I want plants, what can I put in my 2.5 gallon aquarium?

Get one of those 10 watt compact flourescent bulbs from walmart, and you can plant java fern, anubias, java moss in there. Sure, you can siphon it and transport it on break - put it in a very large garbage bag tied in a knot so it wont leak. Good Luck - some of those are very pretty - once school is over plunk a few cherry shrimp in it.

Just ask the people at your local pet store. That's what I did and they showed me what plants need what particular amount of light. They were really helpful, I actually went to Petsmart if you have one of those. Plants are supposed to bring more oxygen into the water and you also need to have some kind of rocks or sand at the bottom of your tank to hold them down (obviously). I never had to clean out my tank more from having plants, however sometimes they can be messy. Also, I just had a regular fish tank light, no special lamps. There are even plants that grow in shade if you don't want to get a lamp.

Marijuana will grow good.

Actually, if you got a heater, a 2.5 gallon planted tank would make a nice home for a betta or some shrimp. As for plants, java moss is very hardy and inexpensive, and it looks really nice growing on driftwood. Anubias nana "narrow leaf" is also a nice, small hardy plant that can be attached to driftwood. Both plants do fine in very low light. There are also marimo algae balls, which are cute. Small java ferns would work too. None of these plants even need to be planted, and you could easily lower the water level to bring the tank home. As for changing the water, with plants only you don't have to do it often. If you do keep a betta or shrimp, though, small water changes are a must every week. Plants will use ammonia as a nutrient, but clean, fresh water is still good. And yes, you'll need dechlorinator.

You could get some java moss and java fern along with one pair of killifish or freshwater shrimp. Make sure you have a full spectrum light on the aquarium and the plants and animals will grow fine. These are low light level plants and will be fine. When you want to bring the tank home just lower the water level down to a couple of inches and if you have fish put them in a bag filled 1/3 with water and the rest air. Make this a large plastic bag from the pet store. Take 2 bags and after you fill the first bag 1/3rd of the way with the rest air tie the top then turn it upside down and place in another bag of the same type so the corners will be rounded and the fish will not get trapped here. I've made some beautiful small aquariums with plants and fish or shrimp and you will really enjoy this. BTW if you are going home for 2 weeks or less put the light on a timer and you will be fine not feeding the fish/shrimp. Aquatic Gardeners Association has a website with far more info than you will need. The keys for you are plants that are low light and don't grow very tall.

Actually you could get away with both things, a fish that's not high maintenance and have a lovely plant. If you were to get a MALE betta fish and put him in the 2.5 gal. he would thrive. Especially if you had a Lucky Bamboo plant. They do not take much maintence either and both will benefit each other. If you wish to keep a light on this plant/fish I would suggest just a flouresent light. It will not burn up the lives on the delicate plant and the betta will get SOME warmth. The Lucky Bamboo is an easy, beginner plant like the fish and can thrive without a light. It's a hardy and would be excellent in your dorm. If you were to go home for a few days, drop a fish feeder in (Top Fin product) and the fish would eat at that and the some of the plant's nutrients and the plat will benefit off the fishes' waste and oxygen it gives off. Hope that helps.