# Colorful plants?



## raw88gt (Nov 23, 2005)

hi all i was just wondering if there is any colorful aquarium plants? i set up a 45 and would like to get some growth the plants i put in so far are growing good! i bought some bulbs from walmart almost all those took off great along with a plant with green leaves with white lines on them. What other plants could i get? sorry for such a noob question


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

The plant with green leaves and white lines is not an aquatic plant. It will slowly die and rot in your tank and will foul the water. I suggest removing it immediately.

There quite a lot of colorful plants. Much depends on your setup, temp, lighting, etc. Try www.plantgeek.com and looking at their listings.


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## raw88gt (Nov 23, 2005)

damn they are doing good to guess i will rip em up so it seems every plant they sold me wasnot meant for aquariums... thats great oh well


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

The white color is the first indicator that the plant is not fully aquatic. Also you can feel the leaves. They should be waxy, another indicator. Sounds like pothos which will grow submerged..............for up to a month then slowly die off.
For colorful plants there are many, though most need bright light (2.5wpg pc or better) and cow injection. Tank setup?


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Hmm... my plants seem to thrive quite nicely without any cow injections.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Some will, depends on plant type, lighting wattage as well as type (not all lighting is equal).


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2006)

How many watts are over the tank, raw? That will depend on your plant choices.

Like mentioned above, most colorful plants need alot of light. Red Cryptocoryne wendtii is a pretty slow growing dark red plant. Ludwigia repens will grow in about 2 watts per gallon, which would be about 90 watts of light over your tank. It sounds as if you just have the stock lighting on the tank and its probably not many watts at all. I suspect you probably have less than 1 watt per gallon, which really limits your choices. Low light is really limited to green plants as the more color they have (usually red) the more light they need.

Give us your tank specs...lighting, fish, plants in there now, nitrate, temp....all that.

If you don't know the names of some of the plants...post some pictures. We'll try to ID them.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Simpte said:


> Some will, depends on plant type, lighting wattage as well as type (not all lighting is equal).


She was being sarcastic.


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## raw88gt (Nov 23, 2005)

i have 2x96w power compacts no co2 injection as still learning


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2006)

Wow, 2 96w lights over a 45g tank...you need some CO2 or you are in for some major algae. That is over 4wpg. Any way you can just use one bulb? Do you have 2 switches? Only using one bulb will give you just over 2wpg, which is a good starting point, especially if you don't have CO2 yet.

Some good plants to try are: Ludwigia repens, Rotala rotundifolia (sometimes called indica), Crypt Wendtii red, and Sunset Hygro (if you can find it). Those are all reddish tinted plants. The Ludwigia, Rotala, and Hygro may be more greenish, under 2wpg, but they will grow. When you can get CO2 and use the full 192 watts, then they will redden up for you.

For now, I'd stick with medium and lowlight plants....and only one bulb. Go with some Rotala, Ludwigia, Crypts, Bacopa, Corkscrew vals, Dwarf sag, Echinodorous tennellus, java moss, java fern, anubias, Ambulia, and Myriophyllum with the 2wpg.

This site is great to buy plants from. They have a good selection and fast shipping.


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Simpte said:


> Some will, depends on plant type, lighting wattage as well as type (not all lighting is equal).


What kind of set up does one need for cow injections? Is it something I can DIY? Do I need an actual cow or would a calf be better? What if all I can get is a steer? Would an Angus be better than a Holstein? :fun:


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## raw88gt (Nov 23, 2005)

alright i unplugged one of the bulbs... cheap c02 injection? is there such a thing it seems at my size tank i need a real setup not a diy


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Boxermom said:


> What kind of set up does one need for cow injections? Is it something I can DIY? Do I need an actual cow or would a calf be better? What if all I can get is a steer? Would an Angus be better than a Holstein? :fun:


I think this is how you do it.


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

raw88gt said:


> alright i unplugged one of the bulbs... cheap c02 injection? is there such a thing it seems at my size tank i need a real setup not a diy


You could get a couple of these. They work quite well.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=8981&N=2004+113779

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=14711&N=2004+113779


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## goodie (Sep 2, 2005)

Sorry Simpte gotta get in on it too. The hell ya catch for a fat finger typo:lol: 


cowbell diffuser


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## Guest (Jul 8, 2006)

Haha...

I have heard that the Red Sea diffusor works very well. It is pretty much like DIY I think, but you don't have to rig it up yourself. It is good for 40g tank, so I think you could go with just that. I'm not sure how effective it would be though. Or you could get both.

Pressurized CO2 is much more effective, but more expensive of course. The expenses are all in the beginning though, so if you have enough to set it up, I'd go with it. Its also more stable.


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2006)

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=8981&N=2004+113779

i use 3 of those in my 55g tank.

want pics of the tank? lmk. 

i think these work very well!


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

I already said that.   Those are rated up to 20g I believe. These are rated up to 40g. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=14711&N=2004+113779 I have one of each on different tanks.


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