# beginner plants - any suggestions?



## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

You can check my 10g journal for some plants, but a lot depends on what (look) you like.

Your list of plants will work just fine. I personally like adding some faster growing plants, at least initially, to help the new tank to stabilize faster. And watching anubia grow can get pretty borring .

You might want to check out E. tenellus, HM (good for anything from the background to carpeting foreground), Blyxa japonica, bacopa caroliana / australis, water sprite, water westeria, crypt wendii and lutea, Rotala indica, Ludwidgia repens, S. repens, sagittaria, penmywort, etc etc.

With time, you will find plants you like and that do well in your specific environment.

Good luck and enjoy.


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## BigTom (Sep 16, 2011)

The following have all done at least quite well for me in low tech with zero carbon addition, very infrequent ferts (monthly or even less) and a pond soil and sand substrate -

Microsorum pteropus 'trident', 'mini', 'needle'
Lilleaopsis brasiliensis and mauritania
Eleocharis acicularis
any number of crypt and echinodorus species
Hydrocotyle tripartita and leucocephela (verticillata does OK but doesn't grow much)
Aponogeton crispus
Pellia
various mosses
Bolbitis
Anubias
Cyperus helferi
Blyxa japnoica
Ammania 'bonsai'
Hygrophila pinnitifada
Ceratopsis thalictroides

This is the tank most of them are in, as you can see, no reason you can't have a real jungle with low tech...


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## Soup12 (Nov 10, 2012)

BigTom said:


> The following have all done at least quite well for me in low tech with zero carbon addition, very infrequent ferts (monthly or even less) and a pond soil and sand substrate -
> 
> Microsorum pteropus 'trident', 'mini', 'needle'
> Lilleaopsis brasiliensis and mauritania
> ...


wow nice, I will use some of those plants for 3 nano cubes I am creating for friends and family


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

i like hygrophila ceylon as it either has a brown or green leaf depending on lighting.
wisteria and antler fern is another. under high light, ive had antler fern produce red leaves when above water.

a wide assortment of crypts may also suit the tank environment...


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## glassguppy (Nov 2, 2012)

I'm still trying to figure out what kind of "look" overall I'm going for and what kind of fish... I started another thread in search of a good shoaling or schooling fish, something small, hardy, nice to watch, friendly etc but I want to try and make sure the plants and fish all work together nicely... I want a kind of foresty almost non-aquatic look, to give a reference anubias kinda has that look, certain mosses which don't look so much like algae lol but more like a fern at the bottom of a mossy forest floor, or Hydrocotyle tripartita - The suggestions I have here so far are great, the thing I'm needing help with is kinda putting together a bundle that will compliment what fish I end up getting and the medium/low light that the eheim aquastyle 9 will provide... also the background plant I want to kinda provide a bushy canopy so whatever will be growing beneath or near it will need to be able to withstand some shade and the foreground plant will be a kind of carpeting one...was thinking some kind of moss with tripartita popping up out of it, or maybe something else. I'd like a tank that LOOKS like it needs alot of care, something that looks nice but isn't too delicate.. I don't have any liquid fertilizer so will be pretty much relying on whatever the fish produce and the amazonia aquasoil I'm using.


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## Calmia22 (Aug 20, 2011)

My 8g's entire background is wisteria. It gives a forest type of look. I will take a picture and post it tomorrow. It creates the bushy effect you are looking for. I use a mix of shrimp stratum and amazonia. I only have shrimp and one otto in the tank, and once or twice a month I put a very tiny amount of flourish in the tank, but probably not enough to really matter. The only downside is that it initially took a few months to get use to my tank, but once it did even trimmings instantly went nuts. I re did my tank about almost 2 months ago and it's growing very fast.


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## glassguppy (Nov 2, 2012)

Calmia22 said:


> My 8g's entire background is wisteria. It gives a forest type of look. I will take a picture and post it tomorrow. It creates the bushy effect you are looking for. I use a mix of shrimp stratum and amazonia. I only have shrimp and one otto in the tank, and once or twice a month I put a very tiny amount of flourish in the tank, but probably not enough to really matter. The only downside is that it initially took a few months to get use to my tank, but once it did even trimmings instantly went nuts. I re did my tank about almost 2 months ago and it's growing very fast.


When you first started your' tank, did you put in the plants and then added the water? I know that amazonia leeches out something but someone told me that the plants like it... any idea? Should I get the plants first, put them in the tank, add the water and let it sit there for a while before the fish go in? I'm confused lol. -- yeah I'd love to see what the water wysteria looks like in your' tank.


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## Shale87 (Dec 10, 2012)

Water sprite and java moss were my first plants, and they survived all of my mistakes! I don't know anything about the amazonia, but I had to rinse off my flourite before putting it in the tank. Unrinsed, it turns water into mud. If you don't need to rinse yours, I would put it in the tank and fill 1/3 with water then plant. You can always add plants when your tank is full, but it's nice not having to get your arms too wet.


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## puopg (Sep 16, 2012)

Water wisteria, anacharis, riccia. Immortal plants.


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