Lowest light plant? no bulb pref

[Jermy]

I've started a new tank, im a newb all the way with fish. just testing it out with two regular goldfish and two snails. 10g tank with a 10g whisper filter. two lil hidaways on ither side.... like i said, NEWB

I would like to get at least one live plant... something that stays small (10g tank) but useful. and as low light as possible...i have the tank set up near my comp. and if i add lighting i would need to move it away cause it would irritate me. so i would like to avoid extra lighting at all cost.

Im hoping to have a lil bit of an ecosystem set up... clean up crew so i dont have to do too much. typical college kid, lazy, but willing if theres NO other choice (going to college so putting my brain to work at being lazy, why else go?)

Ive looked into java ferns, or some java plant. not sure with. and it seems like the best canidate. might give it a try, if it doesnt work, put it in the outside lil pond.

anyone have any ideas or recomendations on the lowest light plants?
or any comments on setting up a mini ecosystem deal... just curious to that idea. (figure it would work for the most part.. plants eat fish waste... fish eat plants? or baby snails? or shrimp?(who also work as the clean up crew if they make it to a decent size)

[Chrona]

I've started a new tank, im a newb all the way with fish. just testing it out with two regular goldfish and two snails. 10g tank with a 10g whisper filter. two lil hidaways on ither side.... like i said, NEWB

I would like to get at least one live plant... something that stays small (10g tank) but useful. and as low light as possible...i have the tank set up near my comp. and if i add lighting i would need to move it away cause it would irritate me. so i would like to avoid extra lighting at all cost.

Im hoping to have a lil bit of an ecosystem set up... clean up crew so i dont have to do too much. typical college kid, lazy, but willing if theres NO other choice (going to college so putting my brain to work at being lazy, why else go?)

Ive looked into java ferns, or some java plant. not sure with. and it seems like the best canidate. might give it a try, if it doesnt work, put it in the outside lil pond.

anyone have any ideas or recomendations on the lowest light plants?
or any comments on setting up a mini ecosystem deal... just curious to that idea. (figure it would work for the most part.. plants eat fish waste... fish eat plants? or baby snails? or shrimp?(who also work as the clean up crew if they make it to a decent size)

A balanced ecosystem will not be possible with dirty fish like goldfish (they will eventually grow and require a 30g tank between the two). Java fern and java moss will work great as low light plants, but the goldfish may eat java moss. You could also try anubias nana.

Goldfish require goldfish food, they are omnivorous and so cannot live on plants alone. They don't eat snails (shell too hard) and shrimp would sustain them for maybe all of 2-3 days. (unless you constantly added more - a real expensive way to feed the fish)

If your plants do not work out, do NOT throw them in the local pond. Many species of plants that are not native to North America have been introduced into the wild this way, and are now considered invasive species. It is against the law to do so in some states.

If you want a balanced ecosystem (low maintenance), try some low light plants and shrimp tank. Goldfish perhaps require the most water change out of any freshwater fish because they produce so much waste.

I would also recommend downloading the free ebook on the menu to the left and reading about the nitrogen cycle. Then read my sticky in the general forum about how to deal with the ammonia/nitrite spikes you will get as a result of introducing fish to an uncycled tank and how you can deal with them.

[Jermy]

the goldies are just to start with, hopefully theyll pull through and i can moeve them outside.... definatley in a bigger space though.

the eco idea is guna take me alot of research... and after the goldfish have grown out of the tank.
Any recomendations for fish that would work, besides shrimp? (anything that would actually sift through the gravel?? not crayfish cause they get too big)

thats good to know about the plants though, thanks alot. ill prolly go with the java

ima DL the ebook after i submit this.

also, the goldfish are ither attacking? or picking on the snail.. easy target i guess.
Im really fasinated by the snails, they are just as intresting to me as most fish ive seen.

ps- i decided to research late in the process, *appologizes to the fish* hate to blame it on the newb tag. i really think theyll make it though... hope..

