help me choose a plant

hey, I'm wanting some sort of live plants to put in my 55g with Low light (46 or 48 watt bulb), I would like something that grows quick and that I can split off into multiple pieces so i can have a lot of it. any suggestions would be good, thank you in advance

Java fern, and Java moss both grow fast, and do ok in low light and reproduce fast!

Make sure you still have the right lights for low light plants. I found this article for you. My "lowlight" plants dont grow well in my normal tank lights and i didnt know why because i thought they could grow with normal lights. So check this out:

"When people talk about the levels of light it's the power and not the duration. All lights should be on for about 10-12 hours a day. 1-2 watts per gallon are normally considered low light condition, 2-3 w/g are medium lights, and above that are high lights. This assumes that the lights are "full spectrum" ones - the ones, which imitate the sun light the closest and are consumed by the plants the best (I believe this type of lights is the most appropriate both for terrestrial and aquatic plants). If your lights are not full-spectrum (light temperature in the range 5000-6500K) then you usually need more powerful bulbs than described above."


If you can get something like that theres sooooo many options for "low light" plants. hornwort, java moss, java fern, anubias, Wendtii (red and green), duckweed, baby tears, ect ect

I've got some water wisteria that booms under low light conditions.. Beautiful plant..

Ceratopteris Thalictroides (Water Sprite).

Wendtii red/green (cryptocoryne)
Vals (vallisneria)
Amazon sword (Echinodorus bleheri)

The swords when they get to big, I just split them into.

only plants i have really ever had are java fern or java moss lol.

Amazon Swords.. I'm fairly new at aquaculture so take my advice with a grain of salt... but its working for me.. One tank that is lowlight and course gravel substrate I took my Amazon swords and potted them in potting soil (sterilized in the oven for 30 min @ 190 degrees) then cut a piece of fiberglass screening just a tad larger than the top of the pot.. then cut a key-hole in the screen to facilitate the stem of the plant.... covered it with about 1/2 inch of gravel and had to stand back after only a few days.. .Did throw in a Flourish tab.. Harvesting 3 babies that are sprouting 2 inch roots from one of the leaves after only about 3 weeks.

Tank 2, (50g) I again sterilized about 25 lbs of potting soil and covered with about 30 lbs of swimming pool filter sand.. planted red wendtii crypts, pygmy sag chains, Pontediriifolia and some balansae.. and again a flourish tab.. all showing vigorous growth in the week and a half..
I could be all wrong about my techniques...

Oh.. the pots are clay pots that I sterilized too..

Sunset Hygrophila

MarkM wrote:

Sunset Hygrophila

Nice plant as well. Just be sure to check out your state's banned list first though.