Plants That Don't Require Much Care

[Kaws]

I recently acquired a 25g fish tank. I originally was just going to let it cycle for around one and a half months then add plants and fish. Then I found out that I shouldn't cycle if I'm going to have live plants, I also found out that live plants require a lot of work and care. So I was wondering if there are any plants that don't require CO2, special lighting, and a lot of work.
Any suggestions?

 

[Truck]

There are loads of plants, If you want plants then a fish in cycle will work best.

Get the tank running, cram it with plants and I mean loads, so it looks like a jungle and not a desert, Microsorum, crypts, anubias and vallis would all be suitable.

once the plants have been added, leave them, a week, and dosing easy carbo and TPN+ will help a lot, also how much light is over the tank? (watts and type of tube?)

Once the plants have been in a week add the fish and then do 50% water changes every few days, the plants will utilize some of the ammonia and use it as a nitrogen source, same with nitrite and nitrate.

 

[Kaws]

It's a 20w fluorescent lamp, the brand is All Glass Aquarium. And it says preheat on it also, I don't know if that's important.

edit:
Since I don't have much money right now, would it be okay if I just buy/add plants slowly? And instead of fish I would use flakes as a source of ammonia. Does this sound good ?

 

[Tu13es]

If you're not planning on adding fish for a while, then it's no problem that you don't stock it heavily with plants. You just want to make sure that the plants have enough ammonia/nitrites/nitrates to absorb, otherwise you'll likely start seeing algae.

As for low-tech plants, java fern and java moss are generally the first two I recommend. I can't seem to kill either of them (in a good way). Anubias and crypts are good too, as truck recommended. I had some issues growing vallisneria in my tank before I upgraded the light, though.

Once you know what plants your tank can handle, the only care they require is a little trimming every now and then.

Some LFSs sell plants, but please do be careful at places like Petsmart. They sell "Aquatic Plants" that really aren't meant to be aquatic. I've bought plants locally but have had much better experiences buying from people on forums. Better prices, selection, value, etc. If you want some good forums to buy from, feel free to PM me.

 

[fishyfeet]

have you tried the for sale section (PLANTS) lots of memebers have spare plants for a fraction of the cost, di