Good Replacement Plants

I have a 10 gallon planted tank with one male betta and some snails. The plants are Elodea, Java Fern, one sword plant, some Ludwigia replens, and an unknown green/red plant that looks similar to Ludwigia (I haven't been able to properly identify it yet). My latest plant addition was the Ludwigia, and it's not doing very well. If it all dies, what would be some good plants to replace it with? The Elodea is growing really well, but to me the tank looks like it just needs more plants. It hasn't been set up all that long (1 month) so I think I can safely move things around when I get some new plants. I liked the idea of some additional color, which is why I got the Ludwigia replens, but it's the only plant that seems to be dying. I keep the temp at 80 degrees, maybe the Ludwigia is the only plant I have that just doesn't like it that warm? Since I've seen the pics of other people's tanks I've come to the conclusion that I don't think I'm very good at aquascaping, LOL, and would really appreciate the benefit of the group's knowledge on how to properly plant a tank well.

 

Here is a link to an article I put together on low light / low tech tanks....

https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/resources/how-to-set-up-a-low-light-low-tech-planted-tank.24/

It has a list of good easy plants. Ludwigia is an easy plant, if it's not doing well for you something may be up with your lighting or nutrients. What lighting do you have? Are you using any fertilizers like root tabs or liquid ferts?

 

I'm not using any fertilizers. I couldn't tell you what the bulb is, it was in the hood from my previous tank. All the plants are thriving except for the ludwigia replens. Thank you for the link, I will be reading up on it. Any suggestions on how to make the tank more visually appealing, while keeping a betta's preferences in mind? I want any fish I have to feel secure and would like to mimic a natural habitat as best I can, while making it nice for me to look at as well. Here's what my tank looks like currently. Sorry for the quality, all I have is my phone and it picks up all the reflections. Any suggestions?

 

For starters, your tank looks good. The anacharis could be planted if you want so it doesn't float all over the place, but other than that, you have a nice start for a planted tank. I can see the Ludwigia repens, and it looks healthy in the photo.

2 things I would suggest....

Replace your bulb with a 6500k range bulb. Take out your bulb and bring it to a Home Depot, Lowes, etc and ask them for the same bulb but one that is close to 6500k color temp range. This is more ideal for plants. Your current bulb is probably old and odds are not in the best color range for your plants. Java fern and anacharis could grow in your closet almost as they need very little light, so that is why they are doing ok, but Ludwigia needs a little bit more. Not a ton of light, but more then a java fern or anacharis require.

I would get a bottle of Seachem Flourish Comprehensive. It is a great all around fertilizer that factors in your fish producing nitrogen, fish food making producing phosphorus, but has a larger dose of potassium and micro/trace elements that your tank may be lacking in. A once weekly dose would be a nice boost for your plants, as they are all water column feeding plants that would benefit from some liquid ferts. The Ludwigia may benefit from some root tabs, but aren't necessary for them. Seachem makes some Flourish tabs that are good but a bit pricey at around $10 for 10 at most stores locally. Peabodys paradise is a forum sponsor and sells a ton of plants as well as some real good root tabs for cheap, 25 for $5. So maybe check them out if you want an added boost for your Ludwigia or other future root feeding plants.

 

^Agreed

 

Thank you. LOL, the anacharis is all planted, it's just growing all over the place! I keep snipping pieces off and planting them randomly but almost can't keep up as the stuff grows inches every day. Honestly I have never used fertilizers before (never had any luck with live plants before now actually) so am a little concerned about using them with only one fish and snails in the tank. I don't want anything to happen to my fish... Is the reason the plants need the fertilizers because the bioload from the one fish and the snails is so low? If I need them, are there certain fertilizers I should stay away from?

 

No matter what the bio load for the fish and snail are, it doesent have the needed nutrients for the plants. Adding fertilizer will give the plants what they need to thrive. An easy liquid fertilizer most people use is Seachem Flourish. It's harmless. Most ferts are completely safe for most fish/snails.

 

Thanks for that info. Are there particular plants that derive more benefit from fertilizer? Once I start adding it, are there additional test kits I should buy to make sure I'm not over or under fertilizing?

 

I would check out this thread for all the info about liquid vs. root tabs and which plants take which. They can explain things more throughly than I can! And there really isn't anything you need to do after you start adding fertilizers. You might find that algae grows a bit faster than before but other than that there aren't any nasty side affects or test kits you need.



