The Puffer Forum

Im going to be ordering a few plants online later and i was wondering about which are the best plants to use which dont require stupidly high light lvls and dont need a co2 kit or injectors. These are the ones ive been looking at:

Bacopa Myriophylloides http://www.java-plants.com/product_info ... cts_id=105
Crinum Thaianum http://www.java-plants.com/product_info ... cts_id=100
Cryptocoryne Pontederiifolia http://www.java-plants.com/product_info ... ucts_id=42
Java fern

And I saw this and like it http://www.java-plants.com/product_info ... cts_id=331
So wondering would it be ok in my tank, It looks interesting and i think future shrimp I plan to add may enjoy climbing it etc

With the exception of the Crinum,...I have grown the others quite easily under dual 10,000K T5's. The Java fern does best under lower lighting or in the shade.

Other you might consider are Java moss and Anubias nana

All 12 of my tanks are planted and all of them thrive under 10,000K lights. Some people may not be capable but IME they work well.

Crypts & aniubias does the best in my tanks.

The submerse Crinums need at least two-tube fixtures with good triphosphor tubes at ~7000 -7500K tubes directly over the plants. The foliage is usually about 6' long, floating just under and at the surface. It will shade out anything below it other than Anubias nana. IME, 10,00K tubes are not often good FW tubes. Crinums also tend to be relatively slow-growing but very large plants by most hobby tank standards, 55 -75 would be about the minimum for me, and I use it most in the big tanks (>100 gallons).

The commoner crypts in LFS are undemanding and low to moderate light. But C. pontederiifolia is not as easy as C. wendtii for me. It does best in shade in my tanks, so less than 2 WPG (which is my stanadard light lever). It too is rather slow for me.

The Java Ferns are great long life but relatively to very slow-growth plants. They can be filter-intake cloggers due to their baby plantlets.

The marimo balls are pretty easy at and above ~2WPG. They need to be turned around and over regularly, and squeezed gently at water changes to flush them out a bit and keep their their shape. They really are a specialized cladophora alga.

HTH

I have been able to grow a wide variety of plants and they are all thriving under 10,000K lights. I am not saying they are the ideal plant growing lights,...but I found the 6700-7500K lights to be dim and orange-y whereas the 10,000K are a beautiful bright blue/white light.

Floaters such as hornwort and Ceratopteris_thalictroides don't need much light.

Trust me java moss is VERY easy to keep alive. It is also makes a great hide for small fish.

Naja grass (aka Guppy Grass)

Java Moss is also an excellent fry nursery and infusoria habitat and generator for fry too small for prepared foods.