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myrxn

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Hi guys, so I wanna know what you guys think some good plants would be for me? I want to get amazon frogbit, a small anubias berteri 'petite', java moss and some water wisteria but other than that I'm not sure, id like some colouration in plants too (red) but I want plants that need low c02 and low-medium light, so does anyone have any good ideas? thx everyone

 
In my twenty gallon (with no co2 and I think medium light) I have an Amazon sword, an anubias, and dwarf hair grass. Those are all nice. In my forty gallon I have a Java fern, an anubias, and some very happy vallisnaria. (I hope I spelled that right) I don’t know a lot about aquarium plants, and others will definitely give better answers, but these are work for my tanks. Good luck with your tank!
 
Anubias Nana (or petite) are easy to grow in low light but they grow very slowly.

Water wisteria will work if you have sufficient light or tank is not too deep. You may need root tabs for best results.

What are your tank dimensions?
 
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Hi guys, so I wanna know what you guys think some good plants would be for me? I want to get amazon frogbit, a small anubias berteri 'petite', java moss and some water wisteria but other than that I'm not sure, id like some colouration in plants too (red) but I want plants that need low c02 and low-medium light, so does anyone have any good ideas? thx everyone

Those are some solid starter plants. Low tech, low light.

for red colour in plants, I went with red ludwigia repens. They colour up nicely when they get high enough in the water columan. And I’ve trimmed them back 5 times already in a couple of months. I propagated 3 of them into another tank and I’ve discarded 5 good stems that could have otherwise turned into big plants.

Other members are going to have great suggestions, but this one has been by far my most successful plant, also one of the least expensive
 
I have anacharis in my tank along with some driftwood with anubias attached to it and also a anubias planted in the substrate. The anacharis has grown like crazy over the month I've had it. It was probably maybe 10 inches tall, and now it is over 2.5 foot tall. What's funny is that it's gotten so big that it is now acting as a surface plant. I dose the tank weekly with Leaf Zone and I think that has helped. I have 5-6 anacharis in there.
 
LIGHTING TIMES
Most aquarium plants like a bit of light and if you only have the light on for a couple of hours a day, they struggle. If the light doesn't have a high enough wattage they also struggle. Try having the tank lights on for 10-12 hours a day.

If you get lots of green algae then reduce the light by an hour a day and monitor the algae over the next 2 weeks.
If you don't get any green algae on the glass then increase the lighting period by an hour and monitor it.
If you get a small amount of algae then the lighting time is about right.

Some plants will close their leaves up when they have had sufficient light. Ambulia, Hygrophilas and a few others close their top set of leaves first, then the next set and so on down the stem. When you see this happening, wait an hour after the leaves have closed up against the stem and then turn lights off.

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LIST OF PLANTS TO TRY
Some good plants to try include Ambulia, Hygrophila polysperma, H. ruba/ rubra, Elodia (during summer, but don't buy it in winter because it falls apart), Hydrilla, common Amazon sword plant, narrow or twisted/ spiral Vallis, Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta).
The Water Sprite normally floats on the surface but can also be planted in the substrate. The other plants should be planted in the gravel.

Ambulia, Hygrophila polysperma, Elodia/ Hydrilla and Vallis are tall plants that do well along the back. Rotala macranda is a medium/ tallish red plant that usually does well.

Hygrophila ruba/ rubra is a medium height plant that looks good on the sides of the tank.

Cryptocorynes are small/ medium plants that are taller than pygmy chain swords but shorter than H. rubra. They also come in a range of colours, mostly different shades of green, brown or purplish red. Crypts like lots of fertiliser but don't like their roots disturbed.

Most Amazon sword plants can get pretty big and are usually kept in the middle of the tank as a show piece. There is an Ozelot sword plant that has brown spots on green leaves, and a red ruffle sword plant (name may vary depending on where you live) with deep red leaves.

There is a pygmy chain sword plant that is small and does well in the front of the tank.

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IRON BASED PLANT FERTILISER
If you add an iron based aquarium plant fertiliser, it will help most aquarium plants do well. The liquid iron based aquarium plant fertilisers tend to be better than the tablet forms, although you can push the tablets under the roots of plants and that works well.

You use an iron (Fe) test kit to monitor iron levels and keep them at 1mg/l (1ppm).

I used Sera Florena liquid plant fertiliser but there are other brands too.

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CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2)
You don't need CO2 unless the tank is full of plants and only has a few small fish in. There is plenty of CO2 in the average aquarium and it is produced by the fish and filter bacteria all day, every day. The plants also release CO2 at night when it is dark. And more CO2 gets into the tank from the atmosphere.

*NB* Don't use liquid CO2 supplements because they are made from toxic substances that harm fish, shrimp and snails.

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TURNING LIGHTS ON AND OFF
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

Try to have the lights on at the same time each day.
 

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