Plant help!

[emerald76]

I need some plant suggestions for my tank.
It is-
Mid to low light
Ten gallons
Kept at 80-82 degrees
Stocked with one Molly, one Cory, and 7 guppies, all female, three adults four fry
Gravel substrate that will be changed to sand
0 ammonia nit nat
7.6 pH
I'd like mosses and lots of plants- I want it heavily planted. Im in need of light suggestions also, the tank is about a foot tall, 1.5 or so feet long and 8-10 in wide, can never remember

 

[mohican]

You can always go with crypts, java ferns, water sprite, rotala's, and probably swords too just to name a few. You will have to do a trial-and-error to see which plants acclimate to your tank conditions.

 

[emerald76]

I like crypts and swords. I'll see if I can find some.Thanks!

 

[Coursair]

Why so HOT ??? A 10g is very small for a Molly. They are large active fish.
Also what kind of Cory?

Plants should be able to adapt to the heat, but the hotter the water, the less oxygen there is for the fish. 76-78f would be a safer range.

What kind of lighting???? I swapped out my 2 incandescents for 2 mini compact flourescents. Aim for 6,500K or near that for best plant use.

Mine is heavily planted, but I have to trim the plants weekly and thin my floating plants so some don't get shaded out. Plus a Molly may eat some of your plants...they love greens. Mosses can be hard to keep clean, so think about adding a Shrimp like an Amano, if you get your temps lower. Most Shrimp don't like hot tanks.

For best deals on plants look here and on The Planted Tank and Aquatic Plant Central. TPT and APC are awesome for plant deals. You'll need to join to see sales threads. Buying from hobbyists is best IMHO.

 

[emerald76]

Why so HOT ??? A 10g is very small for a Molly. They are large active fish.
Also what kind of Cory?

Plants should be able to adapt to the heat, but the hotter the water, the less oxygen there is for the fish. 76-78f would be a safer range.

What kind of lighting???? I swapped out my 2 incandescents for 2 mini compact flourescents. Aim for 6,500K or near that for best plant use.

Mine is heavily planted, but I have to trim the plants weekly and thin my floating plants so some don't get shaded out. Plus a Molly may eat some of your plants...they love greens. Mosses can be hard to keep clean, so think about adding a Shrimp like an Amano, if you get your temps lower. Most Shrimp don't like hot tanks.

For best deals on plants look here and on The Planted Tank and Aquatic Plant Central. TPT and APC are awesome for plant deals. You'll need to join to see sales threads. Buying from hobbyists is best IMHO.

I'll turn down the heat then
Do I need a bigger tank for the Molly? I'm past the return date
Stock lights
It's a peppered

 

[Coursair]

adjust heat gradually.
Yes, I would see if you can exchange it. Mollies can be bullies in small tanks.

Peppered Cory ? Maybe see about adding 1 or 2 more Or find it a home in a larger tank with other Peppereds and look at dwarf Cories. C habrosus is super cute. And they stay small.

Crypts and Swords are both heavy root feeders. You can get some Osmocote Plus plant food and make your own Rootcicles with an ice tray.
They will keep the roots fed for months.

 

[rkilling1]

Stock lights

Can you provide some more information? What type of bulb, watts, etc.

 

[emerald76]

adjust heat gradually.
Yes, I would see if you can exchange it. Mollies can be bullies in small tanks.

Peppered Cory ? Maybe see about adding 1 or 2 more Or find it a home in a larger tank with other Peppereds and look at dwarf Cories. C habrosus is super cute. And they stay small.

Crypts and Swords are both heavy root feeders. You can get some Osmocote Plus plant food and make your own Rootcicles with an ice tray.
They will keep the roots fed for months.

I meant I can't return it or the Cory and they have nowhere else to go

 

[emerald76]

Can you provide some more information? What type of bulb, watts, etc.

They came with the tank I know nothing about them

 

[jetajockey]

What type of bulbs are they? Are they fluorescent strip lights, or screw in bulbs? Can you read any writing on the bulbs?

 

[emerald76]

What type of bulbs are they? Are they fluorescent strip lights, or screw in bulbs? Can you read any writing on the bulbs?

Screw ins
Incandescent
No writing

 

[jetajockey]

Excellent, that's plenty of info. The cheapest route is to get some screw in CFL's, they make some narrow ones specific for aquarium lighting that you can find in the pet section at walmart or at most LFS, or you can go with a spiral CFL in the daylight/full spectrum/6500k range from most anywhere that carries light bulbs.

I forget exactly what wattage people recommend but I've used everything from 13w and up without any issue, the only concern is the rating that the fixture maxes out at (should be listed on the fixture) and also the higher wattage bulbs are larger in diameter so they may not fit in the hood as well.

 

[emerald76]

Excellent, that's plenty of info. The cheapest route is to get some screw in CFL's, they make some narrow ones specific for aquarium lighting that you can find in the pet section at walmart or at most LFS, or you can go with a spiral CFL in the daylight/full spectrum/6500k range from most anywhere that carries light bulbs.

I forget exactly what wattage people recommend but I've used everything from 13w and up without any issue, the only concern is the rating that the fixture maxes out at (should be listed on the fixture) and also the higher wattage bulbs are larger in diameter so they may not fit in the hood as well.

I'll go for the flourescent in one side then or is that not possible? My incandescents are growing my foxtail very well

 

[jetajockey]

If you wanted to you could. I'd just switch to the lower wattage CFL's though, they are cheaper to run and give you more light to work with. Since they are easy to replace you can mix and match however you wanted, though.