Another Go at live plants!!

[Welsh]

Over the years I have spent a lot of money on plants that have always died. I'm not sure what wattage my bulb is but it came with the tank and the only plants it allows me to grow are anubias. Anubias, as we all know are very slow growing plants; which is annoying as my tank looks empty I was wondering whether anyone could suggest plants that can fill my tank but won't die;preferably one's that don't require root tabs either. I know I am very limited but hopefully there are some plants out there, that can endure my bad green finger skills haha

Thanks

[Hubert90]

Originally Posted by Welsh

Over the years I have spent a lot of money on plants that have always died. I'm not sure what wattage my bulb is but it came with the tank and the only plants it allows me to grow are anubias. Anubias, as we all know are very slow growing plants; which is annoying as my tank looks empty I was wondering whether anyone could suggest plants that can fill my tank but won't die;preferably one's that don't require root tabs either. I know I am very limited but hopefully there are some plants out there, that can endure my bad green finger skills haha

Thanks

Have u tried java moss? And java fern. And ambulia is a pretty easy going plant!

[kaiofcanada]

would you consider spending a little money to upgrade the lighting?

Could you take a picture of the inside of your hood lighting. Sometimes it is as simple as buying a new light...sometimes you might need a fixture that can house better lighting.

Don't worry I am not going to suggest a $100+ lighting setup ....just something to get you better light for growing a bit more for plants.

[Batt4Christ]

Java Fern (there are a few varieties)
Java Moss (looks great attached to driftwood or rocks)
Anacharis is my experience will grow even in low light.
Ludwigia will grow in lower light, but usually won't get it's trademark red coloring and may get a bit leggy reaching for the light.

[Welsh]

I managed to kill the Java fern but that wasn't my fault thinking about it haha Java moss lasted for a very long time, anacharis just got messy and turned yellow; which is a shame because I really like that plant and ludwigia grew like a weed so I could try that one again.

[Batt4Christ]

Originally Posted by Welsh

I managed to kill the Java fern but that wasn't my fault thinking about it haha Java moss lasted for a very long time, anacharis just got messy and turned yellow; which is a shame because I really like that plant and ludwigia grew like a weed so I could try that one again.

Cool thing about ludwigia is that you can just clip it and replant to your heart's content!

I'm trying to figure out how to kill Java Fern. I have a couple of leaves that are neatly black... Bu still are covered with "baby" plants..lol. I have found that fully-hurried java ferns font do as well as if they are attached to a rock or piece of wood.

[Hubert90]

Java fern is sensitive to changes! Changes in temp, ph will result in brown leaf!

[Welsh]

Yeah it grew so much I had enough for 2 tanks lol I also like wisteria but not sure if this will survive in my tank and elodea densa iv had before, i can't remember how that coped with my lighting though; I don't have it anymore so clearly it can't have done too good haha but I like it so may try it again lol

[Hubert90]

Originally Posted by Welsh

Yeah it grew so much I had enough for 2 tanks lol I also like wisteria but not sure if this will survive in my tank and elodea densa iv had before, i can't remember how that coped with my lighting though; I don't have it anymore so clearly it can't have done too good haha but I like it so may try it again lol

Wisteria is a pretty easy plant.

Here check this link! It works great!
http://plantgeek.net/plantguide.php

[Sparky74]

Originally Posted by Hubert90

Wisteria is a pretty easy plant.

I'll second that Easy to propagate as well. I have to trim them quite frequently. I've even had to cut them way back after an algae outbreak, and they bounced right back stronger than before.

[Welsh]

Well I couldn't find any wisteria but I did manage to find Ludwigia, a huge anubia and the narrow type java fern; never seen that in store before so had to have it. I need some bushy plants now though and maybe a foreground plant. I couldn't find elodea densa-would that survive my lighting? I'm expecting the ludwigia to die, it turned black last time I had it but at the moment it looks awesome and pink haha I also picked up some new fishies and 2 freshwater clams cause I think their cool haha

[Welsh]

If I upgraded my bulb to a daylight of the same wattage, would it make any difference?

[reefdiver]

Have u tried adding flourish for your plants?

[Batt4Christ]

Originally Posted by reefdiver

Have u tried adding flourish for your plants?

Which Flourish? Root tabs? Excel? Comprehensive? Or any of the other specific nutrient additives?

[alLexX]

Originally Posted by Welsh

Well I couldn't find any wisteria but I did manage to find Ludwigia, a huge anubia and the narrow type java fern; never seen that in store before so had to have it. I need some bushy plants now though and maybe a foreground plant. I couldn't find elodea densa-would that survive my lighting? I'm expecting the ludwigia to die, it turned black last time I had it but at the moment it looks awesome and pink haha I also picked up some new fishies and 2 freshwater clams cause I think their cool haha

clams(at least the fw ones) are super hard to kepp alive in aquaria,and almost always starve. maybe if you had a very big very mature system theyed survive,but even then iy would be iffy

[Hubert90]

Originally Posted by Welsh

If I upgraded my bulb to a daylight of the same wattage, would it make any difference?

What kinda bulb is urs now. I think it will.

[reefdiver]

I use just regular flourish twice a week, and have all factory bulbs and my plants are growing nice I have anubias,water sprite and two kinds of java fern.

[Welsh]

I do have flourish comprehensive but I have no idea how much to dose, especially as my tank is quite small; I'm sure I've overdosed in the past and have killed a few fish in the process, so I stopped using it. If anyone is willing to do the math for me and work out the dosage, it would be great haha

@alLexX - I read about that but I tend to over feed the fish slightly so that my pleco eats too; I do feed him his own food too dont worry,I'm not starving him haha So I'm hoping that will contribute to feeding the clams. I've read that some people have kept them alive for months+ in small tanks, so I'm being optimistic lol

@Hubert90 - My bulb is just a standard bulb, it came with the tank; I think its about 15watt and there's no writing on it so I can't find out for definite. I did post a picture of it earlier on in the post, its not very helpful though haha

Another thing - I bought 3 platys yesterday and stupid me, I didn't check the fish until I got home and their the size of SHARKS! I wanted the smaller high fin platys to go with the small platy I already had. I'm wondering if anyone from the UK knows if pets at home will accept these fish back and maybe exchange them, haha They've already killed a tetra I bought yesterday so i'm pretty annoyed with myself for not paying attention at the store lol

[Mr. Limpet]

Originally Posted by Welsh

I do have flourish comprehensive but I have no idea how much to dose, especially as my tank is quite small; I'm sure I've overdosed in the past and have killed a few fish in the process, so I stopped using it. If anyone is willing to do the math for me and work out the dosage, it would be great haha

I agree the normal dose is pretty high to figure for small tanks. The 5ml can be broken down into drops though, which is what I do.

5ml=120 drops

For the 8.5oz bottle, 1 capful (5ml) doses 60g, so each gallon is dosed with 2 drops.

As an example on my 8g, I pull 1g of water add 12 drops (tank volume closer to 6g), mix it up (sometimes with Excel too) and pour it back in.

[Welsh]

I went by your method but as my tank is 12UK gallons I added another 4 drops to your 12; only time will tell whether this makes a difference or whether i'm destined for fake plants haha

How many times do I dose the tank with flourish comprehensive?

I still have to find some fast growing, low light plants too. At the moment I have very slow growing plants other than the Alternanthera - which i mistook for ludwigia before and I'm very impatient so can't wait for these plants to fill in the tank haha