Looking For Rhizome Plants To Situate Under Direct Light

Hey all. I have some Anubias and java fern in my tank already but I’m looking for a different rhizome plant that will withstand being tied down under direct light and flow.

I’m having a bit of an issue with my hob filter. I have baffled it using a plastic mesh sheet which is helping to ease the flow a bit for my betta and has stopped my sand substrate from shifting around and causing craters but now the flow is hitting right the in the middle of the tank. I can’t move the filter or the light over since I have a Fluval edge 6 gallon.

I have placed Ohko stones in the center to help break up the current some so it doesn’t hit straight down in the tank. But I would like to add a plant that can be attached to rock and wont mind getting direct light and flow. I’m looking for one that will cover the back middle section of the tank as well to hide the mesh sticking into the water column.

I’m not dosing with co2 but I am using NilocG Thrive C.

Any suggestions?

 

i think i would just do anubias... anubias are pretty hardy. anubias coffeefolia, barteri "butterfly", or round golden coin would be good choices. i was going to siggest buce but it's not going to grow tall or big enough to cover the mesh. you could try doing some flame moss and it might grow tall and bushy.

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Thanks. Trying to avoid moss since it didn’t work for me the first time around. Won’t anubias just melt under direct light? As you can see from the rock, I get a lot of algae because of it and my light is only on for 6 hours a day.

 

i've never heard of it doing that. and yeah.... any plant you put there is going to get algae on it too. :/

 

Don’t mind the algae. The snail has been eating it. I’m just trying to find another type of rhizome plant that will do well in direct light so I can lower the current some more and cover the back of the tank.

 

Any rhizome plant including java fern and anubias can be kept under the direct light. I've never heard of rhizome plants melting under direct light. Now whether or not they develop algae on the leaves is another story. When they're exposed under direct light, the demand for CO2 and nutrients goes way up. If this isn't provided in ample quantities, expect algae. Snails most likely won't eat the spot algae that's likely to form.

 

Are there any other rhizome plants besides ferns and Anubias that you can suggest?

I don’t mind the algae as I clean it up off the leaves as soon as I see it. I just left the algae on the rock since I don’t mind it being there. I’m more worried about the flow that’s hitting that specific spot.

 

As far as rhizomes go, you could also try bucephalandra and Hygrophila Pinnatifida although the Hygrophila is not a true rhizome plant. Other rhizomes include the El Niño fern and African bolbitis. You can also grow staurogyne Repens attached to rocks or driftwood as well if you want to try that, but it’s a stem plant like the Hygrophila.

 

Are you familiar with bucephalandra godzilla? I saw it on buceplant.com and I’m wondering if it grows a bit taller than a medium sized Anubias.

I hate the way ferns grow so I’m trying to avoid those.

 

You could try anubias pinto, they do need the higher light for whiter leaves, they get as large as nana species of anubias.

 

I would go with buce plants. They will get nice color under direct light. I also really like bolbitis, although it takes up a lot of space in a smaller tank.

 

Thanks but I think the Anubias isn’t tall enough for what I want to achieve. I have nanas and they don’t get tall. I’m trying to put the plant behind the rocks to cover the the plastic mesh that’s sticking out in the water

 

I’m looking at buce plants since they prefer direct flow and light from what I’ve read. There were three that caught my eye online but I’m not sure how tall they would get.

 

 

 

 

Buce are usually no bigger than an anubias petite

 

Some of the buce at buceplant.com are labeled as medium such as the red under and Godzilla types so not sure what kind of medium plant they’re referring to when comparing them to other medium plants... thoughts?

 

I know you said no ferns, but bolbitis ans dwarf bolbitis is probably a good choice, they grow rather bushy and dont mind high flow rates (and the leaves add a bit of visual interest!)

Otherwise, have you considered growing some background plants behind the rock like vals or larger crypts to give fhe look that you're going for, behind the rock?

 

I’ll have to look into boblitis but I think I’ll hate them just as much as my java fern. Just something about the way they grow annoys me.

Not sure if vals will work since I have no where to plant them. I have 4 rocks stacked on top of each other and hitting the back of the tank to stop my sand from being pushed to the sides and creating a bare bottom from my filters output.

 

Godzilla buce
 

I couldn't find red under buce, just mini red or just red. But here is gallery of buce in the aquaria if you haven't seen it yet
 

Looks pretty big if that's what you're looking for.

The others would be perfect though for that spot like you say, they do well with full light and current.

New bolbitis leaves unfurl. It looks nice and lacey. My bolibits is a nice dark green. It would look good at the rock bases imo.

 

Thanks for the links.

I have 4 Ohko stones laid on top of each other in the center so it’s fairly easy for me to attach these plants somewhere on them.

Here is the link for the red under buce
 

I just want something that will grow tall enough to cover the mesh that’s on the filter and I’m willing to place them on the top stone if necessary (rather than the middle stone like I had intended since that stone is bigger and is touching the back of the tank glass).

I’m liking the brownie phantom from the google images I’ve seen but they don’t look like they would grow tall. So I may just take out the Anubias that’s attached to the driftwood on the front left side of the tank (where all the small stones are) and place the phantom buce there but that area doesn’t get current so I don’t know how well it will do.

I’d like to get some color variations besides your typical green but it’s probably impossible since I don’t use co2.

I think I’m going to go ahead and order the Godzilla and phantom and maybe the red under and hope that it works and does well in my tank. All my other plants are doing great except for that sad looking Anubias I have in the front that I want to move.

If I end up with a jungle later down the road, I can always cut and sell or give it to my cousin who just recently set up a cichlid tank. The more plants, the better, right? Lol

Thanks for all the help!

 

I'm not sure I get what you mean by the mesh, but could you grow rhizome plants right on the mesh?