# Easy Going Plants



## dorrrkk (Mar 6, 2011)

Hi everyone, 
I am pretty sure there are a lot of expertise in here who can speak based on experiences.

I have been buying fresh water aquarium plants, the real live one and not plastic. 
The problem is that they keep on disappearing/ dead after a month or so.

I do not have fancy stuffs to grow them and it was not my intention to get something that needs a lot of care. I always tell this to the store clerks and they all say “Yeah, this one right here does not even need a light to grow on/ fertilizer. All you have to do is just plant them on the gravel” – guess what, a month after they are all dead. 

So could anyone tell me a couple plants that does not require a lot of attention, the one who will live just by planting it on the gravel + not eaten by fish. 

My fishes are livebearers.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

What kind of light do you have? Or maybe, what kind of hood do you have?

Chance are you have a pretty weak light in there.

There's two or three plants that might work well for you:

Anubias species (try the larger leafed varieties like barteri)
Java ferns (Microsorum pteropus, etc)

Aside from that, don't take too much stock in what most guys at fish stores say, and you're good to go


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## dorrrkk (Mar 6, 2011)

I bought the aquarium as a starter package so I guess a normal light?


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Some stores sell terrestrial plants that will die within a month or so when submerged in an aquarium, so you either have to learn to identify plants or deal with a reputable store staffed by people who know what they are selling.


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## BeerBaron (Sep 4, 2009)

Anubias and Java fern are going to be your safest bet, if your looking to get a tad risky then these are some others you can try.

*Hygrophila Polysperma*- Nice bright green, small leaved stemmed plant that grows fairly quick.

*Hygrophila difformis* - Big green bushy background plant that can get a bit messy, though worth looking into.

*Ceratopteris Thalictroides*- Commonly also referred to as Water Sprite. Another nice fine leaved, bright green background plant. A strong competitor for nutrients, which can help battle algae issues. Can become overwhelming in smaller tanks.

*Marsilea Crenata*- As far as easy to grow foreground plants this is one of my preferred choices. Though it is slower growing, with a bit of time, patience and lots of water changes this forms a beautiful carpet. May also be a bit difficult to plant in regular gravel.

*Cryptocoryne Parva*- Another foreground plant and one of my favourite crypts. A bit more light demanding than the previous plants I've mentioned though I didn't notice any lighting specs so I'm throwing it in here.

A few other Cryptocrynes I'd look into would be *C. lutea* and*C. Wendtii*.

Good luck with the search and happy planting.


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

I agree with Java Fern and Anubias... 

Anubias is actually my favorite plant of all. Its slow growing, but very hardy and I love the nice big leaves, texture, and the colour.

Just be careful because when you put it under high light, algae will grow on it... But I dont think you have a problem there.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

First of all, what kind of light do you have? Is it a fluorescent tube, or incandescent bulbs?

Incandescents are worthless for growing plants. If it's a fluorescent tube, look at what's written on the tube: is it full spectrum daylight? If not, it's not suitable for plants either.

Do your fish nibble on the plants?


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## Byronicle (Apr 18, 2009)

If u just want some green and don't care too much about getting a lush amount of vegetation than java fern and anubias are definitely the way to go. But I would also like to add mosses such as java and taiwan moss are pretty darn easy too, I had excess sitting in buckets in my garage during winter

However like bae has said, lots of plants sold are terrestrial. beerbaron plant list has all pretty easy plants too. 

You could try some common cryptocornes, but I'd wait for your tank to age a bit since apparently the substrate needs to have healthy populations of bacteria for cryptocornes to do well


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## dorrrkk (Mar 6, 2011)

Thanks Everyone! I will stick with the Java Fern n Anubias 

and yes my fishes nib on them a lot till there is no leaf left. 
About this, will the fishes eat the Fern and Anubias?


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

What kind of fish do you have?

Anubias are pretty tough plants, so I think it would stand a chance.


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## dorrrkk (Mar 6, 2011)

My fishes are molly, swordtails, platy and guppy with 1 pleco


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

mollies and plecos will eat plants... I dont think you will have a problem with anubias and javafern... or even most types of mosses.


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## 5318008 (Dec 11, 2010)

dorrrkk said:


> Thanks Everyone! I will stick with the Java Fern n Anubias
> 
> and yes my fishes nib on them a lot till there is no leaf left.
> About this, will the fishes eat the Fern and Anubias?


One thing to be wary off about java fern is that they can still rot easily when adjusting from emersed growth (the form typically sold in pet stores) to submersed growth. Usually the leaves will turn dark brown and die off but new ones will grow soon after. This is very typical of many times of aquatic ferns (i.e. java ferns, water sprite, etc). It's just that sometimes people think that they have done something wrong when in fact the plants are just adjusting. Good luck!


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

solarz said:


> Incandescents are worthless for growing plants. If it's a fluorescent tube, look at what's written on the tube: is it full spectrum daylight? If not, it's not suitable for plants either.


Plants will grow with most common fluorescent tubes. I've grown thousands of terrestrial and aquatic plants under cheap 'cool whites'. IME, 'cool white', 'bright white', and 'daylight' all work comparably well and somewhat better than 'warm white', 'soft white' and 'plant and aquarium'. It's mainly a matter of which you find most aesthetically pleasing. You don't need 'full spectrum' types at all.

While plants can be grown under incandescents, the huge heat output for adequate light makes them impractical in most cases.


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## Jung (Mar 17, 2009)

Someone mentioned mosses, yes they are easy to grow, but require maintenance in pruning so they don't take over your tank. Phoenix moss/fissidens is a mossy type plant, that doesn't require trimming. From my experience, it will grow really slow under low light, medium lighting seems best.

btw mosses, ferns and anubias you don't plant in the substrate but tie them onto rocks/wood. You can plant ferns and anubias in the substrate but don't bury the rhisome.


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## Byronicle (Apr 18, 2009)

Yeah don't bury the rhizome, they will die. However when they are attached to driftwood or anything they grow much faster


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