Betta plants

[ChilDawg]

For Patriot, I use bottled Spring Water and keep him in the 2-1/2 gallon tank, but I was wondering if there were any plants that would be okay for such a tank...one with a little bit of nutrients but I want plants that wouldn't require supplemental feeding and would be okay with low light...ones that can be commonly found, and ones that won't outgrow that tank.

TIA,

Matthew

[ChilDawg]

Yeah, I forgot to mention that I'll be keeping the temp around 76*F, so plants that can tolerate that well would be nice.

They also have to be hardy enough to tolerate a move home in the winter and one back to school in the winter.

Have I demanded too much from them yet?

[Starry]

How come you're using spring water? As far as plants go, they would like more nutrients, some of which will be present in tap water, but most likely not in spring water. This would be ideal for you since you don't want to fertilize (which is ok for such a modest objective).

As for plants, Java fern will do fine, but you may not think it's particularly attractive.

If the tank gets sunlight or possibly its own lighted canopy, then Hornwort will be good, and it looks pretty. It's a floating plant though, so don't bother trying to anchor it.

Egeria/Anacharis/Elodea is also an option. It may grow thin or weak in low light, but it's really cheap, so worth a try.

Hygrophila difformis (water wisteria) will grow as well, as long as it gets some sunlight or supplemental light.

All of these plants are undemanding, cheap and readily available. You won't need extra fertilization or CO2. Stock up and see which ones end up doing well.

As for moving, they will be fine. I move my planted 10-gal between school and home, and the plants don't seem to mind, as long as they get plenty of CO2.

[anonapersona]

I can suggest ambulia, it will grow Ok and when it gets to the surface it will grow a lot.

Of course, there's anubias nana, which is not to be planted in the gravel but tied to a rock or bit of wood. Very easy to move that way.

Java moss will grow on a rock or wood or on the gravel, sort of hard to discipline though, it just goes everywhere, messy, IMO. But, for the same reason, easy to transport a bit.

All the floating plants are easy to move.

[RTR]

Errr, umm - some of us grow our Anubias nana entirely substrate planted (rhizome exposed, but roots in enriched substrates), all but never on wood. Some of us even grow Java fern on substrate, but that is of no particular benefit to the Java Fern, unlike the case with A. nana.

[anonapersona]

OK, I wasn't perfectly clear, I'll amend that to anubias and java fern on but not in gravel.... better?

[ChilDawg]

I'll probably switch to a mix of spring and tap water...

I'd have to dechlorinate it, and make sure that the rumoured endemic to Bloomington bug isn't really existant...but I suppose that it'll be worth it. (That bug is the reason that I've been using Spring Water...when I...eek...fishy-cycled the 10g tank last year, I used...eek...distilled water...) I'm going to get some dechlorinator (no stress coat) at Wally World, and probably move Patriot to a 5g and put a pair of platies in the 2.5 with a little floating plant and Patriot with some Hornwort or something similar in the 5.

I am going to be running some tests on Bloomington water in the next few days to set parameters for the plants!