Bullet Proof Beginner Plants

[Pizzafan]

Aside from the mentioned Java fern, I found that water lily is extremely easy to grow and gets large with little care. Plus it sends lily pads to the top. You can buy bulbs at petco for cheap — it seems totally hit or miss if they bloom, but If they do, they will look great. 
 

I also don’t dose fertilizer or use root tabs (had a bad experience with them leaching into my water column). Nor do I have fancy lights 

[Miranda Marie]

On 8/24/2021 at 11:27 AM, Pizzafan said:

Aside from the mentioned Java fern, I found that water lily is extremely easy to grow and gets large with little care. Plus it sends lily pads to the top. You can buy bulbs at petco for cheap — it seems totally hit or miss if they bloom, but If they do, they will look great. 
 

I also don’t dose fertilizer or use root tabs (had a bad experience with them leaching into my water column). Nor do I have fancy lights 

I have one in my tank! It's one of my favorite plants and I've considered getting another. I might add that to the list I sent them! Thanks. 💙

[CalmedByFish]

On 8/24/2021 at 11:41 AM, Guppy Guy said:

The only reason it looks good(and I’m spoiling my secret here) is because I put 3 really bad ones together to make one decent one 😂.

FOUR here! I win! 😂

[Patrick_G]

I agree with others, Java Fern can be a pain, and the different varieties seem to like different conditions. My Windelov likes low lights and my standard variety likes high light. It hard to kill them but hard to keep them looking their best. 
If I didn’t have a decent light and was restricted to petco I’d get some swords, they grow fast and it’s so satisfying to see them fill the tank. If you can convince them to order from Aquarium Coop I’d get Swords, Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus and Java Moss on mesh. 

[CalmedByFish]

On 8/24/2021 at 12:27 PM, Pizzafan said:

I found that water lily is extremely easy to grow and gets large with little care.

... they say as I pull mine out and throw it in the kitchen trash.

Really. 5 minutes ago. lol

[Guppy Guy]

On 8/24/2021 at 4:36 PM, CalmedByFish said:

... they say as I pull mine out and throw it in the kitchen trash.

Really. 5 minutes ago. lol

That is so wasteful. I can’t remember what thread it was, but a few days ago, someone said that they throw away a handful of  Salvinia every day. 

You can’t bring it to your LFS for store credit or make a few bucks on EBay? 

Then again, I do the same thing when I can’t even give away my plant’s 

Edited August 24, 2021 by Guppy Guy

[Taco Playz]

Amazon swords. They do need iron but nothing easy Iron can't do. https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/easy-iron Hornwort is super easy too but when its not happy you will definitely know because it sheds like a dog. I have also had really good time with Rotala species in a Low Tech setup even though they will not get the cool red color that they would get in a High Tech setup. Java Ferns are good too. They will even make baby plants too! If they get Java fern tell them that Java Fern is a Rhizome plant which needs to be above the gravel and not under because that is the only way that a Java Fern will die.

[Guppy Guy]

On 8/24/2021 at 5:22 PM, Taco Playz said:

Java Ferns are good too.

Well, its clear that somebody hasn’t read the rest of the thread 🙃 😉 

They are good, but only when they are good if you know what I mean.

Edited August 24, 2021 by Guppy Guy

[Patrick_G]

On 8/24/2021 at 1:36 PM, CalmedByFish said:

... they say as I pull mine out and throw it in the kitchen trash.

Really. 5 minutes ago. lol

I think we need a thread to help you troubleshoot your plant growing setup 😁! 

[Pizzafan]

On 8/24/2021 at 4:36 PM, CalmedByFish said:

... they say as I pull mine out and throw it in the kitchen trash.

