Beginner plants for tank with gravel

I’m hoping to put live plants in my tank. I’m wondering if anyone has any suggestions? What are the pros and cons of owning live plants? I have 4 Guppies

I want live plants please tell me easy ones to take care of? What are the pros and cons of having live plants.

 

Good beginner plants are usually the easy low light plants. Dont get anything that says it needs high light or CO2. These are usually Java Ferns and java moss, Anubias. Both java fern and anubia need to be tied to something not buried in the gravel. Other easier plants are crypts, valisneria and sword plants. There are others also.

That however does not mean they will like your water either. They sometimes will "melt" when adjusting to the water. I cant keep java ferns or moss in my water personally.

 

Hmm... so what ones do I choose then?

 

Get some anubias to start. Tie them to some wood or rock. They are slow growing but pretty indestructible. Dont really need any ferts either. Easy.

 

Get some anubias to start. Tie them to some wood or rock. They are slow growing but pretty indestructible. Dont really need any ferts either. Easy.

This is gonna sound dumb but what do you mean tie them together? I’ve had fish for 5 years

 

Not tie them together, tie the plant onto something. If you bury the rhizome it will rot and your plant will die. The rhizome is the big bulgy thing the roots and stems come out of. I use small clear rubber bands to tie them on. Eventually they should stick and grow to the thing its tied to and you wont need them on there anymore.

 

Plants like Anubias and Java Ferns use roots that take in nutrients from the water, not from the substrate like gravel or sand or aquasoil. That's why people usually don't plant them, and if they do, then take special care to make sure the rhizome is above the substrate. As StarGirl said, if the rhizome is buried it will rot. The rhizome is what everything comes out of, pretty easy to identify when you see the plant. I honestly don't bother tying mine down to anything or using super glue, I just stick em in a hole that works. It is annoying and they tend to float up after a WC, but I'm lazy lol. Stick em in any crevice between rocks or hardscape if you can't tie it to anything.

 

Moss is typically the easiest thing to grow without needing a whole lot, but I don't like how messy it can get. I've done Anubias and Java ferns (tie with thread/fishing line to something as mentioned) but Anubias is a slow grower so you might not need new leaves for a while. Dwarf Sagittaria worked well for me with no CO2 and low-medium lighting with root tabs if you want something that can carpet a bit on the bottom (though they work best in sand or plants substrate). Moss balls are easy and need no maintenance much at all. You can also try Swords or Vals but they require root tabs as they're heavy root feeders.

I find live plants can be harder to take care of and figure out what's wrong with them when there is something wrong. They require patience which is often hard for me but I find that fish tend to enjoy them more. They're not sharp or dangerous like some decor can be and I've got a betta that loves lying under leaves of dwarf sag. My guppy like hiding from each other behind java ferns. So, it's up to you. I went from only 1-2 plants to full on aquascapes because I found I enjoy live plants more than picking out decor that can fall apart

 

Pros of live plants:

1, They can improve water quality.

2. Healthy (in good numbers) plants out compete algae, and keep it under control.

3. Fish will not get injured as can happen with plastic plants.

4. Live plants just look better.

5. Gives the fish a natural place to hide and spawn.

Cons:

1. Cost of equipment. If you decide in the future that you really want to get into growing aquatic plants you will need to invest in a proper plant light. The more advanced plants requirer CO2 injection. I do not use CO2.

2. Cost of supplements. Most plants will need to be fed either from water column ferts or root tabs or both.

3. And lastly, you need to understand what the plants need and how big they get. Like oscars they often are sold very small but some get very large. See the shot of the red myreo below. This is a 44 pent. Many aquatic plants need to be tended to. It is a lot like a terrestrial garden.

As for ease of care Crypts are a good choice along with what has been mentioned by the other members. See second photo. This is a 37 gallon guppy aquarium. The crypts surround the dragon. People often speak of plants melting when new. In all the years I have kept plants this never happened to me, but I put a lot of effort into my water for the plants.

Beware of moss, it is very invasive.