# First coldwater tank- what plants?



## gabysapha (Oct 26, 2011)

Hi everyone,

I'm planning out a 20g high, low light low tech, that will be cold water.

Nowadays, the temp is around 85 degrees- I don't have AC in my apartment so... the fish are at the mercy of the weather, just like me.

During the winter, the tank goes between 70-75 degrees.

My biggest question: Can crypts handle temperatures that low?
I hope for this tank to be as lush as I can make it, to promote max survival of any fry. 

I hope for this to be a Vietnamese white cloud (Tanichthys micagemmae) colony/Neocardinia colony (either sakura or wasabi shrimp). If you have other ideas for stocking, please comment! 

Substrate: eco-complete.


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## VeeSe (Apr 16, 2011)

crypts will be fine in those temps.... if it's 70 degrees or higher all the time, there is no problem.


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## gabysapha (Oct 26, 2011)

VeeSe said:


> crypts will be fine in those temps.... if it's 70 degrees or higher all the time, there is no problem.


Wonderful! Thanks. Do you know at what low temp the crypts would start doing badly? Curious.


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## Indian fern (Jul 16, 2012)

Creeping jenny is best. Can thrive in low light too. Others are elodea, egeria, hairgrass, duckweed and hornwort.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Most of the tropical aquarium plants are OK down to about 68*F. There are specific plants that require higher temps, but not many. 
Many of the temperate zone plants are OK up to the mid 70s, but some will not make it unless the water stays under about 68*F. 

The temperate zone plants as listed by Indian fern will tolerate greater swings in temperature. Many of them come from areas where the lake heats up in the summer (though usually not warmer than the low to mid 70s) and often freeze in the winter. The plants that tolerate freezing actually go dormant, so will have some sort of thickened root such as a bulb or thick rhizome. 
Do some research about plants for ponds, and many of these can be kept in aquariums if there is enough light. 
Also look into plants that are native to temperate zones such as North America, Europe, temperate parts of Asia, and higher elevations in the tropics.


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## ducky14523 (Aug 29, 2011)

Ive had a ten gallon out on the porch since mid april. Temps have dropped as low as 45 degrees and the tank is dense as all get out. It has crypt lutea, spiralis. Java fern/moss, sunset hygro, a willow lokking hygro, red myrio, silver myrio, watersprite and ultricularia vulgaris(?). Long story short i think most plants are gonna live, growth just might be slowed down.


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## gabysapha (Oct 26, 2011)

Wonderful! Thanks everyone for the ideas! You are all so helpful.

I decided to forgo all stem plants and just go with subwassertang and willow moss. 
I've found that subwassertang grows fastest in the winter when the tanks are at 70 degrees, and it doesn't do as well in the summer, when the tanks are at 85 degrees or more.

Here's the finished tank.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Impressive rock! It will look nice when the plants fill in a bit.


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## gabysapha (Oct 26, 2011)

Diana said:


> Impressive rock! It will look nice when the plants fill in a bit.


Thank you very much Diana. I was very lucky; I was not expecting such beautiful rocks at my local stream! I added more subwassertang to fill in behind the large boulder. You're right, it looks much nicer with the addition of more plants.


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## SpecGrrl (Jul 26, 2012)

It's lovely!


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## exv152 (Jun 8, 2009)

Some long vals or twisted vals would look nice too, they'd compliment the soft roundness of the rocks.


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## Yo-han (Apr 15, 2010)

Are those Tanichthys micagemmae? They look more like albonubes, but this could be due to the photo. My avatar is a real micagemmae, you can compare. I've done a unheated Tanichthys micagemmae biotope, see: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=180777&highlight=vietnamese I also have Sewellia lineolata's in there, they would love your big rocks too!


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