Utter Plant n00b...

Hello.

I had a plant years ago in a 20 gallon community tank. It died a miserable death, like many plants I tried to keep in my tanks as a kid, so I stopped keeping live plants and never bothered again.

But since I've been lurking around here and seeing all these beautiful waterscapes, I'm tempted to give live ones a try again. The only tank I have that would support them right now would be my 10-gallon set up (see my sig). I have no interest in growing java moss.

What do you suggest as good beginner plants that don't need a lot of maintenance? Temp stays around 80-84 F, pH is 7.8-8.0, and I couldn't tell you if the water is hard or soft.

Lighting: Basic hood setup from Wal-Mart with the fluorescents it came with. Sorry, I don't have any more depthful information than that. It's really bright, though.

Substrate: Its a mixed gravel from one of my aunt's old aquariums... 90% could be described as a fine gravel or a very coarse sand mix. The other 10% is some metallic turqois gravel my cousin dumped in the tank from his little hexagon that was never sorted out of it. Depth of about an inch and a half, I'd say.

Fish: 1 Cory, though I intend to get her an albino boyfriend and then add 4 reticulated cories and perhaps some Kerri Tetras... which also means I'll be softening the water down to about 7.4-7.6 or so.

skeletonhand said:

Java ferns, Anacharis, Anubius nana, and crypts. They are easy to grow and need relatively low light. Should grow well in a 10 gallon, even with 15 watt full spectrum light.

Click to expand...

Hate to be thick-headed... but perhaps suggestions could be accompanied with photographs or growth stats? Not that I don't mind doing some research... but I have to admit I'm still very doubtful of growing and maintaining my own live plants and I'd love to have something to reference.

Helps to get me motivated, if that makes any sense.

Hmmm... I guess I should start asking around and see if anyone has any spare plants around the Forums, eh?

I never thought I'd get excited about the possibility of having live plants...

Is it better to buy from private owners or to buy from pet stores? I don't want any diseases in my plants. Any advice?