Tropical Fish Forums

[cherrybarb06]

I just set up a 10 gallon tank and have already added plants. Unfortunetly:

1) I bought two species of plants that were Petco Aqua plants and I swere I think they just made the names up because I can't find any information on them
2) I finally found some info on the plants and it turns out they are not actually aquatic plants
3) Since they are not really aquatic plants of course they aren't ment for underwater life and they will die soon

**4) Luckily I scored one half-wrongly marked java fern (by chance. They did correctly throw "fern" into their made-up name)

Anyway, after all of these let downs I am finally ready to try the planted aquarium thing again. I thought I should go to the fish store knowing what I want this time so...

What easy to care for plants do you recommend for my 10 gallon tank? I want something that will provide cover for the cherry barbs and zebra danios I am going to add(once the cycle is over. It's taking for ever )

[cherrybarb06]

nobody ever answers my questions

[Akona]

First, what lighting do you have? How many watts? That affects what plants people will recommend.

For low light conditions (say, 20 watts), crypts do well, java fern and java moss work very well, too. Anubias could work, too.

For high light, lots of plants will do well, water wisteria, amazon swords, fast growing stem plants, etc.

One of my favorite plant sites for finding plants that fit my aquarium is:
http://www.tropica.com/default.asp
click on the 'advanced search' link, and you'll get a search engine that has criteria like light, pH, ease of care, etc.

Hope that helps.

[menagerie mom]

One of the best ways to up your chances of getting helpful replies to your posts is to do a little research ahead of time so you can ask specific questions. You could start by looking through the garden section of this board to identify some plants that fit your needs and appeal to you. You could also do a search of this board for your topic. Here is a recent thread on planting 10 gallon tanks:

http://www.aquahobby.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=40279

Doing some research before you go shopping also helps you know what you are looking at when making plant choices in the store. I usually try to print out a picture or find one in a book if I'm looking for a particular plant.

Please post back with some specific questions and I'm sure you will get some helpful answers to your questions.