# What plants should I add?



## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

This is my tank now. I need to know what plants to add. I have anubias in there, java ferns, rosette swords, corkscrew val, and some floaters. I don't want any more anubias- if I put them on a certain spot on my driftwood they all die. Three already have and there's one on its way now. I'm thinking of maybe adding some jungle val in the back, but I don't know what else to add.
My tank is medium light.
I use root tabs and various ferts.
No Co2.
Please help me with suggestions.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Pygmy chain sword, micro sword, dwarf hair grass, crypts, dwarf sag, penny wort, fissedens (has to be tied down till it roots.. can take several months).
Jungle vals get 4" wide blades (leaves) and 5 feet long, if you want something other than corkscrew in that size tank get Italian val instead (1-2" wide and about 2-3 feet long). Had Italian val in a 12g tank, took over the whole thing, loved it! But then I did what cannot be done.. added Excel (even though only a 1/12th strength dose).. melted the whole tank worth x.x vals do not tolerate the chemicals in Seachem Excel...


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

What size/dimensions of tank? Looks can be deceiving. Either something is wrong with the driftwood or you tied the Anubias too tight.


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## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

10 gal. And I don't think I tied it too tight, the rest of the anubias are doing well. It's just this one dead spot it seems.


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## Raye (Feb 5, 2013)

i'm by no means an aquascaping expert, so take what i say with a grain of salt, but i don't think you really need to add too much. the only real issue that i see is that everything is kind of at one level. let the vals in the back grow up so that they can add some height to the tank.

and i think AA was spot on with foreground suggestions - a carpet of pygmy chain swords would look good in this tank and would add more depth to it. also, i can sort of envision two smaller-than-usual marimo balls right between the black & greyish rock (closest to the java fern) helping to draw attention away from the equipment on the left and providing darker green contrast.

other than that, i think you're fine. c:


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## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

Do you mean the java fern on the right, and the rock closest to it?


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## Raye (Feb 5, 2013)

Boshia said:


> Do you mean the java fern on the right, and the rock closest to it?


whoops, should've been more clear. but yep, that's the one!


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## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

No worries! I'm going to my lfs tomorrow so I'll see what's there. Here's hoping!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I think Myrio would look good (lilnaugrim sells it) as a contrast. It's one of my favorite feathery plants. You can weight it down or put in the substrate. You could easily hide the equipment behind it and it makes a nice canopy. My Betta love to rest in it.

Another nice foreground plant is Crypt 'petchii.' I have it along with Micro Swords, Dwarf Hairgrass, etc., in my 10. A nice Red Tiger Lotus or red Dwarf Water Lily would make a great contrast piece. Decide how high you want the leaves to go and clip them each time they reach that height. Eventually it won't grow any taller but will be nice and full. I have the bulb of one wedged in a piece of Cholla so they don't have to be planted.

I'm one who likes densely-planted tanks so you might consider that when you consider what I've said. My Betta have to weave in and out of their plants; no really open spaces for them. ;-)


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## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

Would you recommend dwarf hairgrass or pygmy chain swords for my tank? And I'm definitely intending on getting something to break up the green with. I was thinking of a red crypt or red ludwigia, maybe.


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## Raye (Feb 5, 2013)

Boshia said:


> Would you recommend dwarf hairgrass or pygmy chain swords for my tank? And I'm definitely intending on getting something to break up the green with. I was thinking of a red crypt or red ludwigia, maybe.


i would say chain swords. dwarf hair grass usually requires some form CO2 to carpet really well. chain swords can go without.

and yeah color would do you well! the only reason i didn't suggest a colorful stem plant in the first place is because everything in your tank is so broad-leaved and i personally think a bush of delicate stem plants would 1) look out of place 2) draw attention away from the focal point, which seems to be the driftwood. a crypt of some sort would be a good addition. i'm not sure about where you would place them in your tank, but wendtii 'bronze' and wendtii 'red' have good color. and Russell's suggestion of the dwarf lily wouldn't be a bad idea, either.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Either DHG or the Chain Swords would work. I don't run C02 and have no issues with either carpeting really well. Just make sure if you get Dwarf Hair Grass to *not* plant a clump. Separate the little plantlets and place individually for the best growth.

One piece of equipment I find invaluable are planting tongs. They allow you to plant without disturbing the substrate.