Really. 5 minutes ago. lol

Lol, well I said I think it’s hit or miss… either way, probably depends on the bulb you get and your local water conditions. I don’t do anything to encourage growth other than a) slightly overstock fish (aka natural fertilizer) and b) add API leafzone once a week (when I remember)

 

To be fair, I haven’t succeeded at all easy plants. People say bacopa Caroliniana is supposed to be stupid easy and easily take over- not the case for me. It all melted, then was left with a few good leaves that never grew much more. Hornwort is doing OK in my tank and growing (after shedding a bunch of leaves in the first few weeks), but far from being the takeover plant I feared as well

Edited August 24, 2021 by Pizzafan

[Odd Duck]

On 8/24/2021 at 11:30 AM, Miranda Marie said:

Okay, new question related to the same tank. They sent me the dimensions and it's a 30 gallon. Do you guys think a large sponge filter from Aquarium Co-op would be enough filtration for them or is that too little? I have two of them coming in the mail already so I figured I could gift them one since they don't have a filter yet and again, money is pretty tight for their mom. But that was when I was thinking it would be a 20 gallon. I can't remember how big of tanks @Coryuses the large ones on and says they're good as the only filtration. 🤔 But it would be a lot easier for the kids to handle than a hang on back. If it's not enough I can always gift them both and buy myself another later on. Thanks again!

An ACO large sponge filter is good for 40 gallons and up, but my favorite is to combine a sponge filter with an HOB filter packed with sponge and using a sponge prefilter.  A sponge alone sometimes just isn’t enough water circulation so the HOB gives you a bit more of that.  Packing it with sponge gives you more filtration that any cartridge.  The prefilter protects from sucking up and killing any fry or shrimplets that may happen.  Or sucking up debris that can damage the pump/impeller in the HOB.

I personally like the HOB filters that have the pump inside the tank since you don’t have to fiddle with them to get them to restart after a water change, power outage, etc.  They are a bit more expensive and more bulk inside the tank, but for me, the trade off is worth it.  If you’re interested, you can message me privately to discuss the brand I’m currently using (we’re discouraged from discussing ACO competitors).

@Cory has an article and a video on how to supercharge an HOB filter, I’m sure someone more tech savvy than I can link that for us.  It’s just insurance as far as I’m concerned, to have more filtration (but without excess current) to have both kinds of filters.  And for beginners, more probably is better, but make it as foolproof as possible - hence encouraging prefilters and the pump inside the tank.

Sometimes the forum is a bit glitchy and weird.  It posted a comment for me about 6 times the other day.  I had to go in and “hide” the extras.  😆 

[Cory]

Filters are completely based on load. An example of this would be my 100 gallon ponds use the medium sponge filter for filtration.

[Odd Duck]

I have Java ferns that look great and some that look awful, depending on the tank and the individual plant.  Same with swords.  Same with Anubias.  Same with Buces, Crypts, whatever group of plants you want to name.

Sometimes it truly does seem to be random hit or miss.  I’m sure I’m doing something wrong for those that aren’t doing well.  I just wish I always knew what I was doing right for the ones that work!  And I don’t even want to talk about hornwort.  But I’m going to try it again since I haven’t risked it since getting back into the hobby.

[CalmedByFish]

On 8/24/2021 at 4:33 PM, Patrick_G said:

I think we need a thread to help you troubleshoot your plant growing setup 😁! 

Ya know, Irene did a video involving having trouble with plants that people tend to say are easy. She and I were having the same problems with the same plants! Currently, I'm keeping track of Nitrates and Easy Green doses for a couple weeks, to at least get a clearer idea of how much of that one thing they need. It's a solid start to fixing it. 

On 8/24/2021 at 3:57 PM, Guppy Guy said:

That is so wasteful. 

You can’t bring it to your LFS for store credit or make a few bucks on EBay? 

The word "wasteful" is kinda judgy. When the plant is mostly dead, it's not wasteful, and not worth selling. 

[CalmedByFish]

On 8/24/2021 at 5:40 PM, Odd Duck said:

I have Java ferns that look great and some that look awful, depending on the tank and the individual plant.  Same with swords.  Same with Anubias.  Same with Buces, Crypts, whatever group of plants you want to name.

Interesting! Do they all get water from the same source?

[Odd Duck]

On 8/24/2021 at 7:26 PM, CalmedByFish said:

Interesting! Do they all get water from the same source?

Yes.  I literally have some that I got at the same time from the same source, some growing and looking good, some just doing OK, a couple doing awful.  There may, or may not, be some variation from one tank to another, but I’ve had plants side by side in the same tank do this.  Mostly I do pretty well with plants, but there are individuals and there are certain types, that just don’t do well for me.  Some I can’t stop them from growing.

Edit to add that I’ve literally got a gallon of red root floater and a quart of Amazon frogbit that a friend is coming to pick up in a few minutes.  She has a lot of tanks and rescues fish so I give her a lot of stuff.