[Chrona]

the goldies are just to start with, hopefully theyll pull through and i can moeve them outside.... definatley in a bigger space though.

the eco idea is guna take me alot of research... and after the goldfish have grown out of the tank.
Any recomendations for fish that would work, besides shrimp? (anything that would actually sift through the gravel?? not crayfish cause they get too big)

thats good to know about the plants though, thanks alot. ill prolly go with the java

ima DL the ebook after i submit this.

also, the goldfish are ither attacking? or picking on the snail.. easy target i guess.
Im really fasinated by the snails, they are just as intresting to me as most fish ive seen.

ps- i decided to research late in the process, *appologizes to the fish* hate to blame it on the newb tag. i really think theyll make it though... hope..

As long as you are willing to learn, that is what's important :)

Goldfish try to eat everything, but they can't eat snails so they spit them out. There are many varieties of snails actually, all pretty cool looking, like olive nerites, etc. They would be great for a balanced ecosystem. Malaysian trumpet snails sift through the gravel.

[Jermy]

im worried about snails taking over the tank?

what about claims?musles?

i have two snails in the tank right now.. not sure what they are, didnt see a tag or anything. ** had a punch in a bin withall the plants at petsmart. blue/black, blue, yellow, maybe one other. i got a yellow cause it was diff, although i wanted a red one. they were all small. half an inch*** im worried about them climbing out of the tank now though.. dont have a lid. they stay at the waters edge. any tips on what to feed them?... (should i just make a new post on the ecosystem topic?)

with all the choices of plants out there, theres nothing that is really for extremely low lighting??? i need an emo-plant! lol.. (im a comp nerd, windows stayed coverd.) would a black light help? or would it get really hot?

[Drumachine09]

im worried about snails taking over the tank?

what about claims?musles?

i have two snails in the tank right now.. not sure what they are, didnt see a tag or anything. ** had a punch in a bin withall the plants at petsmart. blue/black, blue, yellow, maybe one other. i got a yellow cause it was diff, although i wanted a red one. they were all small. half an inch*** im worried about them climbing out of the tank now though.. dont have a lid. they stay at the waters edge. any tips on what to feed them?... (should i just make a new post on the ecosystem topic?)

with all the choices of plants out there, theres nothing that is really for extremely low lighting??? i need an emo-plant! lol.. (im a comp nerd, windows stayed coverd.) would a black light help? or would it get really hot?


Mussels are saltwater, correct me if im wrong.


A black light will magnify every peice of debris that floats around in your tank.

[Jermy]

lol, so thats two big NOs.

but would it help with the plants? just out of curiousity.

Thanks for the help. that was quick too.

[Chrona]

im worried about snails taking over the tank?

what about claims?musles?

i have two snails in the tank right now.. not sure what they are, didnt see a tag or anything. ** had a punch in a bin withall the plants at petsmart. blue/black, blue, yellow, maybe one other. i got a yellow cause it was diff, although i wanted a red one. they were all small. half an inch*** im worried about them climbing out of the tank now though.. dont have a lid. they stay at the waters edge. any tips on what to feed them?... (should i just make a new post on the ecosystem topic?)

with all the choices of plants out there, theres nothing that is really for extremely low lighting??? i need an emo-plant! lol.. (im a comp nerd, windows stayed coverd.) would a black light help? or would it get really hot?

Olive nerite snails do not reproduce in freshwater. Snails never take over a tank unless overfed. There are freshwater mussels as well, but I've never seen any for sale in the aquarium trade. They DO have freshwater clams though.

Just feed the snails fish flakes and fresh vegetables (like lettuce)

Blacklights do nothing for plants. You need fluorescent lighting, full spectrum

[Jermy]

i didnt mean musles or claims.. just ither one.. anything that would work and any idea wich one would work better. cant say ive seen claims for sale anywhere around here. still gota find some shrimp, other than ghost shrimp. although ill get w/e i have to. idk if there entertaining or not, but alot of ppl on here say they work very well.

i guess it would be nice to have shrimp with the snails then eh? shrimp will get most of the left overs?
i read that those trumpet snails take over some peoples tanks.. dont want that (although a tank packed full of snails would be interesting to see)

******
anyone have any idea as to what the snails i have in there are? they look like apple snails, but i highly doubt theyll grow that big... they were 2 bucks each though. so idk....

[Drumachine09]

A picture would help.

