Plants in my Betta Tank

So it turns out that the live plants that I bought from petco, aren't actually "aquatic" plants as the packaging says, of course I find this out after i spent the money and got rid of the packaging. So I took them out, I'm gonna give them to my mom for the hundreds of other non aquatic plants she has. Oh well... live and learn. So I have been all over where i live looking for aquatic plants that would be good for my betta and his new tank... But to no avail. I know I can order online, but i like to have things... well... now. LOL.

So I have had a few suggestions for which plants to put in his tank... any more?

And on top of that I guess if I wanted a live planted tank, I would have to get special substrate for sustaining live plants... Why do i always do my research after i have spent the money???

I guess its cause of the statement in line 13. I'm too impatient and want to see things happen quickly. Meanwhile I still have Spike in a 1.5, while I'm trying to figure out this new 5 gal.

Quite a few of the plants that are sold for aquarium use are "marginal" plants, meaning they grow near the shore line with at least part of their leaves exposed for at least some of the year. Hornwort and anacirus (bad spelling) are two common, cheap floating plants that don't need a special substrate. Some rooted plants include valesnaria, sagateris, anubias, crypts, java fern and a bunch more i can't spell. If you already have gravel in the aquarium, just add a scoop of pure laterite right out of the box. It will put dust in the water, but the dust will settle out in a few days.

I'm having a hard time finding those floating plants. Where can I go. Any big name pet stores sell it? Cause I don't think they do around me, cause I haven't seen it.

The ma and pa stores may sell them, but they're not expensive enough for the big places to make money. You can buy most plants on Aquabid.com and have them in a few days. Shipping charges for plants are usually not high. You may also want to try Arizona Aquatic Gardens.

Okay, so i found hornwort and anubias, and another plant that I think has the suffix of "-wort" but its a small many leaved lighter green plant... oh well, I guess I have to go back to the store I got it from and read the label, but it was reccomended by a girl in the store... Anyhow, not what I'm here for...

The Hornwort i have "sheds" alot, is this normal? I have it in the 5 gal that i am cycling.

Also, JohnAurthur mention that when there was hornwort in his tank when cycling the ammonia an nitrites always stayed at zero, I haven't tested the water since I put it in on Friday, but if that is the case, How do you know when the tank has completed the cycle? Once nitrates appear?

Some plants experience shock when you move them to a different aquarium. A moderate amount of flake food will provide nutrients for the plants and the beneficial bacteria. If you have a large bunch of hornwort floating on top, you can also leave the light on for extended periods without experiencing an algae problem. If your live planted aquarium has zero ammonia and nitrite after a week or so, it's probably cycled. Out of caution, I waited a month before adding fish. The aquariums were fairly large.

OK so now my moneywort is dying even though I acclimated it for 4 days in the bag. So far the only thing that is growing really well is the Lily out of the pod. I have 3 of them now and they are all growing very well. I know its not my water, because it's perfect. Just the wrong plants? Of course my hornwort died too and I know that plant is ok for my betta tank.

I've got a great idea, why not try what I did? I got some lucky bamboo (Dracaena) from my mom and I've had it submerged in my 30 gall to make a bamboo forest and its been almost a month and its still looking great! Betas being oriental would make for a really nice looking peice with some bamboo. I've been able to keep mine completly submerged but I would still recoment letting the leaves breath. But its a cheap nice looking plant. Check out my pictures to see what I'm talking about. Let me post pictures so I can see how yours looks!

The reason why your plants might possibly be dying is having the wrong spectrum of light or you just don't have enough light.