Plant suggestions?

[ErnieB]

Will be receiving some eclipse explorer 2 tanks soon ( 2g ). I was thinking of trying some real plants in them. I have shyed away from real plants cause i just feel they would be alot more work and alot more things could go wrong and screw up the water quality ( im paranoid i know lol ) but thought i would maybe try them with the betta tanks. Any recommendations for plants that would work in these tanks with stock lighting and no real maintenance needed ( ferts ). I wanna basically set it and forget it ( if thats possible ). I dont mind trimming ( would have to learn ). Obviously in addition the plant choices would have to be betta safe. And if you could advise on any substrate or specific care i would greatly appreciate it. Oh and how many would be a good amount for this size tank?

Thanks

[Jynx]

I have the BettaBulbs in my 3g eclipse- they're very easy and thrive with the regular tank gravel. I got some plant vitamin tablets and stuck em in there. The leaves and stalks sometimes die and have to be cleared away- like with a houseplant- but that's no biggie- these come from the little dried bulbs they often sell near bettas- if you got them I would just put 1 in a two gallon

[iamtetsuo]

I just got a Java Fern for my tank, pet store and people on this forum recommended it as it doesn't grow large enough to overcrowd a small tank.

If you have a live plant it actually helps your water quality (assuming the plant doesn't die). Plants will naturally absorb ammonium (what is produced by fish waste is slightly acidic water). This means that if you have a plant with your betta you don't have to cycle the tank before putting the beta in, the plant does the work that the bacteria would.

I have an eclipse 3 with 25 watt heater. I just got my betta today and he seems very happy with the tank!

[ErnieB]

i saw the "betta bulbs" at 2 of my lfs's. They were like $4 for a package that had alot of bulbs in them. How to you care for them? Specifically what/how/when do you trim them? Do you just cut it off at the gravel when it gets too long or dies? Or what?

[ChristinaRoss]

basically you just pull off any leaves that appear brown, yellow or dying...

betta bulbs typically dont need much pruning, they wont overtake the tank

[Jynx]

yeah i just pull the stalks that are dead or look iffy- but they do keep the aquarium smelling nice and such- but if you need to clean the gravel they don't like their roots upset- i've had to pull them up twice to clean everything out and both times they got wilty for a while. And they need some natural light- if i go away for the weekend and don't leave my shade up they don't look so good when i get back.
also in those packages some might be duds and not sprout- or some people have complained of fungus infection but i haven't had that prob here.