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Are these two plants good for low-light no Co2 tanks? I've done some research and I read that anubias and crypts are notoriously slow growers and expensive. On the other hand water sprite and wisteria were rated as extremely fast growers. On one page it said that the light level (1 being low, 10 being high) for water sprite was 1 (only plant besides java moss) while java fern had 4, crypts and anubias had 5 and amazon swords had 7

djtj,

Basically I think you should be ok with these two plants.

How low is your low light? If it is more than a candle then you are covered .

But don't expect any rampant growth and fine leaf structure. The leaves of at least the Wisteria are pretty solid under low light.

Ingo

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Thanks for the fast response.

It's officially 1 wpg, "plant" bulb, but the tank is near a window and I do get some natural sunlight.

Which species is better IYO? I know there are complaints about one of them being a rampet grower, but I don't mind. That just means I don't have to buy too many plants to start off with.

I have had problems with water sprite not wanting to stay planted, it starts to rot as well. I am trying to find wisteria locally, but when I asked for it I was given water sprite as being similar. It doesn't look anything like tetratechs well trained wisteria! Must find out what sort of whip he employs.

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I don't have experience with water sprite, but I do with wisteria. Mine grows extremely fast under 2 wpg in my 10g. It makes a great hideout for fish. In my 55g it has started growing out horizontally and my cories love to sit under it.
I did have a problem with wisteria in my 55g when I had the fixture that came with the tank. I had less than 1wpg and the wisteria grew very slowly, but was more brown in color than bright green. It grew roots and wasn't dying, but wasn't very pretty in color.
What size tank are you putting it in?
The more light you have (wpg) the faster it will grow and the better it will look.

*Kristin*

20 long with 20 watt bulb
So I'm getting 1 WPG but in a very shallow (1' tall) tank.
I also get a little bit of indirect sunlight in the tank. It's enough to cause a little bit of algae growth on the back portion of the tank (one of the reasons why I want to plant back there).
The gravel is very good too. I have a couple of pounds of eco-complete under polished river rocks. I have 10 neons, 5 serpaes and 1 bolivian ram (plan on adding 3 more serpaes and 1 more ram), so there will be no lack of nitrates. The other plants are 2 amazon swords (can't get rid of them) and 10+ java ferns on driftwood.

djtj,

I had both for a while to help me establish my 125G. I think the Wisteria is the prettier plant but the Water Sprite grows way faster (at least under my high light conditions). I still have some Wisteria in my 20G Long (same tank as yours I guess, but twice the light).

So it all depends on what you want these plants to do for your tank. If I hear you right then you need fast growth, right?

Ingo

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 11-Dec-2005 19:38

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Fast growth is good. That way I don't have to buy that many to start with. Size is good, I'd like something to fill up the back area of the tank. Sucking up nitrates is good, that way I can have more fish.

Wisteria seems like the best choice so far. As long as it's not really slow growing, I'l lbe ok.

Fast growing plants are good but for them to grow fast they must have all the correct conditions. I had a tank full of a floating plant until I had all the sudden deaths, 90% of the floating plants died this was several months ago and they have not recovered yet.

Using more plants to "suck" up nitrates so that you can get more fish could be playing with danger. The secret is to establish a happy balance not push one element too far to achieve some thing else.

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I like wisteria. It grows nice and slowly in my low light tank at .5 wpg, and it does quite well. Just grows much more slowly.
I think it will do well in your tank.


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By more fish, I meant 3 more serpaes and another ram (possibly some ottos if the tank's going steady). I don't plan on really overstocking.

these are the areas I want to plant with wisteria

this is the wisteria piece I'd be buying

What do you think is a good approximation of how many plants I should buy?

Also, I'm looking to plant this areawith crypts.
what species do you think is the best?
I'm thinking green wendtti because it seems to be the biggest, hence more bang for my buck. How many plants do you think I should buy?

djtj,

You picked the prettier of the 2 .

Well, I would say you will need at least 3 and even then it will be a while until the area that you marked on the picture will be filled out.

About the crypts: I would say it depends if you plan to keep the wisteria or if you only want to use it to establish a solid plant mass and later remove it to plant something else. In the seconds case I would say your plant in the foreground will have to accommodate the future plants in the back. In the first case, why not? Green and red wendtii are very nice. I would say you will need 2. Once they have grown a bit you can separate them into more plants. But don’t be too surprised if the first thing they do is melt, they will come back (maybe ).

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club