low light plant list

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Ratlova30

New Member
So was looking for a list of low light plants that I could keep with me when I go to pet stores and I found this. Has the scientific names as well as the common names(for people like me who can't remember scientific names let alone pronounce them correctly). Hope this helps.
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Hi everyone, Im the one that created this list origonally on MFT.net. Glad to see it spread around. This is where I beg to differ. I had rotala grow great in just 15 watts over 10g's and dosing iron caused red to come out in them. The tank also didnt have CO2. I have actually tried most of those plants and they all did very well in my tank with just 15 watts! The only one I find debatable on that list is the Downoi. I will post the new list right now with a few more plants that others found work well in their tanks with low light.

Java Fern - Microsorum pteropus
Windelov Java Fern, Windelov Fern - Microsorum pteropus 'Windelov'
Narrow Leaf Java Fern - Microsorum pteropus v. 'narrow leaf'
Java Moss - Vesicularia dubyana
Green Hygro - Hygrophila polysperma
*Sunset Hygro - Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig'
Ceylon Hygro - Hygrophila polysperma 'Ceylon'
*Rotala Rotundifolia - Rotala rotundifolia
Rotala Rotundifolia sp. Green - Rotala rotundifolia sp. 'Green'
*Rotala Indica - Rotala indica
Hornwort - Ceratophylum demersum
*Parrots Feather - Myriophyllum aquaticum
Moneywort, Water Hyssop - Bocapa monnieri
Brazilian Pennywort, Pennywort - Hydrocotyle leucocephala
Crypt Wendtii - Cryptocoryne wendtii
Crypt Balansae - Cryptocoryne Balansae
Pygmy Crypt - Cryptocoryne pygmaea
Guppy Grass - Najas guadalupensis
Anubias barteri - Anubias barteri v. barteri
Anubias barteri 'marble' - Anubias barteri 'marble'
Anubias barteri v. 'glabra' - Anubias barteri v. 'glabra'
Anubias nana - Anubias barteri v. 'nana'
Coffee leaf anubias - Anubias barteri v. 'coffeefolia'
Crypt retrospiralis - Cryptocoryne retrospiralis
Crypt spiralis - Cryptocoryne spiralis
Golden nana - Anubias barteri v. 'nana golden'
Narrow leaf nana - Anubias barteri v. 'nana narrow leaf'
Petite nana - Anubias barteri v. nana 'petite'
Philippine Java Fern - Microsorum pteropus 'Philippine'
Red Java fern - Microsorum pteropus "red"
Crypt Becketii - Cryptcoryne becketii
Pelia - Monosolenium tenerum
Waterwheel Plant - Aldrovanda vesiculosa
Bacopa - Bacopa caroliniana
African Water Fern - Bolbitis heudelotii
Crypt Aponogetifolia - Cryptocoryne aponogetifolia
Micro Crypt - Cryptocoryne petchii
Tropica Sword - Echinodorus parviflorus 'Tropica'
**Downoi - Pogostemon helferi
***Lotus- Nymphaea pubescens
American Waterweed- Elodea canadensis
Vallisneria natans
Water Celery- Vallisneria americana
Vallisneria asiatica
Red Ludwigia- Ludwigia repens
Marimo Ball- Aegagropila linnaei
HC- Hemianthus callitrichoides
Dwarf Sag- Sagittaria subulata
Crinum calimistratum
Water Pennywort- Hydrocotyle ranunculoides

*Do not ned high light to attain pink color. Dosing Iron can bring out this color. I have learned this from experience.
**Debatable
***This is the plant from the bulb pack you get from petsmart. It is not Nyphaea lotus like many believe.
 
Betty

Betty

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Thanks for the list. I'm going to write some of these down to help me figure out what to bid on at the plant auction tomorrow. :D
 
Paintguy

Paintguy

Active Member
I have tried about 5 variety of plants and so far the Anubias is the only one that survived in my low light tank. Very tough & slow growing.
 
R

Ratlova30

New Member
I have trouble keeping the larger anubias healthy for some reason.