Without added Iron, CO2 injections and high light a lot of stem plants don't retain their color so make sure you research before you buy. It's why I have the Dwarf Water Lilies and Tiger Lotus: They keep their beautiful reds without all the additions.

I'm not one to aquascape. I like a thick, mixed more natural environment for my fish. However, I certainly do envy those like Raye with an "eye" for design and could spend hour looking at pictures or watching videos.


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## Zhylis (Nov 4, 2014)

I'm running low tech and my DHG is in various stages of carpeting as well. Just slower than if dosing CO2. Small plugs like Russell suggested. 

Love AquaA's idea of fissidens. (As long as I don't have to plant it myself!)


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## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

Okay so I got some crypt wendtii(the stems are red) and put them right behind the driftwood to fill up that empty space and got a little tiger lotus(really small, only one they had, needs to grow in more). So I have some red now, even if it is only very very small. I'm going to get some dwarf sag for the front.


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## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

Raye, I looked for a little moss ball but they were all pretty big!


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## Raye (Feb 5, 2013)

Boshia said:


> Raye, I looked for a little moss ball but they were all pretty big!


haha it's fine! it was just a suggestion. c: also, looks like i was wrong about DHG (i've never personally grown it myself; just going by what i know of it ~), but i'm glad you decided on dwarf sag. it's a really easy/fast-growing carpet plant and i think the width of the blades/leaves will look really good in comparison to the vals. take lots of pictures once things start to fill in!


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

I can say from experience that pygmy chain sword will grow without co2 I have it in 2 tanks, one with soil and excel, the other liquid ferts including excel but no co2. Once it acclimates to your tank it takes off with runners everywhere! 
I've not tried dhg yet to compare, but pygmy takes off and spreads more than micro sword (of course it is larger/wider).

I want to try fissedens in my next tank (if I could get ahold of a decent portion withough costing $40+ x.x) stainless steel mesh or fishing line is best way to feel with it (imo).

Dwarf sag sounds awesome! Be sure to update with some photos as it grows in ^^


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Just a note: Dwarf Sag can get up to a foot tall; especially in low light. I have some that stays small at around 2" but I also have some that goes more than half-way up the 20 long (12" tall).


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## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

So, funny story! My lfs was supposed to get in some dwarf sag yesterday but they got in Pygmy chain swords by mistake! So I got those. And some red ludwigia(looking to change to high light to help keep it red, plus because it'll just be better for a lot of my plants). Once the tank settles I'll take a pic.


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## evan47 (Sep 23, 2014)

water wisteria is a nice bright green addition to a planted betta tank.
a small bunch of it quickly spread out, reached the surface stopping my water lettuce from moving around with the filter flow.
it has also self propagated itself and i now have a small amount of water wisteria plantlets forming on the surface. (as well as more water lettuce spreading via runners).
if you are thinking of red plants you will need high lighting and most likely co2 or they will become spindly and lose their colour.


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

If you're still looking for a nice contrasting red plant, I like Ludwigia and Alternanthera reineckii. I have a similar setup to yours except that I dose CO2 Booster.

Ludwigia arcuata gets nice and tall for me, but doesn't grow out too much and grows rather slowly. Mine stays a strange orangeish red.
Ludwigia repens likes to grow sideways on me and is never very red but rather green with pink tinges.

Alternanthera reineckii is a nice red plant that comes in several shades. I have a well growing A. reineckii "lilacina" mother plant that just loves what I have. It tends to have little shoots that grow up beside the mother, creating a bush. When these shoots get older they become their own separate plant. Contrary to what evan said its not a high light plant and mine are plenty red. Your tank actually looks brighter than all of mine. With some propagating it turns into a nice bushy little plant. Just don't overdose it on ferts. Standard doses are fine(if using Fluval or Flourish) but don't overdose those two in particular. I melted a whole bush of them in my sorority by accident doing that. Mine stay anywhere from a nice deep kind of maroon/mahogany color to a sort of brownish red when viewed from the top. The bottoms of the leaves on A. reineckii leaves are where its at though. They are kind of a satiny shiny look and mine(the lilacina) are hot pink.

It seems to like iron.


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## Boshia (Aug 14, 2014)

Okay so here's the transformation that occurred with the new plants!
From this:








To this:








The water in the second one is still a little cloudy and I need to play around with the lighting, but I'm happy with how much more planted it is.


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