Recommend a beginner plant and how to root?

[bimmerboy]

I just put my Betta in a 2.5 gallon tank with no filter. So I'd like to add an aquatic plant to help with removing toxins along with 50% water changes.

But which plant grows well with low light? I'd also like one that is easy to keep.

Also, how do I plant it exactly? My first attempt with plants was not so good. I bought some really nice and expensive plants that eventually died. I think it was partially a lack of light and also the fact that I left them in the little plastic pots they sell them in at Petsmart. Do I take the pot off? How about the "filter floss" that the seem to use as a substrate in these little pots?

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[luxum]

Try java fern and/or anubias nana. Both are tough and grow in very low light situations. I remove all potted plants from the pots and remove the rockwool media as well, it gets messy if you leave it in. Both of these plants do well with the roots buried in the gravel but the rhizome has to be above the gravel, not buried, or it will rot. The rhizome is the horizontal stem that the leaves emerge from. You can also mount either of these to driftwood with fishing line or rubber bands, although the java fern will adapt to this easier than the anubias which does best when its roots are in the substrate. The java fern seems to grow well either way.

By the way, low light plants won't do much for removing nitrates, they will, but not a whole lot. They will provide a place for the betta to rest though, and the presence of plants seems to soothe fish that are native to waters with vegetation like the betta.