Plant Ideas..

[Glod]

Hi folks,

I just changed my Betta's 10g over to a sand substrate with some TetraPlant substrate underneath in the hopes of getting some plants to grow happily in there. This is very much my first attempt to get the plants to actually grow instead of exist. The tank is an Uno 500 with a single 15w sun-glo lamp, so the light is pretty low. The plants I have in there at the moment are some Java Fern, a small Amazon Sword and something called Samolus Valerandi which some internet browsing has informed me is not easy to keep

The tank is only 12 inches tall, so maybe 9 inches of water between substrate and the surface, I'm looking for plants that are appropriate to the lighting conditions that exist in the tank (i.e. low - very low). The water sits around PH 6.5. I don't have tests for general hardness / kh so can't supply those but the water is pretty soft in this area.

Ideally I'm looking for a few bushy plants to go along the back in place of the sword which will get too big ( I can move it to my community tank) and some other plants to spread around and break up the monotony. Preferably ones that will either max out at about 9", 6" and maybe 2-3" for some foreground types.

Hopefully with your help I can go to my LFS to get plants armed with knowledge instead of relying on the staff to make it up as they go along.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Glod.

 

[George Farmer]

Hygrophila polysperma, Limnophila sessisflora and Ceratophyllm spp. (hornwort) may do ok in your light. Add a reflector to improve intensity. They are all fast growers and would provide a secure environment for your Betta. The hornwort can float too.

If the tube is old (>12 months) then changing it to a full-spectrum i.e. Interpet Daylight Plus or Triplus would help further.

 

[Glod]

Hygrophila polysperma, Limnophila sessisflora and Ceratophyllm spp. (hornwort) may do ok in your light. Add a reflector to improve intensity. They are all fast growers and would provide a secure environment for your Betta. The hornwort can float too.

If the tube is old (>12 months) then changing it to a full-spectrum i.e. Interpet Daylight Plus or Triplus would help further.

Thanks George, now I have an idea of what to look out for when I go. I take it that these plants won't mind if I pinch the top out to stop them growing when they reach the height I want ? Having something reach the surface might be handy too, since he likes something to anchor his bubble-nests to I'll go and look up pics of those plants so I know what I am looking for in the random plant pile that is my lfs's plant section.

There is a white plastic reflector built into the hood above the bulb, should I change that to something else ? Age wise the bulb is still pretty much new (< 3 months) but I would consider changing it if it will help. I'm not ready to go the whole hog yet as far as lots of lighting and co2 with daily fert doses goes, but every little helps Should I add root tabs to any of those plants ? Or will they be fine with the tetra substrate ?

 

[George Farmer]

Pinching tops off is fine. Or cut off and re-plant cuttings.

Polished aluminium reflectors are better, Juwel or Arcadia.

Tetra substrate will be fine.

 

[Glod]

Ok, I picked up some plants at the lfs, and an arcadia reflector.. and a daylight bulb. I've pretty much decided the big sword in my tank is relocating to the 300l tank downstairs, the swords in there are doing pretty well I'll leave the small one in for now to see how it goes.
Got the new plants in a bucket at the moment to quarrantine them and check for snails. Fingers crossed the plants will survive