Edit: found another Thread that will give you all you need to know about a planted tank!



https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/general-guide-to-low-light-planted-tanks.11697/

 

Thank you for the links @. After I read the General Guide to Low-Light Plants, I have some questions. My tank is a 10G, and the light is either a 20W or a 25W (the wattage is facing the inside of the housing so I'm not sure which it is). Which means that the lighting is either 2 or 2.5 wpg, correct? This is higher than the recommended range in the article. I also have a new never used before bulb I bought before I set up the tank in case the old bulb gave out puny light, which is 15W and 5500K. Would this be a better bulb for my tank? I have a moss ball, Elodea, Java Fern, a Sword Plant, an unknown red/green plant, and some Ludwigia replens. The Ludwigia is turning my tank rank, because the leaves keep turning brown and falling off (which might be due to the snails, as they seem to leave all the other plants alone besides the Ludwigia). I do not have any algae, but noticed today when I was snipping and replanting the Elodea (it grows like crazy) that the substrate is full of snail poop as it filled the tank when I disturbed it. I turned the filter up and the water cleared within 5-10 minutes. I think I need to siphon the substrate pretty good to get rid of the snail poop, but not sure how to do that without mucking up all of the plants? I'm undecided at this point that the Ludwigia will either die out soon from all the leaf loss, or grow back due to the roots and some new leaf shoots that I see on the stems. I removed a bunch of rotting Ludwigia leaves today (many of which were full of holes due to the snails feasting on them previously). The snails are leaving everything else alone besides the Ludwigia. My tank readings have been stable for 3 weeks (tank set up Feb 1) at zero ammonia, zero nitrites, and 5-10 nitrates. pH has been stable at 7.6 as well. Suggestions on a good course of action? Do I get rid of the Ludwigia and go with something else? Change the bulb? I appreciate any advice.

 

The color spectrum is a bit more important than the wattage per gallon for small tanks, so I would go with the bulb at 5500K and see how that does. And usually plants are ok with vacuuming the gravel, just be careful around the roots. Siphon deeply around them, but leave a few inches of a barrier. Defiantly get the snail poop cleaned up as its probably causing the tank to be more rank.

The Ludwigia is probably turning brown because the bulbs aren't in the right spectrum. I would switch the bulb to something closer to 6500k for the ludwigia and see how it reacts. If its still turning brown, just get rid of it and find something else. Or buy some more fresh Ludwigia and see if it settles in your tank better than the older plant. I'm no expert, but this usually works for me!

 

One other question - if I switch out the light bulb for just the Ludwigia, how might it affect the other plants I have? The rest are growing like weeds. Not sure if it's worth potentially harming the other plants just for one bunch... I'll give it another week or so, but if I end up ditching the Ludwigia instead, what's a good replacement? And I will be doing my bi-weekly water change this weekend, so will see what happens when I dig into the sand and rocks. I have only done about 15% water changes so far, but if I get into the substrate really good I'll probably need to do more than that. Will it hurt to do as much as 50% even if my water readings are really good, or should I do one half of the tank first, then do the other half in a few days?

 

If your other plants are growing well under the current lighting, you should just keep the bulbs you have unless you really want to upgrade to the other for the ludwigia. I don't think it will harm your other plants if that's what you're worried about. And a replacement for the ludwigia... hmmm. I don't really know any that come to mind, but you could try looking at the plant profiles for a stem plant that works well under the low lighting. Or maybe someone else will give a suggestion?

The 50% water change should be fine as long as you are careful about keeping that betta safe. Maybe even put him into another container for a half hour or so while you clean the tank. And when you clean the gravel, the syphon works pretty at keeping all the grI'm contained in the syphon cylinder itself and not stirred up into the water.

If you're worried, you can just do a 25% while you clean half of the tank's gravel and the other 25% a day or two later.

Good luck!

 

Might I suggest some baby tears? it takes some bit of experience when dealing with them but it brightens up your tank and is a wonderful carpet plant.

WARNING!!- Does Require CO2 supplements

 

I would give water wisteria a try. Its very easy to grow in my experience and is usually easy to find at stores. I also like it because it grows fast, but it can be trimmed and propagated easily. It will also grow planted or floating.

 

Might I suggest some baby tears? it takes some bit of experience when dealing with them but it brightens up your tank and is a wonderful carpet plant.

WARNING!!- Does Require CO2 supplements

As well as high output lighting.

A good low light "carpet" plant might be christmas moss. It is denser and slower growing than java moss so it is less likely to take over the tank.

 

Might I suggest some baby tears? it takes some bit of experience when dealing with them but it brightens up your tank and is a wonderful carpet plant.

WARNING!!- Does Require CO2 supplements

I wouldn't recommend this. This plant has a lot of requirements such as high light and co2. Along with maintenance and substrate needs its not at all a beginners plant. Wisteria is a good choice though and looks amazing.