# 5 gallon tank - plant suggestions?



## Seqathe (Apr 17, 2021)

Hello,
I am about to get my first ever betta and I’m super excited! I have done research to make sure that I can be prepared the best I can, but there are still things I have yet to learn, I’m sure.

One question I have is how many plants should I add to my tank? It’s 5.5 gallon in size. So far I have ordered 3 bundles hornwort and 3 x cryptocoryne wendtii green (I hope I’m spelling it correctly!) I’m thinking of getting some Amazon sword too but I don’t know if they will grow too tall for my tank?

Will this be enough? Is it too much?
Also any suggestion for alternative plant types would also be greatly appreciated!

Any and all suggestions more than welcome. Thank you for reading 

Oh, I’m going to add one photo of what it looks like currently to maybe get a better idea of how many plants should go in. It’s very barren since I’m still working on setting up everything and still waiting for my plants before adding the fish.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Welcome to the Forum!

I had Echinodorus parviflorus in my 5.5. It is a smaller Sword so won't outgrow your tank. So what I'd suggest is to get the Crypts and Hornwort; see how they look and go from there. I like to use plant weights on my stem plants to keep them in bunches. Hornwort doesn't develop viable roots so can't be planted, anyway. You can weight it down or let it float.

For other plants, besides the parviflorus, Anubias are hardy, easy plants. You can use Super Glue to glue them to decor, let them float or weight them down. You cannot plant the rhizome (where the leaves emerge) or they can rot. If the roots are long enough I put a weight around them and plant.

BTW, where did you find Hornwort? All the sellers I normally use are out.


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## Seqathe (Apr 17, 2021)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> Welcome to the Forum!
> 
> I had Echinodorus parviflorus in my 5.5. It is a smaller Sword so won't outgrow your tank. So what I'd suggest is to get the Crypts and Hornwort; see how they look and go from there. I like to use plant weights on my stem plants to keep them in bunches. Hornwort doesn't develop viable roots so can't be planted, anyway. You can weight it down or let it float.
> 
> ...


Hello and thank you so much for the reply! I will take your advice and wait and see until I have put the plants I already bought in. If it looks like I can add some more, I will for sure look into the others you mentioned. I actually read something about super glue elsewhere but got scared by the idea of glue in my fish’ water. I figured I could just let the hornwort float?

Oh and I purchased them from a seller on Etsy. They have had over 24k sales with high ratings and great reviews from people, so I’m really hoping it will turn out as great as it looks. Right now they have a “buy two, get three” sale and free shipping, so that’s why I got 3 of them. I have used Etsy frequently but never for plants, so hopefully it will all work out.









BUY 2 GET 1 FREE Hornwort Coontail Live Fish Tank Plants - Etsy


This Art & Collectibles item by MarcusFishTanks has 1674 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from Richardson, TX. Listed on Dec 14, 2022




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## Feanor (Nov 13, 2020)

Hi!
As long as it reads ”cyanoacrylate“ in the description the glue is fine to use in the tank.

You can‘t glue hornwort or other stem plants though but Anubias and other plants with a rhizome (looks like a thicker root with the actual roots growing from it).


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## Seqathe (Apr 17, 2021)

Feanor said:


> Hi!
> As long as it reads ”cyanoacrylate“ in the description the glue is fine to use in the tank.


Hello Feanor and thanks for the reply! I did not know this but will be sure to keep an eye out for it if I decide to glue something (which honestly sounds like a fun project to try in the future!).


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## Mr. B (Nov 6, 2020)

Java fern and Java moss are good starters!


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## Feanor (Nov 13, 2020)

I agree, Mr. B! But for whatever reasons I hadn‘t have any luck with the fern. It survives but never really thrives in my tanks. I try it with potassium fertilizer now😄!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I can't grow ferns. No way; no how. I can't grow a lot of "easy" plants. Guess my parameters aren't what they need.


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## Jillybean215 (Mar 13, 2021)

It sounds like it’s going to be a beautiful tank! A regular sword will be too big, but a compact Amazon sword stays much smaller and might work fine in there


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## Jillybean215 (Mar 13, 2021)

Jillybean215 said:


> It sounds like it’s going to be a beautiful tank! A regular sword will be too big, but a compact Amazon sword stays much smaller and might work fine in there


I had an Amazon sword in my 10 gallon and it required constant pruning (felt like daily 🤣) because it would grow over the entire surface of the water!


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## Seqathe (Apr 17, 2021)

Jillybean215 said:


> I had an Amazon sword in my 10 gallon and it required constant pruning (felt like daily 🤣) because it would grow over the entire surface of the water!


Yes! That was my fear too and I absolutely love how the Amazon swords look but don't dare putting one in. 
Thanks to this forum I learned there are smaller swords, though, so that excites me! (Oh the things that excites me these days... lol)


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## imaal (Aug 10, 2014)

Amazons (Echinodorus species) come in an endless variety of sizes, shapes and even colors. There are many that work just fine in a 10 gallon. I have a very well-behaved one in a 10 and two of the same variety in a 15. The leaves barely reach the surface.


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## Seqathe (Apr 17, 2021)

Well.. my current hornworts are driving me crazy with their shedding of needles, but I’m telling myself to be patient and that they are just adjusting to the new tank. Otherwise, I just may be looking much closer at some of my other options. Right now I feel I am constantly scooping up/vacuuming needles lol


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

You didn't plant the Hornwort, did you? It doesn't grow viable roots and can start rotting. One thing I do is cut off all but a couple or three inches and put the other in a tub or bin or something. Those that don't shed and are still viable/showing new growth a week or two later go back into the tank.

Sometimes plants have difficulty acclimating and will melt before coming back. This is especially true with Crypts.

This was one of my 5.5 tanks. That floating mass is Hornwort.









In addition to the Hornwort:
Red Flame Sword (in front; needs trimming to keep it small)
Anubias
Crypts
Java Moss
Echinodorus parviflorus
Subwassertang

I'm not suggesting you buy from here but it has excellent plant profiles which include growing requirements, size BucePlant.com - Aquascaping and Aquarium Plants Super Store


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## Barreto (Oct 19, 2020)

Bucephalandra is a gorgeous species for small tanks. I also like moss. You can try emerged plants which roots will create a good looking underwater system for smaller tanks.

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## Seqathe (Apr 17, 2021)

Kind of a side question/concern when it comes to my plants... I just started vacuuming my tank (I’ve only had it for 5 days so it’s still new), and I notice that I’m having a hard time not uprooting my planted plants and have them float up in the water while vacuuming. Is there a way I can vacuum without having them uprooted every time? I just recently put them in so they still need to anchor themselves onto things. Is there any advice on how to avoid this or is it normal?



RussellTheShihTzu said:


> You didn't plant the Hornwort, did you?


Oh no I didn’t. It’s actually just free floating for now but it looks NOTHING like yours in that picture - gorgeous tank and fish by the way! Maybe it will perk up a bit or stop shedding. I’ve only had it for two days. Right now my instinct is to get rid of it, but I’ll give it some more time. I will look into the others that you mentioned too. My crypts are doing really well and came from the same place so maybe it’s just a fluke. I will check out the site you linked me too 


Barreto said:


> Bucephalandra is a gorgeous species for small tanks. I also like moss.


Oh I have not heard of this plant before. I will look it up! I am still such a newbie and learning about everything so all the help and suggestions from members are all very appreciated ^^


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

It looks to me as if a big part of your problem is the depth of the substrate. 2" is the least depth; but 1.5" will work in a pinch. It is usually recommended two pounds of substrate per gallon.


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## Seqathe (Apr 17, 2021)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> It looks to me as if a big part of your problem is the depth of the substrate. 2" is the least depth; but 1.5" will work in a pinch. It is usually recommended two pounds of substrate per gallon.


Oh that’s definitely on me. I read somewhere one pound per gallon but I’ll try to fix that! Is there a preferred method to adding more substrate at this point to where it will not disrupt Andy/the tank? Should I take out all the plants/decoration and start again? Thanks for the response and all the help you’ve given me!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

What does the tank look like now?


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## Barreto (Oct 19, 2020)

Seqathe said:


> I notice that I’m having a hard time not uprooting my planted plants and have them float up in the water while vacuuming. Is there a way I can vacuum without having them uprooted every time?


Yes, dont vacum 





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