Plants for my 20gallon tank

[Humanis1993]

Ok well I only have one living plant I have several that are fake and I want to make a smooth transition into real plants. My tank is freshwater with the temperature at about 82-83(is that to hot for tropical fish?). I went to petco and I think it'd be best if I bought bulbs. I have flouresent lighting and it's allowing my betta bulb to flourish(its got 14 leaves so far, got 5 of them in a week). I was wondering which plants I could also get that are easy to grow with 12-14 hours of light. I haven't done anything special or done anything specifically for this plant to grow it just did on its own. I was also wondering how I could grow moss or maybe a little algae in my tank. I've always seen those really cool moss balls and the whole bottoms of tanks covered in moss that look really cool. I know they require special treatment though. any suggestions on plants wound be awesome! so I'll be waiting on you guys

 

[kc2ped]

My tank is freshwater with the temperature at about 82-83(is that to hot for tropical fish?).

Like people, the same temperature isn't right for all fish. You need to research the conditions your fish prefer and try to match them. When I was setting up my tank I looked at the quality of my water and it's temperature. Then I made a list of all the fish I thought I might want along with their environment preferences and selected fish that liked an environment I thought I could maintain. Fish can adapt to environments on the fringes of their range but don't like a lot of fluctuation in that environment. My tank is supposed to be at 79° but with warmer weather the temperature is starting to creep up.

12-14 hours of light.

That sounds like a lot of light. Eight hours is enough to keep my plants going. Of course the quality of the light is important. Less light that is in a portion of the spectrum plants can use will do more than a longer photoperiod with inappropriate lighting.

wondering how I could grow moss or maybe a little algae in my tank.

When my lights are on more than 10 hours the question is how do I keep from having an algal bloom.

I've always seen those really cool moss balls and the whole bottoms of tanks covered in moss that look really cool. I know they require special treatment though.

I have not found moss balls difficult to keep at all. My research indicates that their origin is in streams where the running water keeps them turning over and that keeps them round. Running water probably means cool water but mine are doing well at 75-85°. To keep them round in an aquarium it is recommended that you remove them periodically and rinse any detritus off them then gently squeeze them. I also rotate mine periodically so the bottom side gets some light.

 

[EndlersEatGuppies]

Java fern, hornwort, and amazon swords are good hardy plants.

 

[daileene]

If this is a low light planted tank, here is a good list of plants to choose from:

Excellent List of Low Light Plants