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What plants could I put in my 2g hex betta tank?
It has a UGF and a 15watt incandescent bulb.

I'm having this big problem w/ hair algae and am hoping adding a plant or 2 would help get rid of it.
I also wanted help my betta feel a little more secure and keep the water quality as good as I can.

Thank you.


Last edited by fishnewbie at 29-Nov-2004 14:33

Hi,
First off, I'd change out the incandescent bulb. They are
absolutely no good for plant growth, encourage algae, heat
up the water, and are a waste of electricity. A screw in
flourscent bulb is far less expensive to run, puts out
light in the part of the spectrum for plants, and is far
cooler to run.

For plants, I'd add some stem type of plant (go to your
LFS and choose ones you like the shape/color of).
Assuming that the tank is in a corner or against a wall,
plant the stem plants along the backsides of the tank
and in front of the UGF stem to hide it.

You could also purchase some "micro sword" plants (just
2 or 3) and plant them in the front. These will grow to
form a kind of green carpet in the open area of the tank.

Do a 10-20% water change weekly. Your algae should soon
disappear, and when the stem plants grow to the surface
and start across, you can snip them and plant the snipped
off tops in place of the origionals or in addition to
the origionals. The stem plant growing across the surface
will provide the foundation for the male betta to build
his bubble nest.

Frank


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

Thanks a lot Frank. I had the incandescent in there because it came with the setup(of course) and I HOPED it would heat up the water because I don't have a heater. I didn't know that it wasn't good for plants. I'll switch it out ASAP. That micro sword idea sounds awesome.

What kind of stem plant do you reccomend? Maybe wisteria(I have some in my 10 gal planted)?

Your the plant expert around here, lol! Thanks for all the times you've helped me, including this one!

Last edited by fishnewbie at 29-Nov-2004 21:19

Hi,
Wisteria (IMO) is not considered a stem plant but if kept
trimmed could give you a very nice appearance in the
small tank.
I was thinking along the lines of Cabomba,
Myriophyllum, Anacharis, Rotala, Bacopa, etc.

Look at the plants and notice the different shapes of
the leaves, and shades of green. Choose a combination
that you like and "landscape" with leave shapes and shades.

With a 2 gallon tank, it is very shallow and just about
any light you put on the tank will equate to bright light.
You should be able to grow just about anything in it.
Let some of the stem plants, while planted in the back,
grow to the surface and forward. That will provide shaded
areas for the Betta, and give it a foundation for its
bubble nest.

Frank


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

I HOPED it would heat up the water because I don't have a heater

Actually a really bad plan, as good as the intention is. By using a bulb to heat the water you're creating massive temperature swings when the bulb is turned off @night. Especially in such a small tank where the water will cool off so quickly. My suggestion is to look around online for a small heater (they do make them specifically for betta tanks) and go with the screw in flourescent like frank mentioned. Most every store sells them (even grocery stores) you'll sometimes see them marketed under "energy saver" bulb.


^_^
[link=H2g2]http://hitchhikers.movies.go.com/upgrade.html" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] 2005 Don't Leave Home Without it[/font][/font]

Hmm... I thought that water cooled down slowly....slower than solids. But I guess since it's such a little amount of water, that doesn't matter. Oh well, I'm a stupid kid..

I might go w/ rotala for the stem plant.

Hi,
Actually your recollection of physics is correct.
Have you actually measured the temperature of the water
just before turning off the lights, and then in the
morning before turning them on. As Babel says it could
be quite a swing, and not good for the fish. But Babel
usually keeps her home around 60 degrees as I recall.

The reason for eliminating the bulb is the excess heat,
especially in the summer time, and the fact that the
bulb is not giving off light in the proper part of the
spectrum for plants to thrive. The bulb I was suggesting
is the same as the one that Babel posted, and gives off
light in the proper area. Purchase a DAYLIGHT or SUNLIGHT
labeled bulb. That is what you want.

Frank


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

fishnewbie, wasnt' trying to say you were stupid
You're right that liquids often retain heat quite well (think of wetsuits ). Franks also right, I was raised with the heat being turned down to 60F. Alot of people just dont' care about the environemnt so keep their house heated to 80 in the winter and 60 in the summer...I'd moniter it, but IME it's always safer to have a heater in the tank than not. Once you switch to flouro bulbs they'll create alot less heat so you're likely to want a heater anyway...unless your house maintains a very steady temp.
Try looking in home depot, if you have them in your area, for a bulb like I pictured thats made by commercial electric. They have a number of different screw in bulbs....check the package like Frank mentioned for "daylight" there's one that's a 6500K bulb in blue packaging that's just perfect for plants.

^_^
[link=H2g2]http://hitchhikers.movies.go.com/upgrade.html" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] 2005 Don't Leave Home Without it[/font]

Sorry I'm late about this?

Which of these do you reccomend?

Hi,
If your hood can take it, purchase the style bulb that
Babel showed in her image. They come rated for various
uses (reading, soft white, etc.) Purchase one that is
labeled DAYLIGHT or SUNLIGHT. They are rated at about
6700K which will provide for your plants, fish, and
you because it will give you a good light to view your
tank by.

Frank


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

No arguments about the above advice, just want to add my own .02

I have two 10g tank with incandescent bulbs, and the plants are doing very well. Flourite substrate in both...plants include Amazon sword, dwarf sag, anacharis, anubias, cabomba, crypt, and hornwort. One tank has a floating piece of anarcharis that's over 7 feet long now

I also have a 5g with incandescent and no heater. Our house temp is kept at ~67&#176;. This is the only tank I keep on a timer. The daytime water temp is 77&#176; and at night it's been steady at 73-74&#176;, which I think isn't too much of a drop and similar to a fish's natural habitat. I have cabomba in this tank, but it's been growing too fast so I'm looking into changing it to something else.

Good luck with your tank

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

I got a 5gallon for him today. It came with an 8watt florescent light strip and micro filter.
I also got a small heater.
I didn't do a lengthy transition from the 2gal to the 5gal, but I hope he's all right.
Got 10 lbs of black gravel as well.
It's looking pretty bare right now...but nice

What plants do ya think I could grow in this current setup?
I really don't care what kind, just that it looks nice and pretty.

Last edited by fishnewbie at 26-Dec-2004 21:33

well, in my 5 i've got the following :

rotala indica
amazon sword (just the plain variety)
tiger lotus
java fern
cryptocorne balansae

Does yours have the same lighting as mine? (1.6 wpg?)

nope, actually about 4wpg

You should go to the Tropica website: http://www.tropica.com. It is very helpful with excellent pictures of the plants, descriptions and parameters.

I would describe your tank as a low light aquarium at 1.6 wpg. Cryptocoryne are generally very good in that environment as are many species of echinodorus. Excellent additions would be java fern and anubias.

Note that most plants grow slowly in low lights so keep up on tank cleanliness to minimize potential algae problems until your plants get started.

Try to size the plants to the size of your aquarium. Choosing "easy" plants to start with from the Tropica board will also minimize frustration.

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright