# Are spider plants betta safe?



## Bikeridinguckgirl14

I'm hoping to get a new betta soon and I'd like to know if I can put a spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) in there or is that not safe? I've never had a planted tank before and I don't have a green thumb but I've never killed a spider plant so... Would that be ok?
If not what plants would you reccomend?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Well not fully submersed but you could put just the roots in the water.


----------



## Bikeridinguckgirl14

lilnaugrim said:


> Well not fully submersed but you could put just the roots in the water.


When I was trying to look it up I kept finding websites saying yes and others saying no, so my mom said "well peace Lillie's are safe" and I swear every website said no so yeah..

So what plants are safe/reccomended for my 2gal tank? (I don't want anything big)


----------



## lilnaugrim

Peace Lilies are safe just not fully submersed. What are you looking for? Aquatic plants or plants that can tolerate wet roots but not fully submerged?


----------



## Bikeridinguckgirl14

I was thinking something like ludwiga or a water lily, just something not huge not small with some color


----------



## Bikeridinguckgirl14

I had my last fish in with a marimo but he really didn't like it


----------



## lilnaugrim

Do you have the proper lighting for growing plants? Ludwigia is more of a high demanding plant over other plants like Water wisteria or Anacharis.


----------



## Bikeridinguckgirl14

I have sunlight. That's all. I do have a pond/plant store nearby but I don't want to go in clueless and just have things die


----------



## Bikeridinguckgirl14

And what about 
Water lily
Rotala
Lotus


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, you aren't going to get many plants at all to grow without proper lighting. Sunlight is also bad for your tank, it will cause temperature fluctuations and algae given time.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Lotus won't grow indoors or at least not well at all. Rotala needs high lighting and lilies may grow but all the same, you need proper lights.


----------



## Bikeridinguckgirl14

=/ shows how much I know about plants. How long do you think it would take for a single water wisteria to cycle?


----------



## lilnaugrim

To cycle? Do you mean to grow?


----------



## Bikeridinguckgirl14

Don't they need to stay in the tank for a while before you put the fish in?


----------



## lilnaugrim

No? You just plant them and the fish can be in the tank before the fish goes in...


----------



## Bikeridinguckgirl14

Oh. I thought you needed to leave the plant in for a while or else it'd somehow poison the fish. Maybe I'm crazy. THANK YOU SO MUCH by the way. I wanted to figure out and buy plants within a week so thank you


----------



## lilnaugrim

Ah yeah nope lol, not sure where you got that info but that's pretty much wrong. You will need lights to grow any plants though, real lights not sunlight.


----------



## Bikeridinguckgirl14

Ok =( would a normal tank light be enough for the anacharis/water wisteria?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yes but you need to have the right lights. If you get a regular hood it will have a screw in bulb and it would be good if you can get a Daylight Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) to screw in it then that will be definitely good enough for water wisteria, anacharis, java fern, anubias, java moss, common cryptocorynes, water sprite and most floating plants like duckweed (do not advise unless you never want to get it out of your tank lol, it IS a weed), and Frog-Bit.


----------



## Bikeridinguckgirl14

I have one with a little 12w screw in light. And do I need a special substrate or will plain sand work?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Okay what size screw in does it have? Can you get a picture with comparing it to something like your hand or anything?

And no special substrate for the basic plants, root tabs will always help as will dosing a very small amount of liquid fert like SeaChem Flourish Comprehensive but you may or may not need it for the low light plants; it just helps out in the end.


----------



## Bikeridinguckgirl14

The bulb is about 2in long, the screw is like the size of a nickel. Keep in mind it's a 2g so I don't think I need a huge bulb


----------



## lilnaugrim

Right, that's what I was asking before with what kind of tank do you have. The reason I ask is because there are different sizes for the screw in part of the bulb, the majority of the normal house-hold bulbs are Edison 26 IIRC and the one for your tank is most likely Edison 12 or 14 which is much smaller and so you would have to find a light bulb with that kind of screw base.


----------



## Bikeridinguckgirl14

I have the light and bulb, but apparently the pond/fish/plant store nearby "doesn't have warm water plants because it has been too cold recently and doesn't carry cold water plants" so I guess I'll go get a more proper setup and put the plant idea on hold until august


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, you know what else you could do? You could get a regular desk lamp and shine that over the tank. That way you don't have to worry about finding a bulb with a smaller Edison Screw and can get a regular CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light). The incandescent lights are no good for plants, that's the light that is in your hood right now. But having no hood also requires either the water to be lowered so your fish doesn't jump or to have some sort of glass/plexiglass top. You could get some plexiglass and cut it to the shape of your tank and have a bit of it over hanging so that it stays on the tank, that way you could fill the tank higher, have the desk top lamp and be all set ^_^


----------



## Bikeridinguckgirl14

I was ABOUT to throw out a 50w desk lamp. Can I use the cross-stitching mesh (like what people make betta tubes out of) to cover the top?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yup!


----------