@Betty, have you tried crypts? Fast growing under low light. Crypts are susceptible to crypt melt meaning a lot of the time they'll die off in new tanks but if you leave the roots in there it will spout new leaves. Water sprite was my first plant, and that stuff grew quicker then I could get rid of it. It was growing in 30w in my 55gal. Here's a pic of when I was tearing down the tank to swap out substrates. You can see what a jungle it is:


There's a couple non aquatic plants in the tank at the bottom at the time of this pic, what can I say I was a newb. 99% of the plants in that pic is water spite. At that period of time I wasn't using ferts either. The sprite grows new plants off of it's stem and unlike some plants like hygro where there's roots going all the way up the stem, sprite will just shoot off a single root ball(if I'm making any sense ;) ) where the new plant is growing which makes it super easy to prune. You just pinch under the root ball to remove the new plant. A lot of time if you leave the new plantlets attached to the "mother" plant long enough it will prune itself and release the plant which will be conveniently floating at the top for you. Some people don't like this plant because it will shed a few leaves here and there but they're easily scooped off the surface.

I have some growing like mad in my mothers tank with the magical betta(I have some plants I put in there that wouldn't grow in any of my tanks until it was put into hers) and once I have enough sprite built up I'd be more then happy to share. I just need to get a few more mother plants. I've got one now that is constantly releasing new plant to the surface for me to plant. Before I had to take down all my tanks last year when my mom got sick I was constantly giving it away or trading it for things.
 
Betty

Betty

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Yes, I have tried crypts and they are still alive, so those will be on my list. I also have some anubias that are clinging to life. And java fern is another one that I've tried with limited success. Very limited.

It's funny, years ago I used to put all sorts of plants into my tank and they would grow like crazy. I didn't know anything about them -- I'd just buy what looked nice and stick them in and they would grow. Now with all the information available, I have a terrible time keeping anything green alive.
 
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Ratlova30

New Member
I've found with my java fern that it will die back and then all of a sudden explode with new leaves. I'm still waiting to see if my windelov fern is going to make a comeback or not. But like I said you're welcome to some sprite when I have some to give away. My marimo ball seems to be doing good although it did feel softer last time I moved it. I'm tempted to split it open to try and get it to reproduce because they're so spendy but I'm afraid of failing. I don't know, I've learned that if you don't have a high tech setups for planted tanks it's just going to be a lot of trial and error and when you find something that works, stick to it and get more of it. A lot of the time just moving a dying plant to a different tank will help because of the different type of lighting. I call my moms tank the hospital tank because whatever is put in there blossoms with only 8w per 15gals and minimal ferts. I have another thread that might be worth looking at for your substrate feeding plants. I think it's like "economical root tabs" or something like that.
 
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Ratlova30

New Member
EllensburgWA said:
Please tell us if you used more than one bulb.
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The number of bulbs shouldn't matter. What matters is the number of watts per gallons you have. If you're growing low light plants you need 1 watt per gallon although in some of my tanks I use less less then one watt per gallon. Whatever bulb you are using should say how many watts it is. Another thing you should keep in mind is that you need a florescent bulb, not incandescent.
 
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Anthraxx

New Member
lol and yet you have clear issues with english... or a typing problem, good info but take it down a notch. We're hobbyists here
 
R

Ratlova30

New Member
Anthraxx said:
lol and yet you have clear issues with english... or a typing problem, good info but take it down a notch. We're hobbyists here
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:hugg: My hero lol

@Ellensburg- I'm always up for learning and look forward to the wealth of information you can share with us. However the majority of the people on this forum are here because they like what they do and want to share with everyone. It's not a competition of books smarts on this forum. We're here to have fun and learn along the way. But I do appreciate you sharing your wisdom of the subject. :) Thanks.
 
F

flo77

New Member
Example, I can but a '200 watt' light bulb over my tank putting out warm white light (actually 1,000k)
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Wow! A 1000K bulb. Please let me know where you can buy a bulb rated 1000k. I'll try it over my shallow tanks.
:roll: :roll:
 
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EllensburgWA

New Member
I am sorry if my meaning came out so terribly. I type with one hand lying in bed - bedridden 22+ hours a day. I was not trying to be evil or rude. Nobody listens so I have to speak out louder. I had no intent to be offensive. I will go away and just let things go on as they were. So sad.

