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I am probably boring you all to death with my questions by now, but i have another one.

My 15 gal currently has two plants, a dwarf amozan sword (i think) and another unidentified plant.

I want to change this to a moderatly planted aquaria.

Can someone suggest a list of plants (and how many to have) that are easy to take care of, and that will be okay in a temperature of 25C? No higher than 30cm/12ins. I like Java moss, and i have a really nice bit of bogwood. Could you also kind of tell me what they look like, because i can't really tell one from the other. I really like java moss and fern, and smaller amozan sword style plants.

I am doing this to make a pair of cherry barbs more welcome, and i am getting them in 5 weekends time (including this one - Saturday is tomorrow). I would quite like to get some tomorrow when i get a few more Corys, so suggstions would be appreciated. Tank is cycled before anyone asks.

Thanks
BNF

BlackNeonFerret,

You are not boring us in the least

All questions are welcome. Let me try to help you out.

Usually the first question we ask here is "what kind of light with how many watts do you have".

Predicting the answer will be something that conculdes with us saying "this is low light", I suggest the following:

Anubias Nana
Cryptocoryne Wendtii (green or red or any)
Java Moss
And you say you already have Java Fern

I would say you google these plant names and tell us if you like them before we try to evaluate how many to get (for that one, maybe you can describe the tank a little more).

Hope this helps,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Sorry, I meant i already had something like Amozan Sword Plant, but little, and i liked Java Fern.

I am really bad at making sense.

Thankyou for not being bored, this site is SOOOOO helpful for idiot beginners like me!

Light wise, i have no idea how many watts i have, because the tank and light was given to me by my dad's 'fishy friend'. This is not that helpful Not helpful at all.
It is a florescant strip thingy, and very bright but i think it is low/moderate light.

Thankyou Little_Fish

BNF

for idiot beginners like me

If I am not mistaken then this description would fit all of us at some point. Even when we are in the hobby for a while (and I am in it for less than a year) there is always something new to try out and we are beginners in that area yet again.

About your light: Can you measure its length (not the hood, just the bulb) and maybe even its diameter (I guess around 20mm)? Usually, one bulb hoods are low light, at best, IMHO.

Check out the plants at the web

And, while you are measuring, what is the footprint of the tank again?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Java fern, java moss, crypt wendtiis (red version is very pretty and doesn't grow too tall). There are also some other smaller crypts that i don't know the name of...

Wisteria may grow in low light...it may not grow as fast though. That is good because in higher light...it grows too fast and needs cutting very often.

If you could upgrade the lighting, you could grow some stem plants like bacopa, ludwigia, and rotala indica.
If your tank is tall though, I wouldn't try to grow them in low light. They may not make it.

*Kristin*

Bulb is between 48cm and 50cm across.
Tank: 60x30x30 approx: 15gal

Single bulb, yes.

The plants in it now are growing like CRAZY!

Anyway, i REALLY appreciate your advice, life savers!

BNF

The plants mentioned will all do well with that light, it works out to about 1.5 watts/gallon. I know because I have the same on my 10g, and the plants all mentioned above. Java fern likes to be tied to driftwood, there are two varieties, the common and "windelov", I love the windelov variety, it is unique among plants. Crypts do quite well, and most take a while to get established and won't out grow your tank any time soon. If you can get wisteria do so, I have water sprite and it looks similar but doesn't like to stay rooted in the gravel. Anubias nana and petite will look great, try to keep them shaded, you have enough light for algae to overtake them as it is trying to with mine. I even have a val doing quite nicely in this tank, and I think e.tennelus would also do well in your 10g. You will need to fertilize iron and potassium, nitrate and phosphate should be fine, be sure to test at each water change, the fish seem to produce plenty in mine, Flourish Excel will help the plants as well, it is a carbon source for the plants since CO2 is probably harder to control in a small tank. I haven't tried it yet in a bigger one either though.
The cherry barbs will love the addition of as many plants as you can fit in. Plants make the fish feel safer. They will swim among the leaves & find hiding places near the base of the plants.
Smaller leaved plants make the tank look larger, and tall grassy plants make the tank appear taller.

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus

BlackNeonFerret,

48cm would be about 18.9 inches
50cm would be about 19.7 inches

I think you most likely would have then an 18 inch long light. This should (and I might be wrong) be then a 15W fixture. That in turn should give you about 1wpg (watt per gallon) of light which is low light. Stick with the plants mentioned above (in my post) as medium light requiring plants will not do too well over time in your tank.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I agree with little fish.

Also, stay away from stem plants...as they are medium light plants. And I don't think plants like Dwarf Sag and Echinodorous Tennellus will grow either.

Java fern, java moss, and maybe crypts and anubias are your best bet. Good luck!/:'

*Kristin*

Okay, i had a look on the plant profiles at aquahobby.com,(no profiles here on FP) And found a few i liked the look of that didn't look too hard to keep.

http://www.aquahobby.com/garden/e_dubyana.php
http://www.aquahobby.com/garden/e_Eleocharis_parvula.php
http://www.aquahobby.com/garden/e_anubias.php
http://www.aquahobby.com/garden/e_javafern.php

Any ideas???

Thankyou very much,
BNF

Sounds good to me. The first one is Java Moss. I think it says that on the page somewhere, so you probably already knew that.
If you can get an Anubias Nana Petite, that would be even better. Regular Anubias Nana grow out pretty wide...atleast mine do, so they take up valuable planting space.
I would try to put a bunch of java ferns together, like in that picture. They need to be tied to driftwood or rocks though. As does the anubias and java moss.
I don't know much about the eleocharis though...if it grows in any light, like it says...then it will make a nice foreground plant.

*Kristin*

BlackNeonFerret,

All sound good (as suggested way up in this thread ), except the Eleocharis parvula. Dwarf Hairgrass will not do good in low light, I'm afraid.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Much as I hate to stir things up I would like to point out that I have tennelus growing happily in my under 1 wpg 25g tank, so I'm pretty sure it will grow in anything over that, my val is also growing better in my 10g than it ever did in my 25g. I was going by my experience with the plants in my tank. I also have amazon swords in both tanks that are doing very well, although the one in the 10 is starting to touch the top. I will be looking for any dwarf sword I can find to replace it. The 10g seems to be better at growing plants than the 25g. I treat both tanks the same, just change doses to match volume.

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus

okay, going to get lots of java fern/moss. I think that would be quite good. Also see if i can get an anubis nana petite. They look pretty.

Does this sound okay?????

BNF

(and its a 15, not a 10)

And, yes Little Fish, you were right, as usual

luvmykrib,

You can stir things up anytime

I have Tenellus in all my tanks (but none is currently below 2wpg) and I experienced better growth after I upgraded my light on the 29G (from 40wpg to 65wpg).

It would be very interesting to find out why yours seems to behave differently, any idea?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Well, fish keeping wouldn't be fishkeeping without people stirring things up (and Little Fish being right for all of the questions i've asked)

BNF