I need some invincible plants....

[ryan]

Im tired of tacky plastic plants in my 10g and 20Lg. however i am in no way interested in doing CO2, uv sterilization, yeast........in fact i dont even know what any of things are as they pertain to aquariums. the 10 gallon has an eclipse hood with the bulb that came in it. the 20L has a perfecto hood with the tube that came in it. the only suggestions i've gotten are anacharis and hornwort, but i dont even know if those'd work (i have come to terms with my plant ignorance). of those two i kinda like hornwort, but whenever i deal with the stuff it looses all the needles, causeing massive nitrate surges and clogged filters.....yea i suck with the vegatation. any suggestions would be greatly appriciated.

ryan

:edit: i dont know if any of this matters, but heres some tank specs

10:
standard gravel substrate (aprox.) 3/16in - 1/4in pebbles
neutral pH
powerhead & sponge
filter in hood of the eclipse hood (thing's like a river)
unheated, temp stable at low 70s
blue crayfish and 3 white cloud minnows and 2 ramshorn snails

20L:
same gravel as above
neutral pH
penguin 170 and fluval 2 plus (not quite as much of a river)
100 watt heater with temp at 76.
6 corys, 6 tiger barbs, and two 1 inch jewels (not perminent stocking)

 

[TKOS]

If you can get some flourescent light (I don't know if your hood has it or not) then I have had awsome luck with water sprite and regular epoxy coated gravel. The stuf grows if it is stuck into the gravel or if it is floating and has nice big leaves. I put a capful of plant food in once a week and it is great.

 

[ryan]

both have tanks flouresent lighting, although im at a loss for wattage. i'll look up some info on the plants you suggested. will they root in regular gravel like mine?

ryan

 

[TKOS]

Yeah, water sprite doesn't need to really root. It makes some small runners but gets most of its nutrients from the big leaves. Plus you can just cut off some of the bigger leaves and it will grow new plants. After a few months I have almost double the plants I started with. And the light doesn't have to be too high, 1.5 watts per gallon or so will be fine.

 

[Starry]

Originally posted by TKOS
I put a capful of plant food in once a week and it is great.

Careful with that Ryan, don't go nuts. A capful in how much water? In fact, I wouldn't recommend fertilizers at all, since you're trying to avoid learning anything.

As for plants, hornwort needs quite a bit of light. If your tank gets sunlight it might live. Don't count on it. It's such a mess when the leaves die. In additions to the other suggestions, look for Hygrophila difformis (sometimes called water wisteria as well, it has lacey-looking leaves - see attached pic). Also try Java fern, very easy.

aside: I can't believe the limit on the file sizes! I must have resized, cropped and decreased compression factor a million times!

 

[ryan]

Originally posted by Starry


In fact, I wouldn't recommend fertilizers at all, since you're trying to avoid learning anything.

i prefer to think of it as keeping things simple.....but yea, very true statement . thanks again for the help

ryan

 

[TKOS]

I put a "capful" in 10 gallons of water as per the instructions on the small bottle of fertilizer I bought when I do my once a week water change. Mostly it is just a source of iron for the plants that helps them out a bit.

But I am sure that things like water sprite and java fern will probably grow okay without it. They definatly don't seem to need added CO2 or very high light levels.

 

[OrionGirl]

For low light tanks, I am a huge fan of crypts, anubias (nana, barteri, a few other species), african fern, java fern and java moss.

I woldn't try to put many plants in with the crayfish. They tend to be lawn mowers, and will tear up most anything you get. If you have a rock pile, or driftwood that the crayfish doesn't get on, then you have some choices, but I would avoid the stem plants. Try the anubias, african fern, or the java moss. All of these plants grow attached to either rock or wood, so you'll need to secure it with either cotton thread, or rubber bands (loosely bound, you don't want it cutting into the plants flesh).

For the 20, you can try crypts (cryptocornes--many species to choose from, with different shaped leaves and sublte color variations), as well as any of the other plants I listed. They won't grow quickly in low light, but they will grow, and they will benefit your tank in more than just appearance.

*For getting pics to size, I've found that if you reduce the DPI to about 50-65, you can have a 4X6 image with decent clarity that will be within the size limitations.*

 

[ryan]

thanks oriongirl, now all i have to do is cruise the lfs's and see whats around.

ryan