Plant replacment in a beginners new tank

bullet15963

Hi, I got my first tank about 3 weeks ago, 10 gallons from petsmart (should i be getting anything from here?? so far its all been from there) as i dont remember the name of the plant i got i took some pictures. First question, Is there a good plant I should replace this one with for beginners / new tanks? second, I got a florescent light, im not sure if its a full spectrum bulb though, how do i tell? The tank doesnt get any natural light. Water is about a 7.1 ph

Photos:
http://parenti.smugmug.com/Aquariums...90007448_FoWn4

Inga

First and most importantly, Welcome to the forum! Second, good start to your aquarium. I have purchased many plants from Petsmart and have been happy with most of them. They are not always marked correctly so you do have to use a little caution. In a 10 gallon tank you will need smaller plants and also need to keep in mind what types of fish you are thinking about. If you look at the profiles at the top of the forum in the blue strip that says "Tropical Fish Profiles" you will be able to get a view for which ones get along and what requirements they have. Tank size, water parameters etc... In that same thing, there is a plants profile as well.

kitten_penang

theres a kelvin rating on the tube.if there isn't then it's not a correct bulb.a rating of 6500k is best for plants.but if the plants are mow light then you might be able to have them with the lights you have. are the lights warm or daylight? daylights are always better for plants

bullet15963

The bulb says Natural Daylight F15T8 and i leave it on about 8 hours a day

kitten_penang

that should be ok. if the plants don't look in good shape just leave the light on for 10 hours

Inga

Also adding a little fertilizer 1-2 times a week will help a lot. Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive fertilizer for the planted Aquarium is what is most often recommended on here.

redchigh

I believe that plant is a myriophyllum... AKA a water milfoil...Perhaps Myriophyllum verticillatum?
Or the submerged growth of mermaids weed, Proserpinaca palustris?

regardless, it should work fine.

A bit concerned with the fish... I believe one of them is a shoaling species... Still, nice tank.

I agree, you will need to buy some fertiliser, preferably Flourish Comprehensive or Kent's Pro-Plant.

Byron

Hi and welcome to Tropical Fish Keeping forum. And to the wonderful world of planted tanks.

You need more plants. Have a look at the plants in the fish profiles section, second tab from the left in the blue bar at the top. Each species has info on needs, light, tank size, plus photos. You can always ask us questions on specific plants.

And browse the fish profiles (same tab); as redchigh mentioned, you have shoaling fish that need to be in a group, but a 10g is very limited space. Research and decide on the fish you want and then plan accordingly.

Byron.

bullet15963

Thanks for all the feedback, you guys are really helpful. Currently in the tank I have 2 zebra danios, 2 tetras (I think they were call gold tetras, or something like that) 2 ghost shrimp, and one cory catfish (Brochis splendens).

redchigh

Yep, indeed.

If you can, you might be able to get a school of 6 ember tetras to replace the gold tetras, and 3 small cories...

Zebra danios are schooling too, so you might have to choose... You probably dont have enopugh space for a school of danios though.