[Chrona]

i didnt mean musles or claims.. just ither one.. anything that would work and any idea wich one would work better. cant say ive seen claims for sale anywhere around here. still gota find some shrimp, other than ghost shrimp. although ill get w/e i have to. idk if there entertaining or not, but alot of ppl on here say they work very well.

i guess it would be nice to have shrimp with the snails then eh? shrimp will get most of the left overs?
i read that those trumpet snails take over some peoples tanks.. dont want that (although a tank packed full of snails would be interesting to see)

******
anyone have any idea as to what the snails i have in there are? they look like apple snails, but i highly doubt theyll grow that big... they were 2 bucks each though. so idk....

As I said, snails only take over a tank if you overfeed. Since you will have no fish in there, controlling food is quite easy. Plus, in a non heavily planted 10g, they are very easy to remove manually.

[Jermy]

yea, ill end up getting one tomorow. i was tryin to keep the topic on plants though... ADD anyone?

i should get a pic in tomorow

prolly get a few plants if i have time, and take apic of the whole deal... as bare as it is.

[Chrona]

Java fern, java moss, (or any variety of moss) anubias are what you want to stick with

Make sure the rhizome of java fern and anubias are not under the substrate, or they will rot. It's best if you tie them to a rock with fishing line or a cotton thread.

[Jermy]

i read onions do well in low light, might get that too

[Jermy]

two pics
going to petsmart today and dig around for a lil while, if i have time after im done schedualing for classes.
anyone know how hard it is to get a job there? if the pay is right, i would love too as a second low hour job :-)

hopefully i get these pics up correctly.

[Chrona]

Nice. I would ditch the purple gravel for a more natural look though. You will know what I mean when you put some plants in there, lol. It's much easier to replace it now than down the road when you have fish in it.

[Drumachine09]

Nice. I would ditch the purple gravel for a more natural look though. You will know what I mean when you put some plants in there, lol. It's much easier to replace it now than down the road when you have fish in it.


The gravel looks like red hots, or jelly beans!


You could also fill up your tank a wee bit more, like to the bottom of the black rim.

[Jermy]

Yea. going to petsmart tomorow and making a shopping list. I like the red though... plants wont eh?

yea i know its really bare bottom though. water starting to get a lil foggy this morning... only its 3rd day up and running so i was waiting on that.

ill get the plants and once i see problems ill put in some normal ones. at least so i can have the bacteria build up and ill throw the old ones in a lil bag to help and i wont have to worry about the whole cycling bit again.

everything is going well so far.. i think... the two goldies are sticking together. i think i got a male and a female. i know its hard to tell. one sit said that the males are usually the ones following the female around. he seems to be more active as well.
--- how often should i feed them a day? ive been sticking to twice a day, morning and night, doing it in small bits and peices making sure there eating it all and dont leave any to get the tank messy just yet.

Petsmart list
Java fern /onion (hope it doesnt get shredded by the goldies)
Ghost shrimp (clean up extra food)
any other suggestions?

looking for
small claims /one large?(extra water filter)
driftwook and moss to put on it. (farther in the futer)

----
im starting to have an idea of what i want the tank to finish when its done. ill work on some sketches prolly thurs when i have time in class.

along with PLENTY of more questions... anyone think i should bring this to another topic or anything?? (along with how to do that? or maybe a moderater do that)

[Chrona]

Yea. going to petsmart tomorow and making a shopping list. I like the red though... plants wont eh?

No the plants won't like gravel period, they prefer a planting substrate like Flourite or Ecocomplete, but if you are getting java fern, it makes no difference. I meant YOU won't like it because green plants and purple gravel will clash something awful lol

yea i know its really bare bottom though. water starting to get a lil foggy this morning... only its 3rd day up and running so i was waiting on that.

ill get the plants and once i see problems ill put in some normal ones. at least so i can have the bacteria build up and ill throw the old ones in a lil bag to help and i wont have to worry about the whole cycling bit again.

everything is going well so far.. i think... the two goldies are sticking together. i think i got a male and a female. i know its hard to tell. one sit said that the males are usually the ones following the female around. he seems to be more active as well.
--- how often should i feed them a day? ive been sticking to twice a day, morning and night, doing it in small bits and peices making sure there eating it all and dont leave any to get the tank messy just yet.

