Would like some plant recommendations

[SilverBlade86]

Hi there, I am about to buy a small tank, around 2 foot long, 1 foot wide and 1 foot high. I will mainly just keep WCMMs, and this tank will have no heater. What plants would be good for this?

Its a small tank, and I'll just be putting in some river stones, a small piece of driftwood and some java moss. Is there any plant I can put that will survive an unheated tank?

Edit - Ohh, I forgot to mention, I would prefer hardy plants. Thanks for your time.

Edit edit - How the heck does one anchor a plant to driftwood/rocks?

[Faran]

I recommend Java Fern for that setup or go to your LFS and see which plants they have for cold water. Java Fern is tough as nails and needs to be attached to driftwood. As far as attaching things to driftwood, you can try "hooking" it onto a ragged gap (what I usually do) or you can use twist ties or fishing line. Be sure to removed anything you use after the plant has established itself.

Good luck and have fun!

[sharn]

alot of people use rubber bands too

[Dark]

Anchoring to wood and rocks, i use cotton thread in a variety of colours. Get some of the thicker stuff used for jacket buttons perhaps. brown for logs, grey for rocks.

Never had much luck with clear thread - it tends to slip, and the cotton threads (make sure they are cotton) bio-degrade over time, so they fall off when the plant has anchored itself, and you don't have to disturb the plant to get the thread off.

as far as what plants you can keep; go wild. I have kept amazon swords (which can grow to over 3 feet in height) in 2/1/1foot tanks before - you just have to make sure you don't over-feed or over light them, and consider binding their roots or giving them very little substrate (or putting them in a pot) as this stops them from getting too many nutrients, and therefore growing too large (bonsai!) The cooler water will help keep the growth down too.

if the water is below 18degC average you could try ambulia, cabomba, hygrophila, java fern, crypts... some swords will survive... java moss, zealandia grass... valisneria...

the main thing that cold water does to plants is slow down their metabolic rate - if they are too large this may kill them, if they are small they usually just don't grow any larger

and you'll find that most plants are hardy when they are growing well - getting them established can be the hard part.

i recommend getting cuttings from other people with plants and growing them up - at least then you don't have to pay for the plants

[SilverBlade86]

Hmm, so basically I just tie the plants to the driftwood? How would I know when the plant has established itself? Will the roots grow in to the wood?

My tank will be unheated, so the water will probably be below 20 during summer and definetely below 10 during other seasons.

I've seen a few nice ones, and I'll try to anchor it. Some of those look really great.

[Dark]

the plants basically row roots into the cracks in the wood and rock to help them stay in one place

in the wild the anchoring plants would probably float away when something disturbed the rocks they had managed to grow between. in the tank this translates to; move the rock and it will float away

smooth rocks and wood won't be much use, and for a plant to anchor into wood the wood often has to be half rotten.

[SilverBlade86]

Ahh, I get it. All driftwood should be fine right? I plan to buy one soon from a LFS. Nothing fancy, just a small one.

Thanks for your help.