Have you ever used these live plants?

[PewPewPew]

I'm not too new to live plants, but some plants that I stumble across Ive never seen before...but really like!

Have any of you ever used these live plants before?

I ask because Im considering getting a few more for when I move back into college- Ill have two tanks then and wont have enough live plants for both at that point.

I also want to turn my tanks even more natural-esque, meaning moss on errythang, you know ;) Hahah!

So here goes:

Riccia Fluitans ("crystal wort")
I like this stuff, its attractive!

Heteranthera Zosterfolia ("Stargrass")
Needs lots of light, but how much is enough?

Gymnocoronis Spilanthoides
Again, lots of light yes, but HOW MUCH works?!

Bolbitis Heudelotii ("African Fern")
I love this! I hope someones had it and can let me know how it was..

Nuphar Lutea V. 'Cape Fear' ("spatterdock")
I cant find beans on this plant :/

Ludwigia Natans (Repens)
Ok, Ive seen this before (LOLOL) but am wondering how it fared in people's tanks. Ludwigia can be a scary thing, but this is an easier type that Ive had my eye on.


Any other suggestions? Ive got most of the easier/medium care plants that I can manage already. I dont use cO2 but I do fertilize and have some srs lighting :p

Im also looking into maybe sneaking in a plant or two for my roomie, who has a tank, but virtually no lighting. I might propagate my anubias for her as a gift :D

[Wyvern]

Hai Pew!

I can comment on the Ludwigia - I had to remove mine from the gravel and in the end took it out completely since they turned to mush and almost created chaos in my tank! No idea what I did wrong tho since I have 2 T5 lights (8w each) in the tank. Altho Im debating on changing the one bulb to a red/pink one to promote more growth. I use seachem's flourish and all my other plants except for my moneywort it doing great.

The African fern is on my to get list, since its very similar to java fern when you care for it. My brother actually got some of it and its thriving in his tank. Just tie it to a piece of driftwood and your set. It took his a week to root onto the driftwood in his tank.

The crystalwort I have never seen here in south africa so cant comment on those. (altho I got an immediate GIMME reaction to it)

Stargrass is also very rare here and actually havent seen it in tanks.

As for the other two unfortunately I have no advice :P

Also have you ever tried Glosso?? I adore this plant - mine is struggling a little so Im leaving it to float in the tank since the bit that I got was about a long as my thumb. I had a look this weekend and I saw that it is actually creating leaves so once its grown a bit more I will plant it/wrap it around my terracotta pots.

[Wyvern]

Oh Pew I just thought of another one that Ive got in my tank as well.

Lilaeopsis brasiliensis aka brazillian micro sword. I LOVE this little plant. If Im lucky and it looks like I am - this will become a major part of my foreground cover. At some point I will have to take my clump and divide it into smaller bits to cover more areas, but I can see growth on it in less than a month!

[PewPewPew]

Thanks! I know right? So much want with these guys!! I may stay away from swords/grasses because my tanks get up rooted a lot since I move quite a bit (college ><) but I'll look into the others.

Do you know the k rating of your bulbs, by any chance? :o

[Tisia]

yesterday I just attempted setting up my first soil based tank and put some ludwigia in there. I'll let you know how it goes, lol

[Wyvern]

Pew - all I can find are these that I suspect is what is in my tank.
http://www.shopjebo.com/109/t5_bulb_white_detail.aspx

But Im going after pay day and see if I cant get at least one pink/red light for the plants.

[Arowan]

I've only owned the "crystal wort" of all those listed, I had some attached to a piece of drift wood.

It ended up dying a few months later, dissolving and making a real mess. Now, I was pretty new to plants at the time, so it could have been my mistake. But I don't think I'd recommend it for a newbie.

Most of the plants on your list really aren't a good idea if you're new to live plants. Most of them are pretty light-intensive from my understanding, and need CO2 injections.

If you're interested in a foreground plant (lawn-types) then I've been told that dwarf hairgrass is great for beginners. I personally just got a hold of some narrow-leaf micro-swords, but have only had them a couple weeks, so can't say for sure if they're thriving yet.

[PewPewPew]

Im not new to plants/ a newbie, not at all :) But thank you. My tanks just lack cO2, but nothing else by way of light, ferts, etc.

I have high lighting in my tanks, though no cO2. Many plants can survive without it, but wont grow nearly as fast as they would with it- even though it seems to nearly always be "needed"...Ill never understand that!

I have dwarf hairgrass and actually, I really dont like it! Mine refuses to send runners. Sigh. :P

Wyvern- thats a BIG tube light. Dayum. I cant tell what your wattage is though :C Ludwigia likes high light- so if yours are older than 6ish months and 5000k or less for less than 10hr/day, that couldve been why.

So far, Im 100% getting the fern. I cant pass that sucker up! Ludwigia, too, probably. I might swap a few propogates of my anubias for my roomie, since I checked today and it suddenly decided it's gonna blast out 4 new shoots from the rhizome. Ahhh, Cutting slits into the rhizome, you really do work ;DDD

And thanks, Tisia, lemmie know :D

[LittleBettaFish]

I have some riccia floating at the top of my sorority tank. It's fast-growing, but needs a reasonable amount of light. If it's attached to something, the bottom of the plant will usually die off because of a lack of light reaching it. This can cause half of the plant to detach itself and then float around your tank getting tangled in everything or drawn into your filter intake.

I think it is sensitive to Excel, like most mosses and liverworts, but mine is doing fine with just a regular dosing of ferts and strong lighting.

[PewPewPew]

I dont use excel- I use a combo of Aqueon's and Tetras ferts (tetra's sucks, but its got some serious iron in it! :P)

Would you suggest it just be left to float, then? I usually tie down (well) all of my mosses, to the point where it couldnt float if it wanted to. Would that just cause it to die off?