Are there any aquarium plants that don't need special lighting?

[Anonymity82]

Hello everyone. I just got a couple of african dwarf frogs and a couple of ghost shrimp. Two of the gravid females (ghost shrimp) died within hours of entering my tank but I'm chalking this up to the stress of being gravid and birthing coupled with a different water chemistry. The two males don't seem to be sluggish but they spend most of their time at the top of the tank holding onto the plastic/"living" plants. I'm pretty sure the living plants are dead because there is a very musty smell and I've only had them since Thursday. Plus, there's only ambient light and not much where I'm keeping them which is what I've read is acceptable for ADF because they're nocturnal and can thrive in room temps.

Now, onto the original question. Since, I do not have decent lighting are there any plants that can thrive in a small 2 gallon tank with little lighting? Thanks!

 

[Louise E. Rothstein]

Bacteria attack dead plants.
Bacteria also "eat" oxygen.
Since the gravid ghost shrimp that died would have needed more oxygen than the surviving males oxygen shortage could have killed them both.

Are the males "hanging out" near the top of the tank...??
They may be getting some oxygen from the air:before the bacteria take it all.
And they may very well be under some oxygen stress.

The frogs do not seem distressed.
They can tolerate more bacteria than most shrimp do,and they can breathe air.

They can also live with low light...
but how low IS your light...?

Is there enough light to cast a clear shadow?

Most plants need at least that much.

 

[Anonymity82]

Thanks! I since gave the remaining shrimp to my friend who has a 29 gallon tank with some fish and a small turtle. I guess becoming food is better than pointlessly suffocating... I guess. The frogs seem to be doing pretty well so far. The tank needs a cleaning which I will do today but they are eating, floating (meditation pose), hiding behind rocks and are definitely active when I look in.

The light is pretty low. For a few hours in the am and late afternoon they get some decent light too. Probably too dark for plant life though :/. I think they the frogs prefer the low light because when I turn the light on and leave it going sometimes they act differently and more stressed. They swim from side to side and don't seem to "relax" at all.

 

[Acro]

Do you have a filter on the tank? Any chance you can bump them up to a 10 gallon, it will keep the water chemistry and temperature more stable. They will like the extra room to swim and hide too. If you can move a small lamp over the tank, you can grow some plants, but I would suggest waiting for an upgrade as the plants will remove swimming space for the frogs. At the moment, you may be able to get away with some java moss. It can grow floating and will give the frogs some cover to hide in near the surface.
If you can set up a larger tank, with a little more light, I have several low light plants to suggest.
Good Luck!

 

[Louise E. Rothstein]

What ARE these "low light plants?"

 

[bigjej]

in brief - algae

 

[Spinster]

What ARE these "low light plants?"

There are a number of plants that can survive in low light, though I still suggest you try to find a fluorescent plant bulb. I'm told they're available at Wal-Mart for a reasonable price. You want one that's "full spectrum" or rated at 6400 K (Kelvins).

I have several tanks with only daylight and incandescent lighting, which contain Marimo Moss Balls. These are a bit bigger than a golf ball and a nice deep green colour. They help to absorb ammonia in the tank and can be found at many pet stores such as Petsmart. Google them if you want to know more.

One of my tanks has a full-spectrum bulb and some daylight. I have the following low-light plants there: Java moss, Java fern, Hornwort, Cabomba, Anubias, Water wisteria. Any of these plants may work for you. The Hornwort grows fast and develops long tendrils that float just under the surface, so it acts as a floating plant too.

Re your plants that died fast. It's possible they were not aquatic plants. Many pet stores sell terrestrial plants such as bamboo for aquatic use, these are usually plants that like wet soil, but die and rot quickly if kept submerged.

 

[Acro]

Some of the low light plants I would suggest are Java Moss, Java Fern, Anubias (as Spinster mentioned), also Cryptocoryne and some Sword plants do well.
Good Luck!

 

[Aviara]

You have to be careful with some of the chain pet stores, as most plants sold at say Petco and Petsmart are actually house plants that are stuck underwater. These will only live a few weeks at most in the aquaria before they start to break down and die. However, with a low to moderate amount of lighting on your aquarium, you should be able to keep some of the hardier, more common aquatic plants alive. Spinster already listed most of these. A marimo moss ball is also a good addition, it is actually an algae ball and not a plant, but it is harmless and may actually be beneficial to your aquarium. I don't know if it is true, but some claim that the moss balls suck up excess ammonia and nitrates the way healthy aquarium plants do. I have never tested this personally.

