# Easiest Non-Green Plant to Grow (Yellow, Orange, Red, Purple, etc.)?



## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

What is the easiest aquarium plant to grow that's _NOT _green? :icon_roll Easy = hardy, low-light, preferably no iron dosing, infrequent liquid CO2 (Excel).

I'm looking to throw a few pieces into a nano tank so nothing too big, suggestions updated in this post; info is from quick Googling, please correct me if they're incorrect, TY!

Bronze Crypt Wendtii (brown leafy, low light, PH 6-8, easy demands, moderate growth)









Alternanthera Reineckii aka. Telanthera Rosefolia (red leafy, medium light, medium demands, moderate growth)









Golden Nesea (yellow thin leaves, medium light, PH 7, medium demands, medium growth)









Cabomba Palaformis (yellow/pink/red spiny, low-to-medium light, PH 6-7.2, medium demands, fast growth)









Rotala Indica or Colorata (green to yellow/pink/red thin leaves, medium light, PH 5-8, easy demands, fast growth)









Ludwigia Repens (green to red, medium light, PH 5-8, easy demands, fast growth)









Nymphaea Zenkeri aka Tiger Lotus Red (red with spots, medium light, PH 5-8, medium demands, moderate growth)









Lysimachia Nummularia Aurea aka Golden Creeping Jenny (green to golden, medium light, easy demands, medium growth)


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## antbug (May 28, 2010)

bronze crypt wendtii


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## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/plantfinder/


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

happi said:


> http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/plantfinder/


Cool site  TY!


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## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

xenxes said:


> Cool site  TY!


NP

in that site *Cabomba furcata* is shown as difficult plant, but this plant grows under any given water conditions. its a weed under high nitrate tanks, it will also turn red/pinkish.

maybe you can try that, rotala indica is also another plant to try.


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## Cardinal Tetra (Feb 26, 2006)

Crypts, Ludwigias, _Alternanthera reineckii_ come to mind.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

happi said:


> NP
> 
> in that site *Cabomba furcata* is shown as difficult plant, but this plant grows under any given water conditions. its a weed under high nitrate tanks, it will also turn red/pinkish.
> 
> maybe you can try that, rotala indica is also another plant to try.


The Cabomba Palaeformis looks similar to that one but shows medium demands. 

A lot of these plants transition green -> to color based on lighting and especially iron. I guess if I want vibrant colors I need to dose CO2 + iron. Will Excel every week do, or do I need a bubbler? Also does dosing iron harm fauna? I'll be keeping RCS and Neon Tetras in this tank.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Crypt and Rolata..both don't require very high light to obtain there color. The others require a bit more light to produce a nice color in them..and from what I understand Golden Nesea is a harder plant to grow..Iron is okay to dose in the tank, I don't believe that it will hurt RCS, copper is the main thing you want to avoid with RCS...but too much Iron will produce algae FYI..


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## Brian10962001 (Dec 6, 2011)

The only non green plant I have is a crypt. It's really easy so far. It's in an NPT so I haven't had to really touch anything as far as that tank goes.


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

I've had good success with Nymphaeas, in particular the Red Lotus, and Tiger Lotus - beautiful deep-red coloration, hardy & relatively easy to grow, even in low light conditions.
One of each of these plants can be seen in my low-tech planted discus tank :
http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/Sept2011


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## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

Golden creeping jenny (lysimachia nummularia aurea) is easy.


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## msjinkzd (May 12, 2007)

ludwigia repens is really easy too.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol wow, that's a lot of options. I'll have to see what I can get locally and what online. The new tank won't be a dull green-on-green!


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## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

Check the Swap N Shop forum here. Practically all my plants came through it.


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## ptr (Sep 23, 2011)

Rotala Colorata has been doing marvels for me.


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## anh (Jul 20, 2009)

Dwarf lilies and lugwigia repens are deff one of the easiest colored plants available.


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