[Ezekial]

Hey all,

I'm doing an El Natural tank that will eventually house cichlids. I'm looking for low light plants that do better attached to wood/decorations than those planted in the substrate. I'm going to have around 1.3w/gallon with T5 lights. I already have 2 anubias Nana's and 2 Java Ferns. What are some other options I can look into seeing if my LFS can get them in?

 

[gravy9]

Most of the mosses would be a good fit also.

 

[cs_gardener]

Bolbitis heudelotii also grows attached to wood and doesn't mind lower light, it does better for me when it's in an area with good water circulation. There are several types of java fern you can use: regular, narrow leaf, windelov, and tropica are a few. Also there are many types of Anubias with different leaf shapes and sizes. If you look in the Plantfinder in the gold bar at the top of the page and search for epiphytes in "Aquascape Placement" you'll get a nice list of plants you can use.

 

[Ezekial]

Thank you very much

 

[Fields of Blue]

If you live near a petco, I would recommend going and getting some "Betta Bulbs" from their store. I'm really unsure as to what the plant is that grows from these, but it grows long stemmed broad leaf plants which like to flower all year. They are very pretty and require VERY low light and nutrients but require somewhat frequent pruning.

My betta bulbs actually pushed through the gravel cap in my tank and have built very extensive root systems in the soil substrate. I really don't dare trying to pull them out and move them around :-#

 

[mommyeireanne]

If you use soil, you will need rooted plants to keep the soil from fouling. I don't know from your post if you plan to use them in addition to the wood anchored plants or not. Also, be sure to set the wood on the glass bottom before you add soil, for the dame reason. Best wishes. Let us know how it's going!

 

[Alex123]

EZ are you sure you know what el-natural method is? One of the main component is soiled based substrate. If you are not looking to have rooted plants, you are removing most plant species. There are a good number of low light plants but non-rooted ones are pretty much spoken for here.

 

[Ezekial]

I am not technically looking el natural as I'm not doing the soil/substrate thing. More el natural because I'm keeping this low tech, low light, no CO2, etc. With cichlids in the future for my tank I think my best bet is to have plants attached to decorations. Anything in the substrate has a better than average chance of getting pulled up all the time and destroyed.

I have 2 anubias Nana's that have secured themselves to the wood in my tank so so far so good. Just got my new light which will bump my lighting up a bit.

Betta bulbs huh? I don't live near a PetCo but I do live near a PetExpo, I'll have to see if they have them. Thanks for the help folks. Got a pretty good list from the plantfinder. I appreciate the assistance.:yawinkle: