Low Light Plants

[erin14]

What are some good low light plants??? I did a search of forums but didn't really find anything helpful. Right now in my 50g. planted i have java fern, 2 kinds of crypts (i totally lost the tags that said what they were! :wall one other plant i'm not sure of (again, lost the tag) a narrow leaf sword, some kind of grass (not hairgrass), a banana plant and two other plants that i don't think are truly aquatic but have not rotted or died yet either and they've been in there about...3 months? Its weird how I can remember the names of SOOO many fish but can't remember the names of a few plants. The bulb that i have right now is a 25w bulb which i know is really low watts but i can't find any 30" bulbs around here. They're all either 26",28", 32" and bigger but no 30" bulbs. So when I found a 30" one i had to get it because who knows when i'd be able to find another one. All the plants seem to be growing well though, especially the crypts! Its amazing. I also use flourish and flourish excel every so often which seems to help a bit. I've seen mini chain swords (i think thats what they're called) in one of my LFS here but i'm not sure how it would grow. Basically, what are some good low light plants that are usually pretty easy to find. There are no Petcos or PetSmarts in my city, only locally owned LFS and I don't have the time to drive 2 hours to get to a Petco/smart. I can take some pictures of the plants I have and then someone can identify them fully for me. I'll post some in a bit but i have to go take some first. The other thing I was going to add was I'm sure someone will just tell me to go out and buy a new canopy or something but my tank is an old tank (got it from my uncle, hes had it since I can remember, its probably 10+ years old) and it has different dimensions then most new 50g. so finding a hood for it is next to impossible, trust me, i've tried.

 

[erin14]

Okay here are some pictures of the plants I currently have. Like I said before they're all growing surprisingly well considering the light situation. The first 2 are the 2 that aren't truly aquatic but not rotting either. I forgot to take a pic of the Banana Plant but its doing ok and I know what it is so that doesn't matter. I just wanna know what the others are.

Haha oh yeah, the last picture is of my bad cat sitting on top of the shubunkin tank, doing exactly what shes not supposed to be doing. I just thought it was a cute picture. But, she did get in trouble right after I took that.

 

[Hooked Newbie]

I'm plant name challeged too. All my tanks so far are low light (starting up a new 55 with 5+ WPG) and I've found that of the names I can remember Wisteria, Sprite, Java Moss, Java Fern, and anacharis do the best. I don't know the name of the others, but the tank below is under just less than 1 WPG and the grass stuff grows like crazy.

 

[snickle]

Mgamer2000 normally has a bunch of low light plants to sell, good place to look for a list of low light plants.

All the ones you list do well in low light, truthfully a lot of plants will. Just do not expect fast growth.

Bacopas, Hygrophilias, are amon gthe ones that tend to do fine.

 

[MadREEFer]

Your Anubias are poss. Barterii varietals. Does that sound familiar at all. My friend has my book right now, but when I get it back I'll look into it a little more for you. So you are at .5 watts per gallon if I read correctly?? Let me know if this is right and I'll look into other plant choices. I am not sure about the Hygros, I have read mixed things on them as far as light goes...but with CO2 and appropriate fertilization you may be able to get away with it. I have 5+ watts per gallon so I like HIGH light plants mainly. I would def. keep an eye on the narrow leaf sword, I really don't think the light will be enough.for any swords...does it still look ok and how long have you had it for? Who knows though, I have been keeping salt reef tanks for 15+ years and every time I think I finally got something figured out concretely I get thrown a curve ball. But that's half the fun, right?? Unfortunately, I think the other half is often times frustration!? :grinyes:


--Tim

Duh, Crypts, crypts and more crypts....how did I just think of this?! Many diff. types, all will do well under low light, reasonably priced, and are good size plants for 50gallon tank too. I could give you more specifics on individual types if you like...let me know.

 

[MadREEFer]

Sorry, just went back and read your initial post again, are you sure the pic. with the Tiger Barbs in it is not Anubias of some kind or is this one of the crypts...like I said no book right now, would be really helpful (darn friends:grinyes. I am almost positive that the first fern looking plant is a bog plant, you were right..not true aquatic. I am 98% positive it is called Trichomanes Javanicum. Not sure too much else about this one but I think it is closely related to ferns if not one??....again with the book thing. From what I know of bog plants the roots are capable of being submerged permanently but the leaves need to be above the water or they will eventually rot. In general these plants are intended for use in Terrarium/Vivarium setups. They are commonly sold as aquatic plants by stores which is really not correct. Hope this helped.

--Tim

 

[danbryans]

hey erin14.. I'd suggest you remove those non-aquatics. They will eventually rot and cause you problems. Your grass looks like mondo grass to me. It is also not aquatic. The plant in the pic with the tiger's does look like an anubias of some type. Not really sure which one though.

 

[MadREEFer]

I'm almost positive that is Anubias Barterii, probably v. Gigantea or v. Gilletti. I will verify when I get my book back. I know there is a hard to find Crypt that gets long stems like that too,I know it is not in my book and I couldn't find anything online, so?? Erin14, do you know if that is one of the crypts or the mystery plant?? I think knowing that could help end the debate.... I think danbryans is right on the Mondo Grass too, sorry. Nice catch though!!:idea: Unfort. I would agree with nixing the non-aquatics, you'll be happy in the end.

--Tim

Since we're talking about it again, get more crypts for that size and lighted tank...they are perfect. Spiralis are awesome, Red and Bronze Wendtii for color and I really like Walkeri for nice bright green and Lutea's get nice and big with nice bronze/dark green color. There are a lot more variations but this is off the top of my head and these are also fairly easy to find. Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[irishspy]

Take a look at this list. They're a respected vendor of plants, but I don't know if they can ship to Canada. But, it should give you a good list of low-light plants to get started with. Also, Mgamer here on AC deals in low-light plants.

As for the cat, she has that perfect "Curses, caught again" look. Cats have amazing glares.

 

[MadREEFer]

Nice!! I too have heard good things about this seller, seems very honest and reputable from the word on the electronic streets. That "hard to kill" package would be perrrrrrfect for you (sorry, couldn't help it with all the cat talk:grinyes. Seriously, great heads up irishspy!!!