What's That One Plant For You?

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Donovan Jones

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I've been in the process of streamlining my tanks to be easy to maintain and pleasant to look at, as I'm gonna be living on my own soon, and I tried thinking up elaborate scapes, but for some reason, nothing seems to beat just a bunch of water wisteria. Anybody else got a plant like that, one that's just so perfect for you that you would fill all your tanks with it and be content? I think the real inspiration for this was the video of Cory's wife's tank just check full of it. It just looks so great!
 

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Cypts, they fill the tank all an other own and they look good. Get different kinds for different heights and you’re good to go.
 

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I think it's my Bacopa I like the most. Fills the tank out with a bunch of different heights and is simple to propagate and replant to make all the different sizes.
 
I'd love to see some pics of tanks that are filled predominantly with one type of plant!

I like my Rotala for the same reasons Kallililly stated for his Bacopa!
 
I'd love to see some pics of tanks that are filled predominantly with one type of plant!
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None of my tanks have exclusively one type of plant but my 29 has mainly bacopa and anacharis. I'll add a photo from m phone in a minute much easier to do from the phone. I recently moved it indoors due to the weather cooling off but I had it outside all summer. Organic soil capped with PFS and a dual sponge filter run by a solar air pump. Since moving it inside I added a SunSun 302.
 

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I think the real inspiration for this was the aquarium coop video of Cory's wife's tank just check full of it. It just looks so great!
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I'm looking for it now, can you share a link?

Right now my water sprite is going gangbusters in my tanks, and I just bought a super bright green plant that's like a wider, flatter version of hornwort (green cabomba??) that's also growing amazingly.

Other ones that I love that grow well for me are S. Repens, dwarf hairgrass and Alternanthera ReineckiI "mini", but I have tried all of these from both my LFS stock and from Tropica 1-2-Grow and the Tropica ones were the only ones that thrived for me.
 

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I’m a fan of Anubias. No they don’t grow like crazy but I still like them. Great to put under Westeria.
 
  • Thread Starter
  • #8
Search wisteria on YouTube and it's the first result.
My tanks still a wip, just added botanicals and need to propagate more, but I'll post a pic when I can
 
If I had to pick only 1 single plant it would be Hygrophila Corymbosa. You can constantly trim it to keep it short and replant the trimmings OR you can let it grow a foot out of the tank and flower like crazy. Love the stuff.
 
yeah, water wisteria is mine too I think lol. fast grower, looks nice, does well in low light, takes up lots of space to make the tank look fuller and more jungle-like. I have a 5 gallon shrimp tank full of it and have been slowly replacing plants that aren't doing so well in my other 5 gallon with wisteria trimmings.
 
Mine is always going to be ludwigia, specifically repens. Easy to grow, great coloration, low matience, fast grower, can float for months, many varieties, I can collect it locally, and it’s just such an easy plant. Suprised it hasn’t been mentioned
 

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  • Thread Starter
  • #12
Mine is always going to be ludwigia, specifically repens. Easy to grow, great coloration, low matience, fast grower, can float for months, many varieties, I can collect it locally, and it’s just such an easy plant. Suprised it hasn’t been mentioned
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I used to have a tank full of it, when I had a 30 gallon dirted, and man did that stuff grow
 
Never had the honor to grow either of them. Should probably
try to get some when I redo my 29
 
  • Thread Starter
  • #15
Right now I have a 20 high with a bunch of wisteria and some java moss strands that I just can never seem to completely get rid of, and I'm wanting some contrast. I don't want to get a million different plants, which looks great don't get me wrong. I just want a single plant that can be my pride and joy for years to come. The tank also has leaf litter in the front, hence no foreground plants. I'm looking for a darker green plant, and if it has a little red that's fine, but I want mostly green. Eventually I'll get a 3 foot tank, but I doubt I'll ever get past a 55.
So the two ideas that seem to appeal to me the most are amazon swords and bulb plants, and both have flaws. Amazon swords are the ideal color, no dormant phase, nice contrast, but they eventually get MASSIVE. Bulbs however, don't have the exact green I'm looking for, weird as that sounds, but aponogetons have always been near and dear to me. However, I don't like that they melt and go dormant. This could be somewhat combated by planting one every 4 months til I get 3, so I'll always have at least one growing, but I'm not sure that's a good idea given how large they can get.
So I guess the long story short is are there any medium size swords that stay a max of 20 inches, and have a vibrant medium green color, or are there any aponogetons that can mimic this, pr any plants in general.
 
  • Thread Starter
  • #17
How about Nymphoides Hydrophylla
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I've never had much luck with those. I guess I should also add I'm looking for medium to low light and the temp is 75 ish, I use root tabs and occasionally easy green
 
Right now I have a 20 high with a bunch of wisteria and some java moss strands that I just can never seem to completely get rid of, and I'm wanting some contrast. I don't want to get a million different plants, which looks great don't get me wrong. I just want a single plant that can be my pride and joy for years to come. The tank also has leaf litter in the front, hence no foreground plants. I'm looking for a darker green plant, and if it has a little red that's fine, but I want mostly green. Eventually I'll get a 3 foot tank, but I doubt I'll ever get past a 55.
So the two ideas that seem to appeal to me the most are amazon swords and bulb plants, and both have flaws. Amazon swords are the ideal color, no dormant phase, nice contrast, but they eventually get MASSIVE. Bulbs however, don't have the exact green I'm looking for, weird as that sounds, but aponogetons have always been near and dear to me. However, I don't like that they melt and go dormant. This could be somewhat combated by planting one every 4 months til I get 3, so I'll always have at least one growing, but I'm not sure that's a good idea given how large they can get.
So I guess the long story short is are there any medium size swords that stay a max of 20 inches, and have a vibrant medium green color, or are there any aponogetons that can mimic this, pr any plants in general.
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If you like swords, I wouldn’t be intimidated by them. They’re just plants and you can always prune them to keep their size in check.
 

