# What are some plants I can use with a gravel base?



## Doshiegg (Apr 13, 2013)

Now that I've successfully kept a fish alive for almost 2 years and that I'm committed to my fish, I think it's time to add plants to my tank. I'm really clueless right now on what kind of plants I should/can get. 



All I have to go with it are some plastic plants and a *gravel base*. Since my tank is in a weird shape, I've been very skeptical on whether or not I should get a better light, but if I do need a better one to get plants then please share!

I'm planning on getting driftwood and a background


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14 (Oct 22, 2013)

If you can get a better light I would. since you have gravel you can have almost any plants as long as you're willing to use fertilizers (root tabs)
Now I'm not very good at growing plants but I've had success with moss balls water wisteria and anubias


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

You can probably get by with that light if you stick to something like Anubias or even a small variety of Sword. However, I recently bought one of these for my 10 and 20 long and the AquaVibrant Customer Service Rep assured me for low-light plants like Anubias, Java Fern, Crypts, etc., it would work great. If a plant is "high-light" probably not. It's a simple light with no bells and whistles but, for me, it fits the bill.
AquaVibrant

Seachem Flourish Comprehensive is a good fertilizer. I use it when I remember. ;-) Also, as mentioned above, root tabs; if you get Swords they do much better with Iron tabs as well.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

The only plants that will be difficult to keep in gravel are those that always have short roots. Dwarf baby tears aka hc cuba is the most common example of this, and I can attest to its lack of ability to stay the [censor] down in the substrate! Tried it in a sand tank but betta fins wafting over it or snails crawling by it make it come loose. But 99% of plant can be grown in gravel as long as they get proper nutrients. Root tabs are common but some people use liquid ferts (I use the Seachem line: Excel, Flourish, iron, Potassium, and Phosphorus), and a few do (true organic) soil based tanks, but I'd recommend not trying soil until you are a good understanding/experience with plants, and can be patient. Soil is after all decomposing organics and in water that means ammonia. When put into a tank and capped with a different substrate (sand or small gravel) it will still leech ammonia for some time, the exact amount/duration varies on many factors, this is great for helping start a fish-less cycle, but means you can't put in a fish immediately (unless you have a very large mass of fast growing plants that can absorb all the ammonia so readings are 0ppm from day one- many people do this with the "Walstad Method", but I've not done such a large planting of a tank yet to achieve it.. that method also utilizes plants as the only filtration). And you should plan you layout and plant list before starting a soil based tank, only put soil where you plan to have plants grow and try to only plant everything once. Removing plants once they've rooted in soil is nothing short of a giant mess! I had to completely gut and redo my bubble bowl because my blyca j. roots ran through the entire length and width under the soil and pulled most of it up above the sand when I took them out >.<
Sorry for that tangent..


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## Johnny579 (Aug 22, 2014)

Seachem root tabs are great for planted gravel tanks, i like them better than liquid ferts. All my swords grow very fast and tall.


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## Doshiegg (Apr 13, 2013)

Thanks for all the quick replies!

I'm still a little bit confused though...

@*RussellTheShihTzu*: The link you added seems like it's for a rectangular aquarium, but I have parallel walls on my tank that might hold the light. I measured the distance and it's about 15" and I'm not sure how well the closest size (16") will fit. Also, Does this mean I will have to remove the top of my aquarium? I can just cut holes into the lid of my tank, but will keeping it on affect my plant's growth?









This is the top of my aquarium. Sorry for the bad quality, but you can see the to parallel walls I was talking about. The big black box in the back is my filter and the silvery tube on the left is my heater.








@Aqua Aurora: No worries. I like long, detailed posts! I'm assuming 'substrate' is what I use as a base for my aquarium and what I'm going to be using for my plants? Soil, Sand, and Gravel are substrates? I have no idea what root tabs are and what they do, so I will have to do research on that, but it seems like a lot of you are recommending Seachem brand, so I will look into that as well.

From what I understand, it seems like I need to get better lighting and to figure out what root tabs are and how to use them. On top of the driftwood that I plan on adding, I was told that moss rocks might be a good addition also. But right now, I'm not sure what plants I should get... Anubia seems like an obvious choice.

Thanks for all your help and for reading this long post! : D


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## Doshiegg (Apr 13, 2013)

Seems like the image isn't working. Sorry about the size


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I would just rest the light on the rim; no need to fool with the lid at all.

Root tabs and Iron tabs are fertilizers in capsules. You place them in the substrate either under or close to a rooted plant like a Sword. In your tank I would use three root tabs scattered and put an Iron tab directly under a Sword. You only need to replace them every four to six weeks.

There are smaller Swords which wouldn't get too tall for your aquarium and which I find easy to grow: 
Echinodorus horizontalis "Mini"
Echinodorus parviflorus
Echinodorus xingu
Echinodorus pinwheel

www.bamaplants.com has the first three; www.plantedaquariumscentral has the last.

Crypt 'petchii' is a smaller-growing Cryptocoryne as are the various 'Wendtii' (Bronze, Green and Red).

There are several Anubias varieties that stay short and bushy.


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## Doshiegg (Apr 13, 2013)

After doing some research on my lighting and other people's success with it, I should be fine. I know a lot of people have told me this, but I really, REALLY, want to make sure... I'll try to hint towards an aquarium light as a Christmas present!

I'm planning on getting driftwood, but they don't have any at my LPS and I've heard that buying online is a big hit or miss. Is this true? And do you guys have any recommendations for me?

I found this picture of someone's tank that is similar to mine. Can anyone identify what plants these are? and I think this is a dirt substrate.


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## Raye (Feb 5, 2013)

Doshiegg said:


> I found this picture of someone's tank that is similar to mine. Can anyone identify what plants these are? and I think this is a dirt substrate.


the big wavy-leaved one is aponogeton ulvaceus, i believe. and i'm less sure about the more crinkly-leaved one, but i think it might be aponogeton bolivianus. both of these plants are super easy to grow, but they get pretty big.


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