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3 weeks ago i "planted" my 2.5g betta tank. The tank has a big clump of java moss, 2 rhizomes of Java fern, a very small piece of Elodea, and a little duckweed which came on the java moss.
All plants are growing lots under the 23watts of 6500k light provided by a clip light and a spiral type energy saver globe.
Over the past week, the tank walls have gone a light green colour from java moss growth (at least i assume that is what it is, could be algae), the growth is light green strands which are up to 1.5cm long. How can i stop this growth??

Definitely sounds like algae, some type of thread or maybe staghorn. I mean, you have nearly 10 WPG. None of the plants you have need nearly that much (in fact, the Java Fern and Java Moss barely need any), and since they're all fairly slow growing, any excess nutrients and that amount of light just begs for algae.

I had a pretty heinous case of this stuff about a year and a half ago in my 38 gallon. I wound up tearing the whole thing down and sterilizing everything. Hopefully yours won't come to that, so I'd suggest lowering the light and up your water changes to keep nutrients down, or add some faster growing plants, though you'd have to talk to more of a plant guru than I am to find out if there are any that will fit in a tank that small. Additionally, you might just want to start scraping the sides down every day. On a tank that size, it should take you about 30 seconds.

If i have way too much light should i reduce time or amount of light?
The light is on for about 15 hours a day, is that too much???
Also, i didnt go for higher light plants cause the tank is unfiltered and has no CO2 injection, what plants could survive these conditions?

Sounds like the amount and duration are both way too high. If you cut down to 10 hours per day (you can use a timer from any hardware/DIY store) you'll see a dramatic reduction in algae growth (without harming your plants)

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I am 100% sure it is not Java Moss as I am trying to grow it in my Betta tank on the back glass and it extremly difficult and very slow.

You problem is Algae Buy a timer and set it at 1o hrs a day. You can also buy those litle glass cleaners to remove the alge from the glass.

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Also, i didnt go for higher light plants cause the tank is unfiltered and has no CO2 injection, what plants could survive these conditions?

Everything you have will be fine. Java Fern and Moss are damn near impossible to kill. Elodea needs a bit brighter light, but anything above like 1 WPG should be fine. Cut down on your light and see if that helps, but if you do end up needing to replace the bulb, don't go for anything more than 3 or 4 WPG.

If it is only the one betta in the tank, you may reach a point after the plants have grown substantially where the fish doesn't produce enough CO2 for all the plants. The problem is, in a tank that small, CO2 injection is nearly impossible to control and it is more likely than not that you would just have a massive pH crash. Basically, all you can do at that point is pull out a bunch of the plants that are in there and let the remaining regrow.

remove all java moss, then none will grow on glass. Otherwise it will take regular work to keep the java moss in line.

pookiekiller12 Wrote:
remove all java moss, then none will grow on glass. Otherwise it will take regular work to keep the java moss in line.

Do you mean algae?

Anyway, I think that the duckweed is a nice plant that will absorb a lot of light from the tank. It might cover up the tank enough so light wont be given to algae. Also, what you could do is put the light higher up from the tank, so the WPG will be reduced a bit. THe true formula for WPG is..........I forgot, but ask a plant guru and hell most likely know..... Duckweed also will have an easy time getting CO2 from the air as it is a floating plant. If i had a betta tank, i would put in Javamoss attached to DW, A Java Fern and a whole bunch of duckweed.

Have a good day!

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yes distance is better it will reduce your wpg , if you wanna grow moss on the back use a thin plastic mesh and fit it to the back of the tank wedge the moss evenly aaround the mesh inbetween the glass and the mesh and bam back ground grass. another nice way is to use nylon rope and unspin it then put peices of moss in the rope and let it spin back into place. use black or even green rope and it will look great once it starts to take grip and grow.

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