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Well, my 10 gallon is finaly cycled (fishless cycle), and I have my fish.
I was thinking of plants. Right now, I have a few fake ones (the bright yellow one is growing algea *rolls eyes*) But I think I would like to get some live plants. I would like some suggestions.
I saw two that I liked the look of: A feathery fuzzy looking plant who's name I cant remeber , and a plant called Dragon Flame or Dragon Tongue.
I have a 15 watt florescent bulb. So, any suggestions? Will either of those two work, or is there another one you can suggest. The guy at the store said that the Dragon Flame plant actualy needed 6 watts per gallon, which strikes me as very very high but i dont know anything about aquarium plants *shrug*.

Second question: While shopping for fish supplies (and buying WAY more then I should have, as usual) I found this thing called "Ammonia Alert"...It suction cups onto the inside of your aquarium and has a thing that changes color based on the amonia levels in the tank. The brand is "Seachem". Before I open the package and actualy try the thing, does anyone know if it is reliable? Should I keep it, or should I just return it? There were also several other indicators like this, but they didnt seem to have one for Nitrates, which is the only thing I ever seem to have a problem with...one of the reasons I am considering plants.

ummm, some good ones are anarchis or eldoea (although they grow tall and you will have to clip them) java moss, java fern.... pretty much a lot of mosses and ferns...oh anubas are great for low light to.. im doing the same thing so we can learn together... LOL

Crypts are also good for low light. Anubias and java fern should not be planted in the substrate. You need to tie them on rocks or driftwood, or just set them on top of the substrate. You can try to bury roots, but don't bury the rhizome (big stem thing at the end of the plant).

I'd return the ammonia alert thing...get your money back. I'm not sure if they work or not, but IMO they aren't needed. You shouldn't have any ammonia in the tank after its cycled. If you check your water every few weeks, you can check for ammonia. I don't see the need for an alert. The ammonia would have to get pretty high before it killed your fish.

I would get a test kit instead of an alert. If you already have a test kit, then you are good to go.

IMO Anacharis likes medium to high light. It gets really leggy in low light and doesn't look as good. Smaller tanks need more light than bigger ones, so with your 1.5 watts per gallon, you are in the really low light category.

Here you will find a list of low light plants.
These low medium plants may work. PlantGeek has Anacharis as a low-medium plant, but IMO it is really medium, maybe medium high. Ambulia is also medium-high. And so is watersprite. (ok so maybe this list wasn't good)....go mainly by the low light list.

*Kristin*

well, my anarchis is a MONSTER in my 29gall and I basicly have less than 1 watt per gall....i I have to trim it weekly

Hi Nyteflame

Congratulations on cycling your tank. What fish do you have?

I'm a novice at this, but I had a plant called Dragon Flame. I'm in Aus, so I don't know if it's the same one you're referring to. My comment on it is that it's quite pretty, but as I have only 1.63 watts per gallon, it did not last long in my tank. My plant had some long, thin purplish leaves. Plants with purple or red leaves usually have high light requirements, but I haven't heard of plants requiring 6 watts per gallon. Others with more experience than me might comment further, but I thought 2.5 or 3watts per gallon was sufficient for high light plants. My Dragon Flame melted & died fairly quickly, so I think it is a high light plant.

A plant that is growing really well for me is wisteria & it is quite pretty too. Other low light plants are anubia, java moss and java fern.

I have one of those Seachem Ammonia Alerts on each of my tanks. They're probably not as accurate as using a liquid test kit, but are a convenient way to tell at a daily glance if your ammonia is amiss. In my opinion, they should not replace having a test kit available - so only keep it if you can afford both. I struck a problem once, due to medication in my tank sending it into a mini cycle. My amonia alert was the first to tell me at a glance I had a problem, so then I pulled out all my test kits to find out how much of a problem. If you see the alert change from yellow, I'd then do a proper test to confirm how far out you are, as well as checking nitrites & nitrates too. For me, with my cycled planted tanks, if I see it's yellow, I don't worry about doing other tests. So in the long run, it saves me wasting my test kits, as I can see at a glance I have no problem. That's just my experience with them & others may disagree.

Cheers
TW

Hi,
Frankly, I would never consider an "Ammonia Alert" for
an established tank. The established nitrogen cycle will
quickly remove any ammonia from the water converting it
to nitrite and that to nitrate. Unless you pour ammonia
into the tank, or add a huge amount of fish(s) you would
probably never register ammonia in the tank.

I would consider them a waste of money and merely something
"cute" that looks technicial, and might impress the lay
people, but is useless to a hobbiest.

When cycling the tank, a test kit with liquid reagents
would be the best, and unless you make changes in the
number, or size, of the tanks fish, testing for ammonia
is IMO a waste of time. Checking for nitrite, on
occassion, and nitrate regularly is more important.

Your LFS is correct when he says that the plants you
mentioned are "high" light demand plants. I'd say 3+
watts/gallon. I don't know that I'd go so far as to say
6wpg though. With that 15 watt light, I would stick with
"low" light demand plants such as the crypts. Anacharis
could grow, floating, quite well, and possibly even if
rooted, but I would suspect you would have better success
if you let it float on the surface immediately under the
light.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Hi Frank

Even established tanks can be sent into a mini cycle by the owner's silly mistake. Remember that thread of mine where I didn't move my sick fish to QT & I gave repeated doses of sulfar to my community tank & I killed off my good bacteria? My ammonia alert told me at a glance I had a problem & caused me to get out my test kits. Since then, I like the alerts to be there, 'cause they confirm at a glance that all is well in my cycled tanks & I haven't done anything else silly to throw my tank into a mini cycle.

Not essential by any means & indeed a bit of a luxury. Proper tests kits are more important to have, but still, I like them.

Cheers
TW

Well, the reason I was asking about the amonia alert thing is because I used up my amonia test kit while cycleing the tank (someone should have told me you realy dont need to test every day, just make sure you feed the tank every day)
With a ten gallon, I know it is easy to send the tank into a mini cycle, so I was just wondering if this thing would make it easier to watch for that.
Its ok, Ill take the thing back and buy a proper kit on saturday, when i go look for plants.

Tankwatcher, I think we are talking about the same plant. Too bad it likes high light, it was realy pretty. I am partial to colorful foliage.
Fishies: 6 Harlequins, and 2 cherry barbs. I am also going to get a couple cherry red shrimp. (yes, this is what I was adviced to get in one of my other posts, thanks for the advice folks!)

They are all very pretty, but they look so small and lost...I suppose that will change as they grow though.

Hi Nyteflame

With a ten gallon, I know it is easy to send the tank into a mini cycle, so I was just wondering if this thing would make it easier to watch for that.

Yes, it does make it easier to watch for that. I never test my ammonia - except if my ammonia alert changed colours, like in the situation I mentioned above. The "alert" is my early warning system, alerting me that I have done something silly to send tank into mini cycle. Also, my tap water is fairly high in ammonia, so the alert confirms that my benefical bacteria is dealing with the ammonia that I add to the tank with each weekly water change. I'm outvoted here, and I thought I would be, but I'll always have one on my tank. Much easier than weekly or monthly testing.

Yes Dragon Flame is pretty - shame about the light requirements.

Probably when your plants are all in, your fishies won't look so small & lost. When planted, why not post a pic of your tank for us.


Cheers
TW

I will certainly post a picture once everything is planted, but That may take a while. At the moment I am very undecided as to waht to plant....

Ah well, I will look around the LFS again when I go, maybe I can pick something nice.