Which plants best for 2g w/ betta???

Bitsy

Bitsy

Intelligent,Conservative,Beautiful
Dec 3, 2005
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Jenison, MI
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I will soon be setting up my little 2g and I would really like to use some live plants. I have no experience with using live plants, as I've always used the cheapo plastic ones in the past. Which plants would be good in there with a betta? And how many? Do they require a special subsrate or can I just use regular aquarium gravel? Do I put the plants in while it's cycling or wait until its completely cycled? Thank you for all the great advice I have gotten here and continue to get!!!! Elizabeth :bowing:
 
java fern, java moss, and anubias
you dont need a special substrate since none of these plants are heavy root feeders, just some flourish added every waterchange should be fine. id add the plants before the fish. set your tank up, fert the plants and let it be for about a wk or 2. then add the fish.

as far as how many, you can put as much as you want as long as the betta can still swim around.

Easy plants
 
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I am still working on the lighting issue, this is why I haven't set up the tank yet. I'm having a really hard time finding lighting/hood anything of the sort for my tank, it's a 2g hex. I'm thinking that I'm gonna have to get one of those clip on ones that Red Sea makes? How much light is required for the java moss and the java fern? thanks!!! :idea2:
 
I would aim for at least 1 wpg and no more than 2. That may be tricky as most flourescent bulbs are higher wattage. But a solution is to just setup a desklamp with a screw in flourescent bulb and suspend it over the tank (also try and use a timer so it turns itself on and off). If the lamp is suspended slightly high over the tank you can use a higher wattage bulb (10-15 watt) and not worry about having too much light.

Java moss is great. It takes awhiel to get going but can fill in nicely. My betta loves to swim into it and burrow. Very funny to watch.
 
Do not consider the WPG rule for a 2g tank. The rule breaks down for tanks below 20g for a couple of reasons. Most 2g tanks are still quite tall in comparison to their width and length, using a low wattage light may not penetrate deep enough. Low wattage bulbs do not give off enough energy to benefit most plants, so having a 8w or 10w bulb over a 2g tank is not overkill even if you're only planning to grow java moss&fern.
 
Home Depot has small (10-inch diameter) clamp-on lights. They are made of shiny aluminum. Not pretty, but effective over a hex. Otherwise, you might find a typical clamp-on light at Kmart or Target, etc.
 
Something like these might work. I've used similar in the past.

LD1170S1_0204.jpg

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S_5690_her1bu.jpg
 
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