Once a day, small meal, no matter what until your tank is fully cycled (give it 4-6 weeks).

Petsmart list
Java fern /onion (hope it doesnt get shredded by the goldies)
Ghost shrimp (clean up extra food)
any other suggestions?

Goldfish will eat ghost shrimp. If you get a fine gravel, they usually pic food out of it though.

looking for
small claims /one large?(extra water filter)

not needed. Clams are real hard to find where I am too.

driftwook and moss to put on it. (farther in the futer)

----
im starting to have an idea of what i want the tank to finish when its done. ill work on some sketches prolly thurs when i have time in class.

along with PLENTY of more questions... anyone think i should bring this to another topic or anything?? (along with how to do that? or maybe a moderater do that)

You need a heater. Set the temperature at 65 degrees (or as close as you can). Otherwise, if the tank water is not consistent and above 60-65, the plants will have a real hard time growing and the fish will suffer.

[Jermy]

bah, didnt think about the goldfish being fatties and eating the shrimp.
...hermet crab? maybe...

and i like the mixed collors... I do alot of art stuff, so i would have to figure out how to arrange everything correctly so it wouldnt look horrid. but when i do painting with color, i like to use contrasting colors...

also right now, im not worried about looks. remember, im still in the newb phase of all this. although i feel like i could write an essay allready with the small bit that i do know.

with the claims it would just be an extra help with a lil filtration, something different.. i like different (yea i know typical). but ill prolly end up redoing the whole thing... if not getting another (more of a probability) once i start to get the hang of everything, and have a small clue about what im really doing. very small... about the size of the "good bacteria" (whats the name for that stuff anyway) in my new tank.

[Drumachine09]

Hermits need land to live on as well, or they will eventually drown.

[Jermy]

none of them will live underwater?? thought some of them did.. maybe read something wrong. prolly at least.

aw well, i guess ill have to figure something else out. or just wait till the goldies grow up and move out. or give them to lil cuzin, hes got 2 allready.

[Jermy]

Someone said that i need to get a heater for the plants, no problem really. but the java's wont do good in a coldwater tank?
ARE there any plants that will?? most prolly do better in warm, but which ones are for cold/ can live in cold?

[Chrona]

Someone said that i need to get a heater for the plants, no problem really. but the java's wont do good in a coldwater tank?
ARE there any plants that will?? most prolly do better in warm, but which ones are for cold/ can live in cold?

Java fern can do okay in a cold water tank, but it will not be healthy

Anacharis is the only coldwater plant that comes to mind, but it needs a decent amount of light.

[Jermy]

I guess ill look into getting some lighting i suppose. I think ill wait till after the weekend when i get paid though to do any more purchases. never knew fish were this expensive.. aw well

any recomendations on for a food brand? type? just an all around decent one. or maybe something diff.. idk, live stuff?

i read up that snails like cuttlefish, anyone know how much they like it? feel bad cause i technically dont feed them anything yet so ill prolly buy one of those as well on my next escapade at petsmart.

[cocoa_pleco]

the best food is NLS- new life spectrum

[Chrona]

I guess ill look into getting some lighting i suppose. I think ill wait till after the weekend when i get paid though to do any more purchases. never knew fish were this expensive.. aw well

any recomendations on for a food brand? type? just an all around decent one. or maybe something diff.. idk, live stuff?

i read up that snails like cuttlefish, anyone know how much they like it? feel bad cause i technically dont feed them anything yet so ill prolly buy one of those as well on my next escapade at petsmart.

Snails pretty much eat anything. Don't overfeed snails until you find out what type they are.

New Life Spectrum is the best, Hikari the second best.

[Jermy]

Im still assuming there plain mystery snails. cause 1) ive been researching and ive seen pics of alot of typical snails, and have not found any pictures of "mystery snails" it is very hard to find information on "mystery snails" and pictures, everything is apple snails that are sold as mystery snails. Hope thats not my case, dont want anything that big
and 2) i saw a wal-mart tag on the same snails i bought from petsmart as mysterysnails. i know how mis-labling works though, so im not holding to it.

ill end up on that side of town friday prolly or for my bday, and dig around alot.

the goldies have been "gulping" at the top of the water... almost like its trying to breath for air???
tank still going through the cycling phases so thats prolly not helping them. ill bring a water sample when i go to the LFS this weekend.

are goldfish the eat-till-you-die types of fish? i fed them recently, kept eating and eating, now they look fat.

