My new mystery plants...

vanalisa said:

Jungle Val - big one
Creeping Charlie. - little one
Guessing.

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itiwhetu said:

More likely one of the Rotalas

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Strmwrng said:

I wish I had read these replies sooner!! I won’t order plants in this way again! I’m agreeing, Val too big for little tank and the other just looks poorly☹ AdoraBelle Dearheart? I’ll take you up on your offer of suggestions, just need to get some more $ in the budget. Thank you so much all for your replies!! Livin and learnin!!

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Search - Pro Shrimp

www.pro-shrimp.co.uk

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

Are you in the UK by any chance? Can recommend a couple of places for cheaper plants if you're in the UK or US.

Good beginner plants that stay fairly small are any of the mosses - Java moss, christmas moss, spiky moss etc, java fern, anubius of any of the smaller types. These are slow growing, remain fairly small with trimming where needed so won't be overwhelming in a small tank like vallis would.

Hornwort, elodea, water sprite and water wysteria are fast growing stem plants so would need trimming back more often, but they're low maintenance and not demanding plants otherwise, great for absorbing ammonia and nitrates so good for water quality, and you can either plant them in the substrate or leave them to float, and fish enjoy them for the shelter and shade they provide.

Any of the cryptocoryne plants are great beginner plants, easy to grow and undemanding, and can be split and spread out as they grow and produce baby plants.

In your shoes, I would get a couple of different cryptocoryne plants, just plant those in the substrate, and see how you go. They appreciate root tabs if you want to get some, it'll give them some extra nutrients that fish waste doesn't provide so they'd grow faster and healthier, but they'll also almost certainly survive and grow without them. Pro-shrimp is a pretty good UK site for plants , you don't have to buy the in-vitro ones that are slightly more expensive, about £4 each for a couple of crypts, and you'll have dipped your toe into having live plants without a lot of expense, hassle or disappointment, and you're likely to succeed and not have any troubles with them.

Search - Pro Shrimp

www.pro-shrimp.co.uk

I only recommend this place since I've used them and I know their plants are shrimp safe. Not a concern for you since you don't have shrimp, but something I had to worry about and so might others who read along here.

Start small with a couple of easy to grow, no hassle crypts, and you can always add something else you like the look of later if you see a plant you like at a good price, but will have succeeded with a beginner friendly plant that should grow nicely but not overwhelm the tank or grow so fast that it needs constant trimming. You can't really go wrong with crypts If you get a crypt from another source though, google "crypt melt" too. Not something to panic about, it's just where some plants are grown out of water then are submerged, they have to go through a process to convert to underwater leaves, so the old above water leaves die back, and people understandably panic and think the plant is dying. It isn't, even if it dies right back to the roots, it'll come back, just have to give it time, and crypt melt only happens when a plant was grown emersed then has to switch to its submersed form.

Click to expand...

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

Are you in the UK by any chance? Can recommend a couple of places for cheaper plants if you're in the UK or US.

Good beginner plants that stay fairly small are any of the mosses - Java moss, christmas moss, spiky moss etc, java fern, anubius of any of the smaller types. These are slow growing, remain fairly small with trimming where needed so won't be overwhelming in a small tank like vallis would.

Hornwort, elodea, water sprite and water wysteria are fast growing stem plants so would need trimming back more often, but they're low maintenance and not demanding plants otherwise, great for absorbing ammonia and nitrates so good for water quality, and you can either plant them in the substrate or leave them to float, and fish enjoy them for the shelter and shade they provide.

Any of the cryptocoryne plants are great beginner plants, easy to grow and undemanding, and can be split and spread out as they grow and produce baby plants.

In your shoes, I would get a couple of different cryptocoryne plants, just plant those in the substrate, and see how you go. They appreciate root tabs if you want to get some, it'll give them some extra nutrients that fish waste doesn't provide so they'd grow faster and healthier, but they'll also almost certainly survive and grow without them. Pro-shrimp is a pretty good UK site for plants , you don't have to buy the in-vitro ones that are slightly more expensive, about £4 each for a couple of crypts, and you'll have dipped your toe into having live plants without a lot of expense, hassle or disappointment, and you're likely to succeed and not have any troubles with them.

Search - Pro Shrimp

www.pro-shrimp.co.uk

I only recommend this place since I've used them and I know their plants are shrimp safe. Not a concern for you since you don't have shrimp, but something I had to worry about and so might others who read along here.

Start small with a couple of easy to grow, no hassle crypts, and you can always add something else you like the look of later if you see a plant you like at a good price, but will have succeeded with a beginner friendly plant that should grow nicely but not overwhelm the tank or grow so fast that it needs constant trimming. You can't really go wrong with crypts If you get a crypt from another source though, google "crypt melt" too. Not something to panic about, it's just where some plants are grown out of water then are submerged, they have to go through a process to convert to underwater leaves, so the old above water leaves die back, and people understandably panic and think the plant is dying. It isn't, even if it dies right back to the roots, it'll come back, just have to give it time, and crypt melt only happens when a plant was grown emersed then has to switch to its submersed form.

Click to expand...

itiwhetu said:

Like this, very good, and helpful

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