# How many plants for 5 gallons?



## angiessa (Dec 19, 2011)

Hi, all -

I have a 5 gallon tank (not quite set up yet - I divided it and am giving it 2 days for the sealant to set completely). I'd like to add some live plants, but I'm not sure how many would be best. I was thinking a java fern or anubias for the back on each side, and a couple of foreground plants -- maybe dwarf Sagittaria or dwarf hair grass? Does that sound reasonable? I just don't want it *so* dense that the fish have no room left to swim, and I have no experience with aquarium plants so I don't know how much or how fast they spread to fill the tank.

Thanks for any and all advice! 

ETA: I forgot to mention, I have a full hood with a 5000k bulb.

-Ang


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## JKfish (Apr 8, 2010)

Hey Angiessa,

From my personal experience, bettas love plants, especially live ones. Most appreciate a corner or so of dense planting, and I know almost all (especially boys with long fins) appreciate plants with big leaves they can rest on. Don't hold back on the plants, especially if they're easy to get and plant. However, when buying the plants, be sure to know which plants you want when you go to buy them, because many LPS try to sell non aquatic plants as aquatic.

Since you're new to plants, I'd have to recommend easy plants that don't require too much attention. I personally love moneywort, wisteria, anachris, aponogeton bulbs and java ferns. They're wonderful plants, though wisteria appreciates fertlizers. How many watts per gallon are there? I know that dwarf grass requires a lot of wpg and nice substrate to take off well.


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## angiessa (Dec 19, 2011)

Thank you - helps to know I don't need to worry about densely planting. 

I've got a 9W 6500k CFL, not a 5000 like I originally thought.


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## JahBetta (Nov 5, 2011)

6500k is a nice spectrum still; 9w on a 5 gallon is probably lower-low medium wattage plants.

Your betta will love them. I've got the front of mine open, with crypts on the sides and cabomba, swords, melon sword, and rotala waliichii running along the back; giant moss ball under two trees of anubias, a nice piece of driftwood on the left of the tank, on the right anarchis bunching up nice, eleocharis belem in the foreground and java moss climbing the driftwood; fissiden fontanus growing out of the top of the driftwood trying to do the tree effect. Another anubias petite on the driftwood colonizing it, and two java ferns I am trying to get on each side of it. My betta love everything in the tank; he swims out of most of all the plants, especially the stem and leaf ones; he's not a fan of the bunch plants, but the snails and shrimp are.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

If you don't mind having to trim back a lot, lacefern is a great plant. When it takes off it grows really fast and you can make some money by selling off the baby laceferns. My sorority girls love to swim through it. It's also very attractive.


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## JahBetta (Nov 5, 2011)

I also forgot to add above that that is all in a 18x9x9 7.5 gallon. A couple of the swords will eventually get too large for the tank, and I will trade them with someone for a plant that I like a little bit better.

The bush plants (anarchis, cambomba green, and rotala) need to be trimmed back quite often, sometimes once a week, but they can be topped and replanted, or sold.


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## angiessa (Dec 19, 2011)

Okay, here's what I wound up with: 2 java ferns, 2 anubias coffeefolia, 2 anubias afzelii, 2 sagittaria subulata, and a marimo ball (because I just couldn't resist  ). I made sure to go with plants that like low to medium light based on my bulb wattage.

Thanks for the suggestions!


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