Are you familiar with cycling an aquarium? Also, it sounds like you simply overloaded the tank by putting 3 ghost shrimp and 2 dwarf frogs into it. Really, the ghost shrimps and frogs need about a gallon each. Especially if your tank is unfiltered, it sounds like the shrimp likely died from ammonia poisoning. I second the common to try replacing the tank with a 10 gallon if you have a little extra money. This will make keeping both fish and plants much easier and more rewarding. Very little can fit into a 2 gallon aquarium.

 

[Thoth]

Look into java fern.

 

[Bigboy]

Java ferns grow vigorously in low light. If the tank is situated near a window, java ferns will grow.

 

[Anonymity82]

Do you have a filter on the tank? Any chance you can bump them up to a 10 gallon, it will keep the water chemistry and temperature more stable. They will like the extra room to swim and hide too. If you can move a small lamp over the tank, you can grow some plants, but I would suggest waiting for an upgrade as the plants will remove swimming space for the frogs. At the moment, you may be able to get away with some java moss. It can grow floating and will give the frogs some cover to hide in near the surface.
If you can set up a larger tank, with a little more light, I have several low light plants to suggest.


Good Luck!

Thanks! There's no way I can move them to anything bigger, even if I could afford it. There's no where else to put them. It would be nice though because I could add a couple of bettas. One male and one or two females would work right?

I think they're pretty happy though it's small. They're mating, eating, and singing. They get a little jumpy if I flash a light in there so I don't do that often. They spend a lot of time just hanging out on the plastic plants I have on there.

I understand the water chemistry issue though. I should have done more research before I said okay when my friend offered them to me. I've had them since May 23 and they're doing good so far. I know it's not ideal with the filthy water but I've been told not to put a filter on such a small tank because the frogs will get too stressed by the current.

 

[Louise E. Rothstein]

If your frogs are Xenopus laevis "the filthy water" may not prevent them from laying eggs.
If they do,though,please remember that Xenopus tadpoles are specialized filter feeders.
They require (say) a not-TOO-large portion of powdered Reptomin sticks IN THEIR WATER because they cannot scrape food from the "ground."

Xenopus tadpoles do not survive attempts to feed them ANYTHING on the "ground."

They don't survive being eaten either.

Perhaps a windowsill miniquarium with a "Moss ball" (actually ornamental algae) would manage endurable water quality if the location does NOT get too hot.

However,NOTHING should be left with "a couple of bettas," including the bettas,because many male bettas are so aggressive that one may kill an "intrusive"
female...even if "just a couple" of these highly combative creatures have been left,unsupervised, in a ten-gallon tank.

Two females...? Well...if they are BETTAS...Peaceful coexistence is not very likely.
If you want a community tank in a miniquarium a few smallish snails are a more realistic addition than "a couple of bettas."

Snails do scrape for food.
When you see them do it through a magnifying glass they turn out to be more interesting than people think.

 

[lagomorphette]

You can have several ghost shrimp per gallon in a cycled tank, especially if it is planted. They are delicate little animals, however, and I've read on other sites that it's not uncommon for people to lose 50% of however many they purchase. I've had luck with them in a cycled well-planted 29 gallon tank, but not in a smaller set up I put together just for shrimp. If you want to keep shrimp, cherries tend to be hardier and reproduce easier in tanks (plus they look awesome). They are more expensive, but they are worth it, IMHO. As for the frogs, I'm not sure. I do know they are timid & that is definitely why they hide when you turn the lights on.

Good low tech (low light, no CO2) plants would be plants like anacharis, java fern, java moss, anubias, water wisteria, hornwort, and marimo moss balls. Although they are considered low light plants, I personally wouldn't try keeping them without a flourescent light. Like others have said, many terrestrial plants are sold as aquatic plants, and sadly, many pet store staff don't even realize that is what they are selling. They usually mean well, but have no experience and/or bad training.

It it helps, there is a way to make an educated guess about whether a plant is terrestrial or aquatic: see what happens when you take it out of the water. Aquatic plants depend on the water to hold up their stems, leaves, etc..., so when you take the out, they usually droop & aren't rigid enough to hold themselves up. A terrestrial plant, on the other hand, often looks the same in and out of water.

I hope this helps...

 

[Anonymity82]

Snails are definitely cool. The frogs have been mating and singing every night. It's really cool. The eggs will float and by the next day they're all gone.