Live Plants

[randymyr]

Currently I have a 30 gallon tank, which i'd love to put live plants in, but can't because i have a convict cichlid and they'll destroy/eat everything but java moss and java ferns, but i don't really like either one...

I have a 15 gallon tank on which I am going to put some German Blue Rams and some neon tetras in, i was wondering what kinds of plants would be good to put in, i'm looking for something with as little work as possible, if any.
This is my first time putting live plants in a tank and i want to start off really easy, so i'm open to suggestions and see what i think

 

[Colin_T]

if you have a light unit on the tank you can try Ambulia, Elodia, Hygrophilla sp, Ludwigia, Swordplants & Vallis.
They do best when given a bit of iron plant fertiliser as well as having about 10-12hours per day of light.

 

[randymyr]

if you have a light unit on the tank you can try Ambulia, Elodia, Hygrophilla sp, Ludwigia, Swordplants & Vallis.
They do best when given a bit of iron plant fertiliser as well as having about 10-12hours per day of light.

i like the Ambulia, is there any specific light that i need? and the 10-12 hours, can that be light from the bulb, or do they have to have sunlight. And do they NEED fertilizer?

 

[Colin_T]

Any aquarium light (fluoro globe) should be adequate as long as it has a temperature or Kelvin (K) rating between 5,000K & 10,000K.
Daylight globes are about 5,000K - 6,500K and can often be found at the local hardware store for a lot less than the LFS sells them for. Have a look around and see what is available. Most globes have the temperature stamped on one end of the globe and also on the box they are in.

If you have 2 lights then the plants will probably do better than just one light but stay with one light if finances are limited.
You can have the lights on for up to 16 hours per day. Start off with 10-12 hours per day and see how they do. If you get lots of algae growing then decrease the lighting period. If you don't get any algae then you can increase the photoperiod a bit.
When Ambulia has had enough light the top leaves close up. If you have the lights on for another hour after that then the plants should be getting sufficient light.

Plants don't need iron based plant fertilisers to survive but if you want them to grow well and flourish then it is advisable to add some on a regular basis. If they don't get any fertiliser they will still grow but usually very slowly.