Hey!!! as some of you know my b-day is comeing up and im planing
on planting my 15 gallon tropical tank.So the goldies won't get the plants
of course... Also im looking for some "cheap" (low in money) plants that i
could get... i have some java moss so far.... and a terra cotta plant pot in there....
ummm im planing on makeing it very heavy on live plants...
Im also getting some sand aswell...

So any ideas?

Anubias. Lilly bulbs, onion plants are all great low light end plants and would do great in the warm waters

What's your lighting?

Stem plants like hygro, anacharis, hornwort and moneywort do good under lower lighting but you'll be trimming them all the time. Still, they are nice for filling in areas and you can feed your goldies the trimmings. Java fern and java moss do good as well and grow slower, anubias nana would be good too. Anubias barteri would get way too big for that sized tank. Crypts are very nice for low light and grow slow, stay smaller (for themost part) but can be hard to find locally and often are touchy so you don't want to put them in a tank that isn't stable. They tend to "melt" when their water or light conditions change, then grow back later.

If you can't find much locally, I could send you some lace java fern (its smaller than the standard java fern, darker green and the ends are sort of "lace-y" looking) and crypts if you'd like, I can't send a ton but enough to start you off.

Thanks guys

Im not 100% sure what the lighting is, but the 15 gallon is old about 7 years
old and the lighting set up is also old when i go shopping for plants im
going to get new lighting .... if im not mistaken there simply normal
bulbs not made for tanks (so what light bulbs do i get????)
I really want to get a type of plant but im not 100% sure on the name....
could it possibly be Ceratophyllum demersum,or is it Didiplis diandra Im not sure sorry but i heard it's hard to take care of is this true?

Oh thanks when i go shoping with people on my b-day for my plants ill get the light you recomend and plants ill try to look if not ill let you know and if you
still want ill steal some plants from you

thanks for your help once again

Well, the lights will depend on what you want to keep. Do some research and find out what plants you like the look of, you can check out places like www.aquabotanic.com (which also has a message board for questions, and articles, etc) or www.azgardens.com. Just keep in mind that while they may say a plant is "easy to grow" that means it will grow a lot IF you meet its conditions, not that it will grow under any lighting..

If you start looking at over 2.5, 3 watts per gallon, you'll also really need to consider adding CO2. So for a first time planted tank, its often best to aim for 2.5 or less so you can get the feel of it without having to worry about CO2 and other such things. Plus its easy to overdose CO2 in smaller tanks.

Personally I think the compact flourescant fixtures are the best for plants, but they are not cheap. You have to find the dimentions of your tank and see what you can get as far as size, light fixtures that will actually fit on top of your tank.

Okay thanks im going to most probly go on the weekend to get the plants,sand and light.I think i might get a big nice rock to put in the middle and get some
java fern to get it to grow on it.It should look nice

Thanks once again!!!Ill let you know what happens....


-Alex

Look for daylight (6500K) bulbs.

I'd also add to the plant list: duckweed, frogbit, azolla and salvenia. Those all are floaters and good for removing nitrAte. plus as they grow to cover the top of the tropical tank, you can scoop them out and feed them to your goldies. I can't keep those plants in my goldy tank, cuz they eat them faster than they can grow, so I give them some daily from the other tanks.

thanks ill have to go next weekend, I also need to get some
sand... hmmm ill have to take pictures after im done.