Need help with plants!

cichlidcichlid said:

I do not keep my light on in my tank because I use natural sun light (NOT DIRECT). There is one plant that is in there right now that I got from a friend and do not know what kind it is, but it is growing. I was wondering if I would be able to get some more plants without turning my light on if possible.

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There is no way of telling without knowing how much light you (or the sun) are supplying. Using sunlight to illuminate the tank is not the best way to go for any tank. It is uncontrolled light, subject to change as the seasons change, and in many cases cause for algae issues.

cichlidcichlid said:

Also on a different note I have brown algae in my tank and I was thinking that maybe because my light has never been on that the low light conditions encouraged it to grow. Is this true?

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My guess it that your tank has not been up and running very long. If so, the brown algae is probably diatoms. This is a soft, brown algae that is found coating glass and other surfaces in immature tanks. It is quite common and will go away as the tank matures and grows a bio-colony. In the meantime your options are clean up before water changes and Oto's love the stuff and will do a nice job on cleaning it up for you.
I'd advise using the light that you have over the tank. It will give you a more controlled environment and a more consistent lighting.

Len

otos do love brown algae, but NEVER added them to an uncycled tank. they are very fragile and need to be added to an established, healthy tank with plenty of brown algae for them to eat. many of them are half starved at the pet store and they can be picky when first added to your tank. they eventually will eat blanched veggies, but probably not at first, so make sure you have plenty of algae growing in the tank for them.

the snails are probably there and you just can't see them ...

They will die off when the food source gets low but I doubt you've completely decimated them as they are very hard to kill off =P