(thanks again everyone)

[Chrona]

Im still assuming there plain mystery snails. cause 1) ive been researching and ive seen pics of alot of typical snails, and have not found any pictures of "mystery snails" it is very hard to find information on "mystery snails" and pictures, everything is apple snails that are sold as mystery snails. Hope thats not my case, dont want anything that big
and 2) i saw a wal-mart tag on the same snails i bought from petsmart as mysterysnails. i know how mis-labling works though, so im not holding to it.

ill end up on that side of town friday prolly or for my bday, and dig around alot.

the goldies have been "gulping" at the top of the water... almost like its trying to breath for air???
tank still going through the cycling phases so thats prolly not helping them. ill bring a water sample when i go to the LFS this weekend.

are goldfish the eat-till-you-die types of fish? i fed them recently, kept eating and eating, now they look fat.

(thanks again everyone)

Don't feed them for a few days. During cycling, you are supposed to feed extremely sparingly. Goldfish (and all fish) can deal with a little hunger. What they can't deal with is the massive amount of ammonia produced when you overfeed. Do a 50% water change daily for the next 4 days as well.

Most fish will just keep eating till they are about to pop. It's your responsibility to make sure they don't get that far.

[Jermy]

ooooooo
that woulda been good to know, i was only doin once a day but wasnt sure on the amount of that once a day deal.

anyone know the name for the "good bacteria" anyway? just out of curiousity.

[Chrona]

ooooooo
that woulda been good to know, i was only doin once a day but wasnt sure on the amount of that once a day deal.

anyone know the name for the "good bacteria" anyway? just out of curiousity.

This is still being debated and researched, but current studies point to Nitrosomonas, Nitrosospira and Nitrospira

[Jermy]

http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Nitrospira

I <3 wikipedia

a good little article. good to not that they wont form with too much amonia nor with not enough pH.

this article sais that Nitrospira is the one... idk how much credit that actually holds.

[cocoa_pleco]

I cant remember, but isnt it bio-spira?

[Jermy]

thought thats the brand name of something that has the same effect. prolly a formula with this nitrapira stuff in it. Hence the "spira"

[Chrona]

http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Nitrospira

I <3 wikipedia

a good little article. good to not that they wont form with too much amonia nor with not enough pH.

this article sais that Nitrospira is the one... idk how much credit that actually holds.

Nitrospira intakes nitrites. Nitrosomonas (sp?) takes in ammonia I believe. You need the whole shebang

[Jermy]

http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Nitrosomonas


so the NitroSpira converts Nitrate to Oxygen ( or w/e it is technically)
and nitrosomonas converts Amonia to Nitrate...

amonia > Nitrosomonas > Nitrate > Nitrospira > Oxygen

... maybe i should take a marine bio class next semester... lol...

*sigh* as i expected.. one goldie down :-(... although i didnt expect to be sad about it..
((He was on the bottom though.. thought they rise to the surface???))
PS- Chrona told me about the feeding earlier.. just didnt think about it when i was doing it. :-\

Hopefully the other makes it through.
The water is really clear now, it got foggy the other day. prolly cause i had 2 goldies in a 10g and only a 10g filter and feeding them too often.

Petsmart tomorow! ima try to con some old gravel out of them, shouldnt be hard. or buy some in use/preused items... ill dig around... i do that alot. ask questions, pick out some stuff that is useful...

anyone can think of a list of stuff that i really NEED that would help.

any fish that are good for finishing the cycling process?

i still want plants, but ima have to look into substrate,heating, lighting.


whoa, that was alot of ranting...
still curious if i should put this on another topic on forums? new post and include key points? move whole post? (although idk how)

[cocoa_pleco]

for finishing cycling, a few zebra danios are good

[Chrona]

Nitrosomonas converts ammonia to nitrite
Nitrospira converts nitrite to nitrates

( I believe )

In freshwater, we don't have anything to break down nitrates save plants and or an expensive nitrate reactor.

