Quote:
Originally Posted by Lumpy
To give you an idea for plants you can start out w/, here's a list of the ones I have in my tank...
Amazon Sword (Echinodorus amazonicus)
Anacharis (Egeria densa)
Cabomba-Purple (Cabomba caroliniana)
Congensis (Anubias congensis)
Crested Java Fern (Microsorium pteropus "Windelov")
Melon Sword (Echinodorus osiris)
Petite Nana (Anubias barteri 'Petite')
Wendtii Green (Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green')
|
Amazon Sword - bought one, now have 3. Slow growers but very pretty. When they shoot up the central stalk and it starts to bud, cut it off and plant it.
Anacharis - really best in a colder tank. Supposedly one of the easiest aquarium plants to keep but in my tanks (all 78-80 degrees) they don't last.
Cabomba - another cold-water plant, does better in ponds.
Anubias Nana or Dwarf Anubias - VERY slow grower, plant it in shaded areas as it will grow algae. Attracts black "beard" algae which is nearly impossible to get rid of short of plucking leaves and throwing them away.
Java Fern - slow grower, doesn't need much of anything and can do well even in low light. Reproduces by forming new plants at the tips of its leaves, so if you can wait, you only need 1. I bought 1 about a year ago and now have 12 in 2 different tanks.
Cryptocoryne Wendtii (green or red) - another hardy, low-light plant. Reproduces through runners and will eventually spread vigorously. Another one I bought 1 of and now have several.
Some other plants that deserve mention:
Ludwigia Repens (red Ludwigia) - stalk plant, grows in bunches. I've found it to be much more forgiving of a tropical Amazon setup (higher temp, lower pH) than Cabomba and Anacharis. With the right lighting and ferts, it turns a rosy red.
Hygrophilia Difformis - VERY forgiving plant. The biggest issue I've had with it is that it grows TOO well. Three 6-inch stalks now covers nearly 1/3 of my 55G tank, substrate to surface.