Good quality live plants

Good evening everyone!

So I was looking at my 10 gallon tank and I really like how my remodel of the decor turned out. However as I was doing some late night forum surfing I can't help but feel envious of those people who have live plants in their tanks ( I think they just look so much better than the silk ones I have). I have tried live plants in my tank before but I ALWAYS end up with pest snails in my tank and they drive me crazy. All of these plants have been purchased at my LFS or big chain store. I also only have a simple hood with LED lighting so I know that limits the types of plants I should be looking for, the so called "low tech" plants. I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction for finding some good quality, low tech, and SNAIL FREE plants for my 10 gallon tank which currently houses one male betta and 2 snails. Any help is much appreciated!

 

So first off with the snail part. You can get ride of them just by rinsing and letting them soak in water (not in the tank) for a few days to let the snails somewhat come out. Then rinse it again with warm water. The best plants I would recommend are anubias, java ferns, moss ball, S. Repens or anything that you find that only need low light and little Co2 etc. DO NOT GET BABY TEARS! lol they are the worse for beginners. They need high Co2 and high light which equals $$$$ Well and another reason for ur snail problem is because u already have 2 snails. Dont they breed like crazy? Or is it just me....lol

 

I have had success with buying water wisteria in the snail free packaging at petsmart. I seem to be sharing this a lot here recently, but the water wisteria & water Sprite both have done really well in my "no plant frills" tank. And I agree that they look great (although it looks a bit over grown at the moment). I got the water Sprite from my LFS who said they didn't have snails. I did an alum dip just in case. I participated in. Thread a while ago about how to dip plants, I think by Junne Dragon I think talked about a successful ice water dip. So search around & see if you can find those.

 

There are lots of easy low tech plants to choose from!
I recommend Cabomba, Ludwigia Repens, Valisneria ( you will eventually need to trim the length) but they all grow really nicely.
Amazon swords are also nice plants that are super easy but to have one in a small tank requires frequent trimming.
I also second Mom2some 's recommendation of Wisteria.

As for snails, I'd recommend just doing a salt dip on any plants you bring home.
Pond snail eggs can take awhile to hatch and be particularly difficult to rinse off as they're held in a clear jelly like substance that becomes very hard to spot out of water.

If you mix up a bucket of salt water (aquarium salt or kosher salt) you can just dip any plants in there for 3-5 seconds and it will kill the adults and eggs. Rinse off in water and you're good to go-Snail free.

 

Awesome! How much should the ratio of salt to water be?

 

I use a 5 gallon bucket and put about one cup of kosher salt.

 

Using a stocked LED light from minibow in a barebottom tank have success with anubias nana (petco betta buddy) anubias something (petco tube), and water wisteria (petco tube).