Good Low Tech Plants

Hello all! I am planning to set up a 5 gallon dirted tank for my Rivulus cylindraceus killifish (which fin nipped my sister's 10 gallon community fishes and had to be moved) and wanted some ideas on plants for the setup. It will have a 1,600 lumen, 5000k lightbulb as the light source and I will be dosing flourish excel. Red plants would especially be appreciated. Thank you!

 

most red plants are medium or high tech. java ferns, buce, hornwort,crypts, anubias, moneywort, frogbit, amazon sword are some good low tech plants

 

Red Mellon sword

 

You most likely won't get the red effect that you expect from red plants in low light, they need high light to get the red-pinkish color out.

There are some red plants that are naturally red in low tech medium-low light: tiger lotus and dwarf aquarium lily. Both have the potential to grow massive, but as long as you keep it trimmed and train the plant to stay low then it shouldn’t be a problem. I’d recommend upgrading your light to something a lot better, because your current one probably won’t grow anything other than anubias, ferns and crypts.

Forgot to mention, you can do crypt wendtiI bronze, it’s not red, but it’s an easy plant that isn’t green.

 

Dwarf Lilly gets reddish. Front right of my 5gal.

 

Have any suggestions for better lighting?

 

Maybe two of these (the 20 inch version)?

 

I bought something like this but with some red and green leds also

 

You’re better off getting the finnex stringray clip-on for $25

 

Red root floaters might be an option. But thy don't turn red unless they have iron and plenty of light.But mine have shown red edges even on medium to low-medium lighting.