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I would like some tips on how to keep them green and GROWING! 3nodding

So after seeing Akari's BEAUTIFUL planted tank, and after a particularly bad day at work, I decided to console myself with a few plants we had on sale. Of which I bought:
- Anubias
- Windelov Java Fern
- Wisteria

And I already had 2 amazon sword plants in there, which have been, well, basically surviving okay (green and all, rarely dead leaves) but not growing too much. They're all in a 5 gallon with a sole betta, with their roots buried in aquarium gravel. Temp is around 75-80 degrees depending on room temp. It is filtered, though I turn it off from time to time because, even though I used the nifty soda/water bottle trick to try and diffuse the flow, it still seems to shred poor Poseidon's fins. (I'm also in the market for a more suitable filter for him, any suggestions? <_< Or even more tips to prevent fin-shredding.)

I've got a 25w light (not sure the type, just the regular light, haha), which I TRY to turn on before I leave for work and TRY to remember to turn off when I come home from work. Ideally, that's 8 hours per day, but I'm constantly forgetting to turn it on OR off all the time, so it's really pretty sporadic. I know! The most important part of growing plants, and I'm bungling it! gonk A timer has been suggested to me, but I'm trying to train myself to do it instead of spending that kind of money, haha.

All I'm putting in the water is conditioner when I change it. So I am very open to suggestions on how to make the water plant-friendly, and things I can put in there to really make everything flourish. I've seen products at our store, but I don't really know much about them and neither do many other people I've tried to ask.

So I guess to condense my essay into a more digestible format:
- I've got 2 amazon swords, wisteria, java fern, and anubias.
- Tank is 5 gallons with 1 betta, regular aquarium gravel, filtered, 75-80 degrees, 25w light. I try to keep the light on for around 8 hours a day. Not very good at it, ha, but I'm trying. Is that enough time for the lights to be on?
- The only thing I add now is water conditioner with water changes. Any products I should look into to help my plants flourish? I'm also looking for growth, not just survival.
- Any other tips or is it all pretty simple after lighting/adding supplements?
- And one more thing I forgot to add, if it's important: I have no idea what the PH and all that look like. xd I've been meaning to bring a water sample to work with me but I keep forgetting.

Thank you so much! :D That was a lot of good information.

I shudder to think of how hard my boyfriend is going to facepalm at this, but I think I'm coming home tomorrow with some of the things you've recommended. lol Hey, he unwinds with a little bit of liquid relaxation, I unwind with aquarium decorating.

I used to have a mystery snail, Franklin II (the first Franklin was a land snail I was nursing back to health after finding him outside with a cracked shell, except my cat found his snailquarium ;_; ), but he went belly up. I am especially fond of snails, so I may consider getting another one. I'm also considering ghost shrimp, just to have something else to look at in my tank.

Poseidon, however, is an extremely aggressive betta, so I don't know if that's such a good idea. Like, if fish could have expressions, I swear to god this one did. When I dropped Franklin II in there for the first time, Poseidon swam up to it and everything about his body language said he was yelling, "What the HECK is this doing in MY tank?!" He sorta calmed down after awhile, but he still bothered Franklin II. Thing is, Franklin II had a hard shell, so the worst he could do was knock him off the glass and annoy him a bit. So I wonder if ghost shrimp could stand up to him.

But aaannnywaayys, back to the plants... What's the best way to tie the Anubias and Java Fern down? And will any rock, or even decoration do? Actually, I've got a decoration in there that is... I don't know what it is, but it's heavy and looks like maybe granite. Will that work?

Again, thank you so much! :D This has been very helpful and hopefully I'll be well on my way to healthy and flourishing plants.

Decorating the tank is so fun! Unfortunately, Crypts don't think so, and will literally melt and die if you move them too much D= If I wasn't using ferts in my tank, my Crypt would have died long ago LOL I've upgraded 3 times since january, and rearanged the tank every few weeks. Poor thing hates me LOL Its nice and green still, though, just hasn't grown much rolleyes

The Anibias and Java Fern just need something thats porous, or has lots of little cracks and crevices for it grip onto. I just rubber bands, but you can also use pure cotton string, or fishing wire. Since both plants are INCREDIBLY slow growing, you'll have to look at what ever you use for a good while, so you better be happy with where you put it!

You could try Ghost Shrimp. I've found Ghost Shrimp to be aggressive, and actually eat my bettas fins, though. They can hold their own, though, thats for sure! I had one huge female back up a King Betta! That a was sight, for sure! Poor Link, didn't know what to do XD I find Red Cherry Shrimp to be much better tank mates, given that they have TONS of plants to hide in, since they are pretty small.



What color was the fuzz? The "roots" of Java Fern are brown and fury as it is...

I'd cut off and discard any white bits, as well as any leaves that are more than 1/3 brown.

Yup! Just don't cut them all off at once. Do a couple, wait a day, do a couple more.

Thanks for asking. biggrin Well, I've been getting better about having the light on and turning it off. You were right! I'm starting to see some brown spots. I got a snail to try and battle it. 3nodding I also got some flourish to put in there.

I also got 2 ghost shrimp, 'cause it's the only kind we sell. ;_; I saw Poseidon chasing one through the water last night, but otherwise they seem to hide. They really like hiding behind the heater, haha.

The plants themselves are doing okay. I've been really busy so I haven't quite gotten around to uprooting and tying the 2 plants to rocks yet. sweatdrop I'm going to try and do it tomorrow evening or maybe Friday, and hopefully the roots will still be okay.

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Good news and bad news. Good news is that my amazons are looking reeeaallly fluffy, moreso than before I think. My other plants seem to be doing okay, wisteria is growing some new leaves on top. The java fern and anubias also seem to be doing well. Ooh, and my snail is pretty active. I've been watching this one algae spot slowly disappear from my tank. xd

Bad news, the ghost shrimp are nowhere to be seen. I'm not certain if Poseidon ate them or if they hide all the time. C'est la vie, I suppose. I half expected him to eat them anyways. xd

Would it be okay to make them a regular addition for something like a betta? I know people feed 30 of them to their big fishes, but they can kill them pretty swiftly. I don't know how fast a betta can kill one of those guys and wouldn't want to be torturing poor shrimpies. ;_; But otherwise it's something that can go either way- either Poseidon leaves them alone and I get to watch them scuttle about, or he eats them and gets a yummy treat.

Oh, and this also cemented my decision not to bring home a pair of ADFs. In my experience at the store, they tend to be shy and hide most of the time, and I'm sure having a macho betta chasing after them will only make them hide more AND stress them out. Wouldn't want them to live like that. :[ Maybe in the future when Poseidon goes to the great blue ocean in the sky I'll find a more agreeable betta that can live with shrimps and frogs without feeling threatened.