[Jermy]

I only ended up getting a few shrimp. 36cents each for some reason, really cheap. big enough so that the goldfish wont eat them.

when i was there i saw a Figure 8 puffer.... i like the puffers. i orginally wanted to get a tank for the sole reason of buyting a dwarf puffer. although the figure 8 looks very very interesting so im about to start on research with that.

None of the LFSs around here have substrate, they said to check online. i forgot to check the local small petshops, they might have some. and i was looking for lighting... how much light about? in LAYMEN terms. they have some very small lights, looked more like "show off" lights then actually plant lights, but it might be enough to set it up and point it directly on the plant.

ill see if i can find a link to the small light i was talkin about. i wanted something small that i can face to the back if anyone has any ideas.

[Chrona]

I only ended up getting a few shrimp. 36cents each for some reason, really cheap. big enough so that the goldfish wont eat them.

when i was there i saw a Figure 8 puffer.... i like the puffers. i orginally wanted to get a tank for the sole reason of buyting a dwarf puffer. although the figure 8 looks very very interesting so im about to start on research with that.

None of the LFSs around here have substrate, they said to check online. i forgot to check the local small petshops, they might have some. and i was looking for lighting... how much light about? in LAYMEN terms. they have some very small lights, looked more like "show off" lights then actually plant lights, but it might be enough to set it up and point it directly on the plant.

ill see if i can find a link to the small light i was talkin about. i wanted something small that i can face to the back if anyone has any ideas.

The standard 15 watt fluorescent bulb for a 10g will work fine for low light plants.

Are you talking about LED (lunar) lights?

Doctor Foster and Smith has some good prices on substrate, though shipping is like 10 bucks flat.

[Jermy]

LED... looks familiar.. i think that was it. just some itty bitty lights. i would like something like that sence i have the tank by my comp and dont want a birght light in my face.

but yes.. i think its the LED lights.

[Chrona]

LED... looks familiar.. i think that was it. just some itty bitty lights. i would like something like that sence i have the tank by my comp and dont want a birght light in my face.

but yes.. i think its the LED lights.

Yes, they look cool, but that's about it. Not worth the money imo.

[Jermy]

blah, knew it was too good to be true.

still searching for something that willl work.

[Chrona]

blah, knew it was too good to be true.

still searching for something that willl work.

Work for what? Lighting for aesthetic purposes or growing plants? 10000K fluorescent bulbs look nice. Slightly bluish.

[Jermy]

I would like to have plants in my 10g low light tank and not have to put bright light.

I was thinking about a Moss Ball. not sure exactly what they need. but Ive read that some people enjoy them.
or maybe something to just cover the bottom of the tank.not sure...

PS- fish should have a warning label... "Keeping a fish may cause slight obsession with the hobby."
i mean really... i stopped, but smoking is cheaper then this.
its fun though :-D

[Chrona]

I would like to have plants in my 10g low light tank and not have to put bright light.

I was thinking about a Moss Ball. not sure exactly what they need. but Ive read that some people enjoy them.
or maybe something to just cover the bottom of the tank.not sure...

PS- fish should have a warning label... "Keeping a fish may cause slight obsession with the hobby."
i mean really... i stopped, but smoking is cheaper then this.
its fun though :-D

lol

the standard 15 watt fixture will work fine. Java fern, java moss, and anubias, again, are easy plants to grow in low light. Under 15 watts, I doubt you'll be able to get a carpet though.

[Jermy]

ok, so ill have to go on a search for 15watt... something i like.
Im very picky... if ya cant tell. and attempt to do all the research i can.

yea so far ive settled with java fern as a winner.

as far as the bed thing goes, itll be a while. but i know theres a few different types of plants that do that. i found one site sells four leaf clovers... i want... (i collect luck charms, clovers, and anything luck related)

ima end up having to move my lil set up somewhere else though anyway so i can have lights. and more convenience.

the goldie keeps harrasing the shrimp. they wont getstressed and croke will they???

