Recommend Me A Plant?

Erisna

New Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2012
Messages
42
Reaction score
0
Hi all, first post in the Planted section! :good:

I recently rescaped my Betta's 2.5 gallon tank, and I was wondering if there is any sort of live plant that would be OK in my tiny low light/low tech setup, and look similar to the silk plants I already have in there? The only plants at the moment are a spare bit of water wisteria (Not really rooted, varies between floating around and being randomly shoved somewhere in the tank :rolleyes:) and a moss ball, and I've got willow moss on the way to put on the mopani wood. Also thinking about attaching a Java Fern to the wood near the back. The tank normally has a small filter, but I'm modifying it so it's out at the moment- should be replaced tomorrow.

Steelrescape.jpg


Thanks for any input!
 
Does it have a light on it?
Java fern and moss, and possibly anubias (anubias only if you have a light)

Is there a heater in that tank?

Are you keeping the sponges moist and with a source of ammonia and with flow? if not the bacteria will have died, resulting in a mini cycle of the tank when you put the filter back in. This will harm or possibly kill your betta. Even more worrying is the fact that theres no filter to process the ammonia thats building up. Any quantity of ammonia is potentially lethal, so until you can get some mature filter media, you'll have to do 50% water changes every day, to avoid lethal amounts of ammonia building up.
 
Does it have a light on it?
Java fern and moss, and possibly anubias (anubias only if you have a light)

Is there a heater in that tank?

Are you keeping the sponges moist and with a source of ammonia and with flow? if not the bacteria will have died, resulting in a mini cycle of the tank when you put the filter back in. This will harm or possibly kill your betta. Even more worrying is the fact that theres no filter to process the ammonia thats building up. Any quantity of ammonia is potentially lethal, so until you can get some mature filter media, you'll have to do 50% water changes every day, to avoid lethal amounts of ammonia building up.

No light, but the tank's in the kitchen and gets indirect light most of the day. The water wisteria is doing fine- not shriveling or going pale or anything. SG's anubias plant is also doing great.

No heater at the moment, but tank hovers around 76-78 degrees. Heater will be reinstalled when winter hits- it was just getting too hot during the summertime. I only have the small ZooMed heater with no thermostat, the kind that just raises the temperature a few degrees above ambient.

I messed up with the filter bacteria, I know that, but it was only a week or so old anyways- I had them moist in the tank, but they started dying due to lack of flow and caused a huge ammonia spike. (Next time I do something like this I'll shove the media cartridge into my 5 gal's filter, which is cycled...) So now I'm just restarting the cycle- like I said, it was only a week or so old, so no great loss cycle-wise.

Yes, I know how toxic ammonia is... The water in my small containers (SG's and Steel's) gets 100% changed every 3-4 days, more if I notice they're acting poorly, which is rare. They both have a few live plants in their tanks, and there's never any extra food adding ammonia. (Believe me, those pigs miss nothing! :rolleyes:) I actually changed Steel's this morning, since there was a huge spike yesterday I tested it this morning and got a faint reading (API liquid kit) so I changed about 80% and vacuumed the new gravel really well in case there was icky stuff stuck in it.
 
Do you know how to do a fish in cycle? if not have a look at the Beginners Resource Centre for information on how to do a fishless cycle :good:

Yes, I know how to do a fish-in cycle. Lots and lots of large daily water changes (not so hard for such a small tank) and keeping a close eye on the fish. Right now, though, I'm considering another option... Could I just chuck the small cartridge into my cycled filter, leave it for a month or so, then put it in the small tank? Doing the necessary non-filtered water changes isn't an issue, I do them now anyways...

One last thing. While I really appreciate your concern for Steel's health, none of this relates to the question I came here to ask. I know the filter situation isn't ideal. I do my best to keep Steel healthy and his water pristine, and I'm working towards improving it every chance I get. I believe I have it under control for now. What I was asking for was specific- what small low light plants look similar to my silk plants? And that question was never answered. I'm honestly not trying to be rude but I don't know how else to say what I mean. I came here for advice on plants, not on maintaining my betta's water quality. There's already plenty of information out there on that.
 
I dont think there is a plant that looks like silk plants, as i think silk plants look disgusting compared to any plant. But i did say Java ferns, anubias and moss in my first post. I'm not a mind reader and don't know that you know all of this. Better safe than sorry :nod:
 
Check out Java fern and Amazon sword plants - They look similar to your silk plant.

IMO
 
The majority of silk plants are made to replicate real plants. It looks to me like what you've got there is meant to be Amazon Sword which may do fine in your tank. That's the thing with all plants really is it just comes down to testing it out! The other one, which has already been mentioned is Java Ferm and your betta would appreicate having a rest on either of them :)

If you want some plants that don't grow as tall there are several varieties of cryptocoryne that have broad leaves and would look nice in the foreground of your tank. Good luck!
 
I dont think there is a plant that looks like silk plants, as i think silk plants look disgusting compared to any plant. But i did say Java ferns, anubias and moss in my first post. I'm not a mind reader and don't know that you know all of this. Better safe than sorry :nod:

I know you're not a mind reader, and I'm sorry I wrote that so harshly- it was a long day yesterday and I had to watch my nieces and nephews, and I was tired and a bit irritated. I was really just trying to steer the conversation back on track. :unsure: And I agree with you on silk plants not looking great, but you do the best with what you have! :lol:

The majority of silk plants are made to replicate real plants. It looks to me like what you've got there is meant to be Amazon Sword which may do fine in your tank. That's the thing with all plants really is it just comes down to testing it out! The other one, which has already been mentioned is Java Ferm and your betta would appreicate having a rest on either of them

If you want some plants that don't grow as tall there are several varieties of cryptocoryne that have broad leaves and would look nice in the foreground of your tank. Good luck!

I like the look of the swords, but wouldn't they outgrow a 2.5 gallon? I've heard of their roots splitting a 10 gallon tank, I'd hate to see what they'd do to mine :crazy:

There are some nice crypts on Bob's Tropical Plants... I'll have a look at them. :good:
 
Crypts would do well.

On another note - where did you get that cool ornament on the left hand side from? I want it! :)
 
Crypts would do well.

On another note - where did you get that cool ornament on the left hand side from? I want it! :)

I'll give them a try then!

The lantern ornament I got from Petsmart- Steel loves to sleep in it. :)
 
Oh no, was hoping you'd be from the UK. We don't have petsmart and I have been looking for similar in our equivalent store and other places but can't find it. Must be so cute to watch when he tucks himself in.

Crypts are definitely going to do well in low light and he will enjoy the live plant(s).
 

Most reactions

Back
Top