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I have decided to try my hand at putting LIVE plants in an aquarium. This is the first time I will attempt to do so. I have decided to start off with a small 5 gallon tank. I know it would be easier to try it with a bigger tank (the bigger the tank, the easier to maintain), but the small 5 gallon is the only thing I have to work with. I dare not experiment with my established 29 gallon. I was fortunate enough to run by Franks reply to another similar post, but I had some more questions. What plants would you recomend for a beginer? I have an 8 watt fluorresent lamp, so that is about 1.6 watts per gallon. I was also wondering about what fish I can srock in such a small tank. I was considering a small school of neon or cardinal tetra. What elso would you recomend? Thanks!

Fish CAN fly!

Java Fern and Java Moss for plants or small Anubias. Any thing you do for plants should be as small as can be to make the tank look bigger. I would go with a single male betta for a fish. Keep it simple.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Hi,

Any members of the tetra family you could put in there, or guppies would love a planted tank. There are a few smaller fish that you would be able to use live mollies, platys and that kind of thing.

A planted (live) tank is really no different from other tanks just make sure the light is a grow light and you remember to use a fish safe fertilizer and all will be fine.

Trace

thestooge,

Good luck with this tank

I can see that you are aware that by selecting a small tank it is not going to be easy. Any medium sized plant (for example Java Fern when younger) will look large and fill the tank in no time. If you can get your hands on Anubias Nana Petite then you would have a plant for your light that doesn't grow big at all.

I don't know if you have seen the thread here where we talked about wpg and tank size. Anyway, don't be fooled by having 1.6wpg on this tank, it is way low light. No plant that requires medium light will survive in it in the long run.

And if it doesn't work out as you expected then don't give up, you are taking on a task that is much harder then if you would plant your 29G.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Fish...a male or female betta would be nice, if there's a good selection in your area choose a favorite color

Two or three sparkling gouramis are another option, although some people are mention difficulties finding them both locally and online.

And my person favorite choice for a small planted tank: a pair of cherry barbs. They do well in pairs and while the female isn't as colorful as the male they both look fantastic amongst plants.

I am not a plant expert, but I do have 3 fully planted tanks. I don't recommend this as the way to go but when I researched plants-books, websites-the only ones that made my definitely no list were those that required very bright or bright light

My 30g has some small pieces of driftwood with Java fern attached; the rest of the tank is planted with Anubias. I have no idea what the wpg in that tank is

My 20l is the first tank I planted from scratch, the others were all conversions. Again I have wood with Java fern, corkscrew vals, a big variety of crypts, and an Aponogeton boivinianus that I grew from a bulb. 1 wpg on this tank.

And then there's my 5g Mini-bow. I took a quick pic so you can get an idea of my setup. I have a betta in the tank, along with 1 oto. Otos like company but this guy was the sole-survivor from another tank; he and the betta take turns chasing each other I also have mts in the tank, that's what you can see at the top left waterline.

On the right is a piece of lava rock I bought a couple years ago and was my first attempt at attaching plants. It's now covered with Java fern and Java moss. The rest of the tank is planted with a variety of crypts.

The kicker with this tank: it's incandescent lighting, which is essentially a no-no for planted tanks.

I definitely don't have the beautiful, underwater gardens that many members here do. But I think I'm doing well for somewhat a beginner in planted tanks, and I'm happy with what I've done. I think you've gotten some good suggestions with these replies in regards to plant selection. You could also check online plant stores-many offer low-light pacakges-to get more ideas. Just don't be afraid to try

I almost forgot...my 20l and the 5g have a Flourite and gravel mix substrate. I personally recommend Flourite for planted tanks but it's somewhat expensive and sold in 15lb bags. I also use Flourish excel twice weekly.



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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

For a 5g...java fern, java moss, corkscrew val, dwarf sag are your best options.

My 5g Minibow has some stem plant cuttings from my other tanks, but they really grow too tall for that size tank.

For stocking...like suggested before, a male betta, a pair of cherry barbs, or maybe a couple betta girls are the best options. Most tetras get too big for a 5g and they need atleast 5 or 6 so that would overstock the tank. You could try doing 5 or 6 cardinal or neon tetras, but knowing that small tanks crash easily, I wouldn't try it.

My male betta loves the plants in his 5g.

*Kristin*