# new to plants....some help?



## compton ass steve (Nov 12, 2004)

i have a 40 gallon tank with gravel. i have a couple fake plants in the tank because they came with the set up...i hate them, but the rhom loves them. any suggestions on some cool looking plants that give good cover , but are very easy to take care of? the tank is pretty low light.


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## SpAzZy (Mar 30, 2004)

if you are using everything that you got from the store, then you will most likely have to change the flourescent bulb that you have. you'll need a bulb that emits the right wave lengths of light into your tank so taht your plants can photosynthesize. anyway, anacharis is easy to take care of, won't need too much light, and java moss will do well in low light. give anacharis a try first, if it doesn't survive, don't waste your money on other plants.

be REALLY careful with choosing plants at the store though, there may be snail eggs on the plants. if snails start to breed in your piranha tank, it's over, they'll be like rats.. you'll be forced to add copper (had-a-snail medicine) into your tank to kill them all and you will never again be able to keep invertabraes in your tank. this happened to me, i still have the snails actually.. i pluck them out and throw them in my puffer tank for them to eat. i have the medicine though, i'm just reluctant to use it in my p tank..


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## Gumby (Aug 13, 2004)

Anacharis is a good reccomendation for a starter plant. It's low light and grows fast. As far as the snails are concerned. If they're not Trumpet snails, my piranhas love to eat snails.

Other good starter plants are Anubias, Cryptocornes, and Hygrophilia.


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## compton ass steve (Nov 12, 2004)

thanks a lot ...i think im going to pick up some of this anacharis you speak of, and apparently, a different light


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## Husky_Jim (May 26, 2003)

compton ass steve said:


> thanks a lot ...i think im going to pick up some of this anacharis you speak of, and apparently, a different light


 You can try also some Hygrophyla Polysperma or Hygrophylla Corymbosa,and Java Fern with some Anubias.(the last 2 you can attach them on driftwood with a line and they look fantastic.









Keep us updated with your tank!


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## compton ass steve (Nov 12, 2004)

i bought some aponogeton bulbs, supposedly there easy to grow and i wont have to change my light. they were just the first thing i happend to come across and really cheap. so ill give them a couple weeks and see how they turn out. then ill go for some more heavy planting if it works out


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## Gumby (Aug 13, 2004)

Aponegeton bulbs are fairly easy to sprout and grow, the light they require isn't that high either. When sprouting them be sure to check them weekly for fungus. If they fungus up, they're gonners. If you don't see any activity after eh... 2 weeks, give them a little squeeze. If the bulbs are soft to the touch and can be squeezed easily, they've rotted and you'll need to toss them out.

Once the plants get going, they sent some shoots to the top for flowering, that's normal. You can clip them off if you really don't like them. Keep in mind that all Aponegeton plants go though a dormant phase where all the leaves will die and fall off then come back in a few months. If you see this happen, it's 100% normal.


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## compton ass steve (Nov 12, 2004)

thanks a lot... ya i put like six or seven of them in there, now....i wait


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## compton ass steve (Nov 12, 2004)

the bulbs have grown A LOT. well 3 of them did anyway one of them even started to flower, but i clipped it off because the stalk it was on was over a foot long and looked ridiculous compared to the rest of the plant. they all look very healthy, and i got a couple more, there starting to root. next i will buy some plants and see how that goes!


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## compton ass steve (Nov 12, 2004)

i now bought a sword plant and a new light bulb... the aponogeton bulbs have gotten better color to them since i got the bulb. the sword plant seems to be doing ok, aside from a couple leaves that broke off.


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## Gumby (Aug 13, 2004)

A lot of sword are grown in their immersed form because they grow better/faster. A lot of leaves will die off because of this when you submersed form. Submersed form leaves will start to grow in and they should be narrower and thinner than immersed form leaves. Give them a chance before you throw them out. Clip all leaves that seem to be dying.


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## compton ass steve (Nov 12, 2004)

i bought the plant from petsmart and it was already submerged in water.. am i still going to have problems?


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## Gumby (Aug 13, 2004)

Yeah, still possible. We get our plants in in immersed form and it takes about a week or two for the leaves to start dying off.


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