# plant stocking in a small tank



## pj1218 (Jun 11, 2011)

hey guys
i was thinking i should replace the fake plant for a low life broad leafed plant for my betta in my 1.5 gallon tank. i thought about it but didnt know much about live plants. so i wanted to know if it was a good idea. the substrate i have in their is gravel and i have 9 LED lights for the lighting , a small heater and a tiny aquarium filter. this is the link to the setup i bought -http://www.petco.com/product/102093/Tetra-Water-Wonders-15-Gallon-Aquarium-Kit.aspx . would it be okay to put a plant in their? if so what types would be okay?


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I think anubias or java fern would work. Java fern has narrow and wider leaf varieties. The wide one sort of look like amazon sword and are wide enough for a betta to rest on. Anubias has big, rounded leaves. Java fern doesn't use substrate, you tie to an object. I often let it stick to a sponge filter. Anubias is slower growing, but in a small tank, that is a good thing. Both need fairly little light. Pull off dead leaves and remove if the stem gets soft, it doesn't take much to foul a nano-tank's water.

The tank looks fine for 1 betta, but why do they show 5 platys in a 1.5 gallon tank? One of my pet peeves.


----------



## Fishy Freak (Jun 1, 2011)

emc7 said:


> The tank looks fine for 1 betta, but why do they show 5 platys in a 1.5 gallon tank? One of my pet peeves.


Better than showing 5 gold fish at least! One of my pet peeves too.


Yes live plants will be fine, low light and slow growing and as emc said keep an eye on decaying matter.


----------



## pj1218 (Jun 11, 2011)

Cool next time I go to my LFS I'll pick up an java fern. I know what you mean about the way the advertise it. One of my friends friend put a black Molly ,3 neon tetras and an oto and said it wasn't overstocked. it's amazing how
dumb people are.


----------



## egoreise (Mar 16, 2011)

Oh gosh. Don't you guys know? Those are the tiny variety of platy that only gets to be 1/4" and doesn't breed!!!!  Right... that's like the LFS convincing my mother-in-law that an albine chocolate pleco would be fine in her tank because it wouldn't get bigger than one inch...

Have you looked at aponogeton bulbs? They are often sold as "betta bulbs." They do like light but will just grow slower under very low light. Super easy plants, and they trail on the surface, which your betta would love.


----------



## pj1218 (Jun 11, 2011)

i know what you talking about , those bulbs that come in a see through container and say something like super easy plant bulbs. i might get some but some people said theirs never sprouted but its worth a shot for 3 bucks. when they do sprout when do they die?


----------



## fishielover123 (Apr 21, 2010)

I got betta bulbs and they didnt work, but I guess you could give them a try.


----------

