Easy plants

[ricco34]

Whenever I look for plants at petco I always go to the ones in the plastic container with the gel on the roots and I always get overwhelmed because I don't know a lot of plants and I don't want to buy one that needs special lights or co2. So could someone inform me witch are easy to care for and don't need anything high tech? I just started my first planted tank and all I have is a piece of anubias growing on a piece of drift wood and need some more. Thank you

 

[Brookster123]

What do you have for lighting? How much effort are you looking to put forth? ? Want to dose weekly ferts? Daily ferts??

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[Mr. Nowhere]

I usually just googled the plants that I saw and got info on then that way

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[SuperBobby83]

I have several live plants that I bought from Petco. I dont use any CO2, just LED lighting. I spaced them out around my tank so they have room to expand. I have Cryptocoryne wendtii in a few spots and it has done awesome. It has started to sprout in places where it was not originally plants. I also have moneywort and a plant similar that has red leaves, cant think of what it is called. But they are also thriving, have grown to almost 22" in height.
I avoid the plants in the packages and go straight to the live tank. I feel like those plants are much more healthy than those packaged.

 

[Spencer1044]

Amazon sword, banana plant, crypt, java fern, java moss, duck weed, Anubis, and jungle Val are some great lowlight/tech plants. All will grow better with ferts and tabs but they will still do great without em.

 

[jglover]

I've gotten both the gel pack plants as well as live ones from a tank. Both have grown well for me. The gel pack plants are sometimes a little beaten up but the anubias I've bought have flourished after trimming off the crappy looking leaves.

If you get a good sized java fern, you can just wait a few weeks and you'll have plantlets form on the leaves so it is easy to get several java ferns with some patience.

Hornwort and anacharis from Petsmart also grow like weeds and it is very easy to grow lots of it as these are floters and do not have to be planted. If you want to look of a planted aquarium you can keep a plant weight on the end of the bunches and let them drop to the bottom, They'll continue to grow from the tops and you can trim the tops for more plants bunches or floaters.

 

[Spencer1044]

I trimmed my hornwort way down to about 4 in each stem and it now has strong roots and doesn't need a weight. You can also get away with rotalla if you put it directly under a section i the light strip or bulb

 

[BBradbury]

Choosing Aquatic Plants

Whenever I look for plants at petco I always go to the ones in the plastic container with the gel on the roots and I always get overwhelmed because I don't know a lot of plants and I don't want to buy one that needs special lights or co2. So could someone inform me witch are easy to care for and don't need anything high tech? I just started my first planted tank and all I have is a piece of anubias growing on a piece of drift wood and need some more. Thank you

Hello ric...

Next time you shop for plants, go for the dark green ones. These will need low or subdued lighting and will be the easiest to maintain. The floaters like Hornwort and Anacharis can just be separated and dropped into the tank. They'll grow quickly, so you'll need to thin them once in a while or they'll cover the surface. Anubias, any species is good as well as any of the mosses and Java fern. You can attached any of these to pieces of lava rock or driftwood with dark sewing thread or even a small rubber band. They don't require planting.

B

 

[jglover]

Another tip for anubias and java fern, you can use superglue to attach these plants to rocks, driftwood or decor.

 

[ricco34]

Thank you all

 

[ricco34]

What do you have for lighting? How much effort are you looking to put forth? ? Want to dose weekly ferts? Daily ferts??

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I'm just setting up a simple 10 gallon, I've never had plants before and I'm looking for simplest things possible to gain experience. I have led lights and just play ground sand

 

[Mr. Nowhere]

What type of leds? The 3 or so that come in a stock hood won't grow plants.

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[SuperBobby83]

I've got 32 LED lights, custom made. At night it has 3 blue LEDs as a night light...

 

[Angela1108]

has anyone here used corkscrew val plants? (can't remember the scientific name) Are they easier or harder to maintain plants? I am also looking to avoid CO2. I have a 55 gallon that we would like to switch to planted. The MG I saw at the store was already pretty tall

 

[Coursair]

I'm just setting up a simple 10 gallon, I've never had plants before and I'm looking for simplest things possible to gain experience. I have led lights and just play ground sand

Easiest plant for me ?
Java Ferns. I grow 4 species.
I love my Crypts !! I do add Root Tabs every 4 months. But they grow great under almost any light.

Don't be scared by Ferts. I started off with gravel , stock lights and API Leaf Zone 1x week after my partial water change.

Now I use sand. I do PWCs weekly. I do use a little more Ferts. API LZ still, Seachem Flourish comprehensive and Excel. Once a week after PWC.

I trim my plants as needed. I did swap my light bulbs. I had screw in incandescent bulbs. Now I use Mini CFLs. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003QZF7JA/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1402333483&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40
They last longer, don't overheat the tank and grow plants great. Cheap $8 timer so my lights don't run more than 6 hours a day.

My first planned planted tank 10g




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[Coursair]

Stock LEDs should grow Java Ferns and Java Moss. I grew some under a table lamp

If there is room you might be able to clip on a CFL or something like this ?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004QSV8XK/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?qid=1402333924&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70


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[fishenthusiast]

Easiest plant for me ?
Java Ferns. I grow 4 species.
I love my Crypts !! I do add Root Tabs every 4 months. But they grow great under almost any light.

Don't be scared by Ferts. I started off with gravel , stock lights and API Leaf Zone 1x week after my partial water change.

Now I use sand. I do PWCs weekly. I do use a little more Ferts. API LZ still, Seachem Flourish comprehensive and Excel. Once a week after PWC.

I trim my plants as needed. I did swap my light bulbs. I had screw in incandescent bulbs. Now I use Mini CFLs. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003QZF7JA/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1402333483&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40
They last longer, don't overheat the tank and grow plants great. Cheap $8 timer so my lights don't run more than 6 hours a day.

My first planned planted tank 10g

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I agree with Coursair. Crypts are excellent plants. They come in so many colors varieties like brown, red, and even orange. Also, their leaves can get a nice crinkled appearance. I highly recommend them. They just take some type to get going. It takes them a month or even over that to adjust and get rooted. After that, they'll start sprouting new leaves and grow.