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  • Thread Starter
  • #22
If you like swords, I wouldn’t be intimidated by them. They’re just plants and you can always prune them to keep their size in check.
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True, but I would have to take it out of the tank and hack the roots once in a while wouldnt i?
 
True, but I would have to take it out of the tank and hack the roots once in a while wouldnt i?
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no need to hack the roots just trim the biggest leaves every once in a while
 
  • Thread Starter
  • #24
no need to hack the roots just trim the biggest leaves every once in a while
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Oh, cool! Any recommendations for a good starter sword?
I'd like something that has almost like drifts in the current like aponogeton, but doesn't die back
 
The only ones i've had are amazon swords. They make an amazing centerpiece plant. A root tab under them every month or 2 will do them well.
 
A good route, but also timely route would be getting driftwood covered in moss as a center piece. I'd go with flame moss and wrap it around the drift wood. It would look amazing after a month or 2.
 
no need to hack the roots just trim the biggest leaves every once in a while
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Yes, I just pinch off the leaves that shade my other plants. The open habit of the sword makes it a good fishie hiding place. My embers tetras love to play in the leaves!
 
Another easy plant that makes a strong statement is Cabomba ( can’t spell sorry). Anyway, here’s a pic. I put a root tab under it. And it will sway in the current.
 
Yes, I just pinch off the leaves that shade my other plants. The open habit of the sword makes it a good fishie hiding place. My embers tetras love to play in the leaves!
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That's a good way to do it and sometimes you can even grab the stem at the very bottom and give it a tug and the entire stem will sometimes pull out.. haha speaking of embers i'm watching mine in my 5.5 cruise around the sword in there
 
  • Thread Starter
  • #30
I've been doing some looking at aquascapes on google, and one really inspired me, I'll post pics when I do it but it basically is wisteria in the back with rocks separating it from the rest of the substrate. I'd post the inspiration but it's not my pic so I'm not sure what the rules on that are.
 
I've been doing some looking at aquascapes on google, and one really inspired me, I'll post pics when I do it but it basically is wisteria in the back with rocks separating it from the rest of the substrate. I'd post the inspiration but it's not my pic so I'm not sure what the rules on that are.
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I think if you post the pic it will be removed but if u post a link to the pic then your ok.
 

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Another easy plant that makes a strong statement is Cabomba ( can’t spell sorry). Anyway, here’s a pic. I put a root tab under it. And it will sway in the current.
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You'd have to trim it every week to make it look like a good center piece, but it is a gorgeous plant.
 
  • Thread Starter
  • #34
So I moved the substrate around and the plants. I'm gonna add more small pots for caves among the rocks too, I just need to find some stones now.
 
Hey guys, I need help with picking a centerpiece planted tank I want a plant that is medium light and will do well in BDBS substrate. I do have DIY root tabs that I use, I also dose with easy green. I want something that has skinny leaves and will grow to the height of my tank. I have tried corkscrew val, this did not do well. I also tried an amazon sword and my bristle nose pleco has eaten a heavy portion of it. I would like a plant that I can get from aquarium co-op if possible, I am open to other option as well. Thank you for any help.
 
I really like my Red Flame Sword Mine looks pretty different from the one on the website, it has bronze and red leaves that have a speckled pattern to them. (I'll take a picture of it when I get home if you would like me to.) The color depends on the mineral content in the water, so if you have harder water like me you'll naturally get some stunning red colors that really contrast with the greenery of other plants. Or you could dose the tank with iron.

As Acuario said, Java Fern is a good hardy plant that would work well. The ones from Cory are massive and you'll get several in one pot. Since Java Fern likes to be out of the substrate, you can attach it to a piece of decor for a nice looking centerpiece. In fact that's the centerpiece of my tank!
 
I have two variety's of java fern in the tank I would like something different. I have already tried an amazon sword, my pleco ate this. does anyone have experience with crinum calamistratum?
 
How about a red tiger lotus. What kind of pleco ate your amazon sword? I have swords in most all my tanks and I have a common, albino BN, a clown, and a rubberlip and they have never touched any of my plants.
 

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I had crinum calamistratum years ago, nice plant, takes a very long time to grow so I would not put this in the center. Needs medium to high light to survive
 
I have 8 different plecos and they never eat my plants. Red Tiger Lotus, beautiful plants.
Take a look at dustins fish tanks he has really nice plants and they always give you a little more.Red Tiger Lotus.jpgRed Tiger Lotus.jpg Here is a quick shot of 1 of my red tiger lotus plants from dustins fish tanks I bought a few bulbs from him like 3 weeks ago. The plant today is huge
 
I
I had crinum calamistratum years ago, nice plant, takes a very long time to grow so I would not put this in the center. Needs medium to high light to survive
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I bought two last week. I like them. Didn’t realize how slow growers they were. They sure look good when they are tall. I saw one vid where they said it was ok to plant as centerpiece due to how unique it is.. I hope so, I’m totally new to this. It also said don’t move it around once planted.
 
I

I bought two last week. I like them. Didn’t realize how slow growers they were. They sure look good when they are tall. I saw one vid where they said it was ok to plant as centerpiece due to how unique it is.. I hope so, I’m totally new to this. It also said don’t move it around once planted.
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Very slow and yes very unique looking. I really never move my plants around once planted.
 

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