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I have a 5g Mini-bow that some of my Endler's live in. Incandescent lighting that came with it, 25 watts I believe. Just to have something in there I threw in some hornwort and anacharis (floating), then I took a chance with an extra moneywort I had. All the plants are doing quite nicely. The substrate is a mix of gravel and flourite.

I'd like to slowly fill out the tank with plants if possible, but I'm looking for suggestions. Plants that will work with this lighting, not grow too tall...I'm looking more for fullness than height in plants.

Thanks

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

i have a 2 gallon with anacharis and a lily, and both plants semm to be just fine, actually the lily is doing better in the 2 gal then it did in my 55 lol

me

Hi Theresa,

The incandescent bulb is a bit of a problem, the old wpg "rule" is really only applicable for flourescent, so really not sure how much light you actually have.

Any Anubias Nana, or some of the smaller crypts like parva or nevilli will work well in that size tank.

One thing I do in my planted 5 gal is snip some tops or small side shoots from my cambomba, about 2-3 inches high and use a small bunch in the foreground. For some reason it grows very slowly but still stays fresh and green looking. It will stay like this for weeks at which time you can replace with other cuttings . Looks like this:

bensaf attached this image:

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

If you want to change the lighting an easy solution is to buy a cheap desk lamp that takes a small PC bulb. I got one like this for $5 and use a 9 watt tri phosphor daylight PC bulb.

bensaf attached this image:

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Heya Theresa,

My first thought was to try Wisteria maybe, whilst it does grow "up", it also fills out nice if you keep it pinched off (and is a great nitrate sink). I used to use some in a 3 Gal Betta tank lit by a regular desklamp with one of those "energy saving" type fluoro bulbs (sure the spectrum isn't great, but Wisteria doesn't get a chance to become "leggy" in small containers). Not to mention it's nice and cheap

Maybe a rock with some java moss even? Whilst we are in those neck of the woods, if you have java ferns already, what about tying some daughter plants to small rocks for a rearrange-at-will option?

Or, like Bensaf said, crypts would be great, especially the green version of C. wendtii: it takes low light and will stay nice and low.

Dex

I'd toss a 13 watt PC desk lamp over it, or better yet retrofit the hood for a 13 watt, and then maybe add a desk lamp as well. 5 gals can be great tanks; I lurved mine.


I actually had this shot printed in FAMA, so (while I don't regret scaling up to a 10) miss the tank.

With good light, small tanks can be amazing - with bad light, I'd do it up with driftwood, rocks, and some java moss, fern, and anubias. I'd still replace that bulb with at least a PC screw-in, though, you just can't get much growth from an incandescent.[/font]

-Molly
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I'm always jealous when I see these pictures, such beautiful tanks

I didn't think the WPG rule applied to incandescents. My 10g Endler's tank is planted with various swords, dwarf sag, floating hornwort and anacharis, and java moss growing on the driftwood. The lighting is two incandescents and the plants are growing better than in any of my other tanks

I think I'll give anubias a try in this tank. I like the cambomba idea as well.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Don't forget - you can replace the incandescents with screw-in fluorescents. The big hardware store usually has some that say 'daylight' or 'full spectrum'. This will really help maximize growth potential! Good growing to you!

Add a crypt wendtii in the red (brown) form for color. Corkscrew val would also add some bright green interest with the tips flowing accross the top of your water surface.

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

just remember not to put too many plants in the tank. the fish need to swim somewhere

iirc, incadescent light is better than fluorescent in some aspect, but it has two major problems:
high energy consumption
heat
as long as it doesn't get too hot in a relatively closed hood, and you don't care for the bills, then it is truely a full-spectrum light, in cluding IR and UV in small ammounts.

(note: i've read this stuff a while ago, so i'm not sure it is completely true)

i think small anubia can be a centerpiece in such a small tank. i use one like that, and it's fitting just fine.

I planted cabomba, more moneywort, and still have some baby java ferns and floating anacharis. It looks nice and I'm happy with it, but I may have to thin out the cabomba. I'll try to post pics next week when I get my camera back.

Right now I'm sticking with the incandescent. Like I said, I've had good luck with incandescents in other planted tanks. I don't mind the additional heat either since I don't run a heater on this tank. It drops to ~74° at night, up to ~77° during the day. The fish are definitely happy

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

i have dwarf sag in my 10g and it is doing pretty well. i'm sure you could make it work in 5g

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman