Easy Plants That Are More Unusual

I currently have a 63 gallon tank with some live plants in. They are mostly anubias nana and java fern with 2 others I've had for ages but I don't know what they're called. There's some water lettuce and salvinia too. 2 weeks ago I added a different variety of anubias and 2 other plants (front right and back left) but I can't remember what they're called. I have never had success with stem plants.

The tank is a juwel rio 240 and the lights are just the ones that came with the tank. No fertilizers or co2. Temperate is 72f and stocking is 5 platies, 2 dojo loaches (so any plants can't be ones that are uprooted easily), 1 bristle nose pleco, 4 nerite snails and 1 Amano shrimp. The substrate is fine gravel but I'm swapping it out for black sand in the next couple of weeks. It will just be a very fine layer though.

Anyway, can anyone recommend some very easy, low light beginner plants that would do well in my setup? I buy my plants from Pets at home which have a limited variety but it changes pretty frequently. I have always wanted a really heavily planted tank. I would like some quite tall plants as there's not much in the top half of the tank. I would also like some more bushy plants (like the one in the back left) that will provide hiding places for platy fry.

Here is what the tank currently looks like



Thanks for any suggestions

 

Nympheae lotus? Depends what you want

 

Very pretty plant. Would it be ok with my lighting though? I've heard plants with red leaves have higher lighting demands.

 

I love Dwarf Aquarium Lilies, it's a lot like a Lotus but doesn't need as much light. It's a great way to convince people you're better with plants than you actually are. Some Aponogetons do decent in low light, but I've always had more trouble with them than the Lily.

The tank looks great as is by the way.

 

Aponogetons look weird! I like them. I'll have to order them online.

How about vallisneria?

I'm researching plants before I get them this time. I've wasted so much money impulse buying high tech plants. Thank you for the ideas.

 

These plants down grow tall, but make great feature plants:
Bucephlandra
Aridarum

Something a little more unusal, but makes a great background plant:
Bolbitis
Large crypts (like spiralis)

 

Vals can work, corkscrew stays a bit smaller than the others.
You can do a red melon sword and/or a red flame sword, they'll grow but they just might not be red.

 

Buces for something small. They’re rhizome plants, similar to anubias. For something taller that might grow easier than Vals, I recommend crypt spiralis. And I second the dwarf lily. Mine grows with barely any lighting.

 

Dwarf lily does pretty well, the color is nice and they grow bushy and bushy/tall, if you want them to stay shorter you have to trim to surface leaves to keep them from growing them to the surface of the water (when they get to the surface they produce less lower leaves), they do low light just fine without issues and have great color.
Anubias pinto is a nice one, bolbitis difformis and heudelottI are two nice ones, vals will sometimes do low light but need root based ferts (root tabs, substrate). Water wysteria is generally forgiving and fast growing as well as bushy (stem plant). Crested/windelov java fern looks nice and grows fairly tall.

 

Since you're in england check out aquarium gardens:


Nice variety and lots of aquascaping supplies

 

Unique but easy plant? Water Wisteria is definitely a beautiful plant, but is one of the easiest, if not the easiest plant to grow in the hobby. Val will also work well for your tank.

 

Crimum calamistratum, crypt balansae, aponogeton madagascar lace, bolbitis heudelotiI and a bunch of the sword plants.

 

Very pretty plant. Would it be ok with my lighting though? I've heard plants with red leaves have higher lighting demands.

Your light looks bright enough to keep the lotus

 

I find that in lower light the leaves just go pinkish-bronze.

 

Thanks for all the replies! I have a lot of plants to research. I am happy to order then online if they are not sold in pets at hone.

 

They didn't have any of those plants today but I did pick up 2 labled as Cryptocoryne beckettiI "Petchii." And Cryptocoryne x willisii.