Edited August 25, 2021 by Odd Duck

[Patrick_G]

@CalmedByFish, I watched the video Irene did on the easy plants. Between that and George Farmer’s book Aquascaping I’m starting to get the trick of growing Java Fern. George recommends a comprehensive liquid fertilizer like Easy Green but in a higher dose that recommended by the manufacturer. I also add a little API leaf zone for extra potassium. Some of my ferns still have issues but they all look good from two feet away! 

[CalmedByFish]

On 8/24/2021 at 7:53 PM, Patrick_G said:

George recommends a comprehensive liquid fertilizer like Easy Green but in a higher dose that recommended by the manufacturer. I also add a little API leaf zone for extra potassium. 

Good to know! I put all my java fern in the same tank where I breed livebearers. I keep the GH high-ish with Equilibrium, so I'm hoping the potassium helps the ferns. 

[Hobbit]

On 8/24/2021 at 4:57 PM, Guppy Guy said:

I can’t remember what thread it was, but a few days ago, someone said that they throw away a handful of  Salvinia every day. 

That would be me 😇 but remember, I do bring a ton of salvinia to my LFS every time I go! And whatever salvinia I throw on the ground turns into compost, and the compost feeds the grass, and the chickens eat the grass, and we eat the chickens’ eggs, and we are all part of the circle of life. (That’s how the Lion King quote goes, right?)

In all seriousness though—I don’t think I saw anyone mention my new favorite easy plant: anacharis! Also known as elodea or egeria. It seems very hardy and it pearls super easily. It’s also easy to find at petsmart and Petco. It will float unless you weight it down somehow.

[Guppy Guy]

On 8/24/2021 at 8:24 PM, CalmedByFish said:

 When the plant is mostly dead, it's not wasteful, and not worth selling. 

If its mostly dead(welcome to the club 😜), I see why. At least the landfills get some compost now. 🙃

On 8/25/2021 at 1:03 AM, Hobbit said:

That would be me 😇

I don’t think I saw anyone mention my new favorite easy plant: anacharis!  It seems very hardy and it pearls super easily. 

I need to see if I can find some. If it grows as good as water wisteria(I can’t even give that away), I might be able to handle it. 😃 

[FlyingFishKeeper]

I've had really good luck with red root floaters, they grow quick add a bunch of colour, and look great. I've even got flowers off of them under my Finnex Stingray. Pogostemon stellatus "Octopus" is also a favourite of mine, it grows fast, looks nice, and I don't think I've killed it yet. 

[Streetwise]

I think Anubias is my easiest epiphyte, and Dwarf Sagittaria is my easiest rooted plant.

[Miranda Marie]

On 8/24/2021 at 4:30 PM, Cory said:

Filters are completely based on load. An example of this would be my 100 gallon ponds use the medium sponge filter for filtration.

Edit: Oops, hit submit too early 😆

Okay, thank you, Cory!! I'm hoping to keep them from stocking it too full since it's their first time trying anything over a 3 gallon. We'll see how it goes. 😉

Edited August 25, 2021 by Miranda Marie
Submitted too early

[Miranda Marie]

On 8/24/2021 at 4:32 PM, Tankseeker said:

I actually don’t consider Amazon swords beginner plants @CalmedByFish they need a lot of root tabs and java fern I consider fool proof of you give it the right conditions 

Yeah Amazon swords have never worked out for me, and they seem to need more root tabs than even I can afford. And since their mom has a pretty tight budget, I don't know that they would be a good fit. 😉 But I know some people have great success with them, so maybe it depends on the person. 🤷

[Miranda Marie]

On 8/24/2021 at 11:03 PM, Hobbit said:

That would be me 😇 but remember, I do bring a ton of salvinia to my LFS every time I go! And whatever salvinia I throw on the ground turns into compost, and the compost feeds the grass, and the chickens eat the grass, and we eat the chickens’ eggs, and we are all part of the circle of life. (That’s how the Lion King quote goes, right?)

In all seriousness though—I don’t think I saw anyone mention my new favorite easy plant: anacharis! Also known as elodea or egeria. It seems very hardy and it pearls super easily. It’s also easy to find at petsmart and Petco. It will float unless you weight it down somehow.

I'll look that one up as an option too!! Thank you. 💙