Figure Eights need at least 20g.... *sigh*... wonder if i could get a figure eight dwarf puffer! lol... let a guy dream eh? haha

[Chrona]

ok, so ill have to go on a search for 15watt... something i like.
Im very picky... if ya cant tell. and attempt to do all the research i can.

yea so far ive settled with java fern as a winner.

as far as the bed thing goes, itll be a while. but i know theres a few different types of plants that do that. i found one site sells four leaf clovers... i want... (i collect luck charms, clovers, and anything luck related)

ima end up having to move my lil set up somewhere else though anyway so i can have lights. and more convenience.

the goldie keeps harrasing the shrimp. they wont getstressed and croke will they???

Figure Eights need at least 20g.... *sigh*... wonder if i could get a figure eight dwarf puffer! lol... let a guy dream eh? haha

Yes the shrimp will get stressed and either die or get eaten.

Four leaf clover is usually marsilea quadrafolia, which may or may not grow into a low carpet. Under low light, I believe it actually gets to about 2-3 inches in the submerged leaf form. Not sure if that's what you are aiming for. On the other hand, marsilea hirsuta stays at about 0.5-1 inch even under low light, which is nice, and what I use. It grows pretty slow under 2.8w/g and CO2, so I would imagine it will grow painfully slow in 15 watts :)

[cocoa_pleco]

as long as the goldie cant swallow the shrimp whole, youre fine.

Also, getting live plants gives the shrimp hiding places. In my heavily planted 20g, thats how my shrimp survive.

[Jermy]

for the clovers i ment once i get a decent set up.
Sorry, i change topics without saying so alot.

I hope they last until i get some cover for them. after a while the goldfish left them alone. they actually swim around alot. very intresting lil creatures.

im still working on the plants though.
if i scrub down some bricks and clean them really good, think it would help? just to have a little something extra untill i finish setting everything up? just asking cause i have alot of old bricks that i can use.

[Chrona]

for the clovers i ment once i get a decent set up.
Sorry, i change topics without saying so alot.

I hope they last until i get some cover for them. after a while the goldfish left them alone. they actually swim around alot. very intresting lil creatures.

im still working on the plants though.
if i scrub down some bricks and clean them really good, think it would help? just to have a little something extra untill i finish setting everything up? just asking cause i have alot of old bricks that i can use.

No on the bricks. Generally not aquarium safe, and even if they were really clean, I wouldn't risk it. Fish safe rocks are like 50 cents per lb at my LFS, which is really not bad.

[cocoa_pleco]

old bricks can have bad chemicals and can be unsanitary. Id say wain until you can get some rocks from the fish store which are safe

[Jermy]

Will do.

anyone have experience with moss balls?

[Chrona]

Will do.

anyone have experience with moss balls?

No experience, but

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_viewer.php?id=199

[cocoa_pleco]

I have 5. Theyre really hardy and grab waste and filter really well

[Jermy]

haha, they look intresting. but i dont think theyd work for me just yet.

im calling it a night.

thanks alot everyone.

[cocoa_pleco]

Try them! mine went through lots of bad conditions, and theyre still alive. They grow large, and then you can cut them in half and have 2 or sell half!

[Jermy]

the problem is finding a moss ball

I didnt see any snail food when i went to the LFS. Both of the snails are now dead, prolly cause i didnt feed them anything.

whats the easiest thing to feed them? i thought about peanut butter just cause it would be quick and easy. but idk how to do all that.

next question...

the godlie has a orange thing hanging from what i can only assume is his butt. it looks like a long poop. but its not going anywhere. i just noticed it this morning. im going to take a pic and post it later today.
or maybe tomorow

[Chrona]

Snails eat pretty much anything. Some sinking pellets or lettuce/zuchinis will work fine

[Jermy]

only one of them was dead... hte other was sleeping?? idk.. not moving but i left him. and hes still kicking.

everything is doin good i think. for the most part.

i have a small ring of bubbles forming around the edge of the waterline. I read some other post a while back about this. ima try to go find.

and the goldie and the shrimp seem really really calm.

might go get a small 15-20 watt lamp at Office depot tomorow (i work there) or maybe walmart might have something cheaper. just a lil clip on deal or something idk. i have a lid on it now so nothing will fall in. im going look around though. cause i still want plants.