# New to real plants...



## SpeCiaLisT (Aug 12, 2005)

Okay. Heres the deal...I've been in the fish hobbit for awhile but I never tried real plants and I was wondering what kind of plants are good for a piranha tank. I'm looking for a plant that doesn't need much light at all and doesn't need much caring. Right now I have the betta bulb plants in the tank with my baby serrasalmus and I just leave the light on all day and turn it off at night time before I sleep.
Any suggestions on plants. the tank is only a 29 gallon. Im going for something that covers the grown a little and maybe something that looks like a lilly pad. I have sand.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

SpeCiaLisT said:


> Okay. Heres the deal...I've been in the fish hobbit for awhile but I never tried real plants and I was wondering what kind of plants are good for a piranha tank. I'm looking for a plant that doesn't need much light at all and doesn't need much caring. Right now I have the betta bulb plants in the tank with my baby serrasalmus and I just leave the light on all day and turn it off at night time before I sleep.
> Any suggestions on plants. the tank is only a 29 gallon. Im going for something that covers the grown a little and maybe something that looks like a lilly pad. I have sand.


Cryptocorynes and tiger lotus would fit the bill. Anubias could work too, along with java fern, but those guys prefer to be attached to driftwood or rocks. Dwarf sag could work if you want a more grassy look, and banana plants could work with or instead of the lotus. I have dwarf sag and lotus in my lowlight 40g breeder, java ferns in a low light 12g, and crypts in a few low light tanks. My mother-in-law has some volunteer crypts now that are HUGE in a 40g tall column tank with 36w of regular fluorescent lighting. She's had the tank set up for a few years (moved it home last year from her classroom after she retired). The crypts started out as basically rhizomes hidden in the gravel I gave her from a tank I tore down and used to set hers up!

To make your life easier and light levels more stable, get a timer. The lower the light levels, the longer it will take to fill in, but the easier it is to correct mistakes. You can always updgrade the lights later for faster growth and dose Fluorish Excel (or DIY CO2) and other basic ferts to speed up growth.


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## SpeCiaLisT (Aug 12, 2005)

thanks alot for the help.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

SpeCiaLisT said:


> thanks alot for the help.


Anytime!









Be sure to post any more questions or concerns...there are a lot of other guys on here that can help!


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## JustJoshinYa (Mar 25, 2006)

i would go with what teach said, go with the lotus instead of the banana plant as i always had a hard time keeping my bnana plant alive, also anubias is a good plant for your requirements you can even attach it to a tiny peace of driftwood doesnt need to be big just something for the roots to grab onto, the dwarf sag would take a while to get going and you should get some iron if you plan on growing dwarf sag, without iron my sags always look pail and snap off with iron they are lush green and very hardy. good luck keep us posted


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