Ken
 
pbmax

pbmax

Active Member
From what I've read and gathered recently, plants will grow under even the most inappropriate light "color" (wavelength). Granted, they'll likely grow better under more appropriate wavelengths, but they will grow under just about every type of bulb you can buy at your local home improvement store.

Yes, watts per gallon is a useless measurement. The power output of a given bulb doesn't mean much, especially when different types, brands, and color outputs are involved. A far more appropriate way to measure the amount of light aquarium plants are getting is with a PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) meter. At $300 a pop, though, very few of us have one. This is where it helps to join a club or what have you.

However, given the same K-rating on your bulbs and the same depth between aquariums, watts per gallon can be interesting and even a useful comparison.

I use dual 23w 6500k CFL setups on a couple of my 10g tanks, a dual 18w 6500k CFL setup on one, and a dual 9w 5000k CFL setup on the last one. I grow a ton of plants very well in my 4.6wpg tanks and the 3.6wpg tank. I grow guppy grass, java moss, and frogbit in my 1.8wpg tank.

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It's very difficult to convey body language and intent over the internet and so people tend to take things a million different ways from how you intended them :) That's what SMILEYS ARE FOR! :spoton: We all need to use more smileys. Too bad this site doesn't have the dancing banana... :swear:

Don't go away, just adapt! :beer:
 
E

EllensburgWA

New Member
pbmax said:
From what I've read and gathered recently, plants will grow under even the most inappropriate light "color" (wavelength). Granted, they'll likely grow better under more appropriate wavelengths, but they will grow under just about every type of bulb you can buy at your local home improvement store.
Click to expand...
Chlorophyll is composed of a magnesium atom at its core. Atoms will emit light in a particular pattern of distinct wave lengths. In astronomy we can determine the elements of a star (or any light source) based on the unique signature of the light. At rest (not excited) atoms will absorb light in a particular and unique signature or pattern. And this is why plants only utilize red and blue light. The other atoms in a molecule (carbon, oxygen) in this case the 'organics' in a chlorophyll molecule, will also absorb some light but is usually not used in photosynthesis. This then is not reflected visible light but generally re-emitted as heat (which is in fact 'light' in the infra-red).

pbmax said:
Yes, watts per gallon is a useless measurement. The power output of a given bulb doesn't mean much, especially when different types, brands, and color outputs are involved. A far more appropriate way to measure the amount of light aquarium plants are getting is with a PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) meter. At $300 a pop, though, very few of us have one. This is where it helps to join a club or what have you.
Click to expand...
PAR is a measure of all things : wavelength, intensity (lumens), and frequency AND time as it all mixes up at the final destination of absorption. But it does not measure Watts - or how much you pay your utility company.

pbmax said:
However, given the same K-rating on your bulbs and the same depth between aquariums, watts per gallon can be interesting and even a useful comparison between tanks.
Click to expand...
You cannot look at the price of gas and use it 30 minutes later to gauge how fast you are driving down the highway. I am not trying to be offensive. This is a very appropriate analogy.


pbmax said:
I use dual 23w 6500k CFL setups on a couple of my 10g tanks, a dual 18w 6500k CFL setup on one, and a dual 9w 5000k CFL setup on the last one. I grow a ton of plants very well in my 4.6wpg tanks and the 3.6wpg tank. I grow guppy grass, java moss, and frogbit in my 1.8wpg tank.
Click to expand...
Watts cannot be used this way. The relative difference you are observing is a result of a particular mixing of lumens and wavelength... neither can be 'converted' or related to wattage. You can only say 'watts' or energy was used to turn the light bulb on but not quantity... and not to convert or measure the light emitted by the bulb. It is an impossibility. Please think carefully about the analogy above.


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It's very difficult to convey body language and intent over the internet and so people tend to take things a million different ways from how you intended them :) That's what SMILEYS ARE FOR! :spoton: We all need to use more smileys. Too bad this site doesn't have the dancing banana... :swear:

Don't go away, just adapt! :beer: [/quote]
 
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