.

Cryptocorynes are another good one that aren't high on the edibility scale, so I've heard -- I have some but my goldies are well behaved little guys and don't eat my plants (except for one anacharis I had) so I can't tell from personal experience.

Onion plant
Anubius
Lilly plant
and Whisteria

Thanks guys

i really like anacharis plants, my goldies don't seem to bother them enough to kill them

i have anacharis, wisteria, alligator weed, parrot feather
the wisteria isnt doing too good, maybe i dont have
enough light???
but the others grow and grow and grow

The only plant my goldies haven't ravaged to some degree is javafern.

Well, I currently have:

Wisteria (they harrassed this one the most b/c they found out they could uproot the cuttings /sigh)
Red Ludwigia (may not make it with my current lighting, but I plan to upgrade lighting soon)
Java Fern (completely ignored, they don't even look at it)
Compact Sword (ignored)
Madagascar Lace (only has a few leaves atm, but ignored thus far)
Crypt Wendtii (they bugged a couple leaves the first day, ignoring it now)

I know they would ignore anacharis (eventually at least) as I had that before in the ten gallon, but it's not one I really like the look of.

I'll probably pick up some more crypts, some java moss (once I get my driftwood), and some types of anubias once I have the money.

The wisteria is the only one of the ones I have tried so far that my two orandas have done any damage to, and that seemed to be mostly Shark Bait, who was very entertained by uprooting the cuttings every time I turned my back. Once they were uprooted, he ignored them. Almost like a little kid!

ive taken my wisteria out altogether
the kois keep eating the roots
and thus its unable to get established
my goldies have little interest in them too

None...I have 2 huge apple snails that will eat everything. I've had to switch to plastic...lol.

java moss, anacharis, and onion plant are what i have heard was beginner plants

We're probably going to try this!! I just cut most of the suggesations out and sent them hopme to my wife! We'll see what we can get down at the local aquaria store and go from there!

What "SPECIAL LIGHTING" (if any) do I need?? Maybe there is still more homework for me to do!!

Depends on your size tank and current lighting monty, plus which plants you want to try. What do you have now?

My madagascar lace is doing really well now btw. Fish still ignore it and its getting huge. 5 big leaves already compared to 3 very small ones a week ago.

You need full-spectrum light for growing plants. The amount of watts per gallon you will need depends on what you are interested in growing, as different plants need have different lighting needs. If you have 2.5 - 3 watts per gallon (this is moderate level light) you will be able to grow a large variety of plants. You don't need this much light to have a nicely planted tank, however, there are enough varieties that grow well in low light that you can have a well planted tank with less watts per gallon. You can look up information on specific plant's lighting and other needs on this website:

http://www.tropica.com/default.asp

After having my tank for several months, I've now learned the hard way that I will simply *need* live plants to keep my water clear enough so I can actually see my fish. Even changing 20% of the water every three days isn't doing much!

I've read in this and other threads about some good plants to go for with goldfish. But I wonder, if my local pet store's selection of plants is as poor as their selection of fish, are there any plants they are likely to carry that I should avoid because of toxicity to the fish in the event that they don't have the recommended ones?

I have four goldfish (three ryukin and one bubble eye) in a 55-gallon tank, soon to be also home to a bristlenose pleco which will hopefully eat up most of my brown algae. I am wanting to replace my fake plants with live ones to battle the green algae that appears to be growing in my water and preventing me from seeing my fishies so well. But the last thing I want is to hurt my fish! So if there are any plants that I may find in a pet store that would be toxic to goldies if eaten or otherwise, please let me know so I don't make a tragic mistake!

Thanks!!!

The most common fast growing plant in fish stores would be anacharis. It should be sold in bunches, just cuttings, you can let them float until they develop some roots, or just stick it into the gravel. Sometimes golds will eat anacharis, some won't. Be patient, usually the plant can grow fast enough to outpace the eating. My fish ate the anacharis for the first couple weeks, then stopped, same with wisteria.

Don't buy the following:
Mondo grass
Purple Waffle
Aluminum plant
Arrowhead
Brazilian Sword
Pinapple plant
Hedge
Scarlet Hygro
Sweetflag
Dragon Flame

They are non aquatic and often sold in pet shops as aquatic plants, particularly mondo grass, seems I see that in like 90% of shops.

Besides anacharis, look for hornwort, green hygro, wisteria, and water sprite, these grow fast, which is what you need to reduce algae (and clear your water). Plants that are NOT fast growing and will do little for water quality, but look pretty and are often goldfish safe (that is, not eaten quickly) are:
Compact sword
Amazon sword (may outgrow small tanks)
Anubias (most varieties)
Crypt (most varities)
Madagascar lace
Java Fern
Java Moss

The swords and lace plant need a fair bit of light to really do well, the others should be great with stock lighting.

in reguards to philodendron it is ok if only the roots are in the aquarium, but not the leafs. have a 30 gallon vivarium with newts and phildondron growing in the gravel(leaves and rhizome are above the water line) and havent had any problems with the newts getting sick or dying in several years.