Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

After many years of simple goldfish tanks, I decided to work towards a more complex aquarium, with the hopes of one day having the confidence to attempt an indoor pond, and eventually a saltwater or reef aquarium. While I started out with a tiny 2 1/2 gallon tank, I acquired a 10 gallon several days ago by a stroke of good luck, a brand new filter included. After transferring my 6 neons and lonely otto to the new tank, I added a beautiful male pearl gourami, 2 male fancy guppies and a pair of ottos (originally, I was misinformed that they did perfectly fine solitary.) So far, so good. The tank is bustling with activity.

I am now considering integrating live plants into my tank. I have no experience in aquatic plants, nor do I know anyone with such knowledge. I'm assuming that different substrate and aquarium ornamentation is required to give the plants something to root into? Am I correct in assuming that a UV bulb would be required to simulatet natural sunlight? Are there any considerations to take in regards to the water quality?

Also, I'd be very grateful for a suggestion as to several other fairly easy to maintain fish species which would integrate well into my tank.

Thank you,

- Lucy

Hi.
In my opinion, your tank is overstocked already, so no more fish additions please.
Adding live plants would add much needed oxygen since the water is very low in oxygen and you have so many fish in your tank. Also, the tetras would just love the new plant additions. The sooner you can get some in there, the better.
Here's an awesome link for you on how to care for FW plants. It will answer your questions in detail. If you need any other questions answered, or need more articles for more information, please let me know. I'd be glad to help.
Good luck.
FW Aquatic plant care

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Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Thanks for the reply.

The tank looks pretty empty at this point, but I suppose I ought to consider the fact that most of my fish are still young. I guess the fish need their space, too.

Anyways, thanks for the link... It all seems pretty straight forward. Do you have any good suggestions for beginner plants that aren't too high maintenance that I could look into in more detail?

- Lucy

I don't have any live plants, but here's a link from liveaquaria (which is an awesome site) on easy plants for you. If you click on the individual plants, it will tell you all about the plant in question. If there's still not enough information, you can research more... I'd be glad to help you find some more info if you would like.
Plants with an easy care level

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Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Thank you again for all the information. I'll do plenty of careful research and find the plants that are right for my tank. I'm thinking of purchasing a much larger tank next year so I may simply wait and start that one up right with several plants and all the knowledge I can gain up until that point.

- Lucy

Sounds good Lucy. Let me know if I can help you find anything.
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Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."