I was thinking of getting a floating plant for Marley since I'm told bettas enjoy them. I have a five gallon hex tank, ammonia level is zero and pH is 6.9....my water is a little on the soft side. My filter causes very little agitation of the surface of the water.
As I have never had a planted aquarium before, do you have any suggestions about easy plants to start with? And what might they require to live?
I can personally vouch for hornwort. It needs...water? I guess with fish in it. Seriously...I've had hornwort thrive in small unlit betta tanks. It doesn't need fertilizers or special lighting...just drop it in the tank. Duckweed is just as easy. Java moss can work, but it is harder to make float and won't grow as much. Watersprite and water lettuce are also good choices.
The only thing is that you want to make sure that you don't cover the entire surface of the tank because the betta will still need access to the surface in order to breathe.
Thanks for the suggestions, I like the look of the Duckweed since it thrives in manure rich water and Marley is a poop machine. Also says it out-competes algae and you rarely get green water if you have Duckweed, which would be an added bonus!
Would most pet supply companies sell it (Petsmart, etc)?
Duckweed is considered a "pest plant." I see it a lot in Petsmart plant tanks, but they don't want it. It reproduces really easily so if you get one stray leaf caught in another plant, you'll quickly have a whole bunch of it again. I've read (even on this forum) about people getting it for free from Petsmarts. I believe it, since I get all my Malaysian Trumpet Snails free from Petsmart.
If they don't have any, you can probably find it anyplace that sells stuff for ponds. My LFS sells pond supplies and koi and also sells huge bags of duckweed.
Water lettuce is great too- it's very similar to duckweed and is also very good at munching up fish waste. Really any of the lily-pad type plants are in case you're having trouble finding duckweed in particular.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Tropical Fish Keeping
597.8K posts
83.7K members
Since 2006
forum community dedicated to tropical fish owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about species,breeding, health, behavior, aquariums, adopting, care, classifieds, and more! Open to fish, plants and reptiles living in freshwater or saltwater environments.