plant ideas for tank?

[cmoreash]

Hi, I was wondering for some creative ideas for plants in my 10 gallon tank. I am working on setting this tank up for some apistos. I have 2 pieces of bog wood in it now. (1 piece has a natural cave perfect for a female to lay eggs in and defend, i got so lucky! ) Well, I am gonna mix tap water and RO water, and put peat moss in the filter to lower the pH if needed more. The tank is gonna house 1 pair apistogramma viejitas (most likely) 6 cardinal tetras, 3 pristella tetras (already in the tank) and maybe 2 otos IF NEEDED. I have 2 tiny amazon swords i am gonna move out, and a piece of moss quite similar to java moss, but not quite. Here is my ideas for more plants: mellon swords, chain swords, water sprite, and i need a bunch plant.....um...what to try....What is a good soft water bunch plant?

Thanks for listening everyone!

 

[farm41]

Setting up a new planted tank is my idea of fun.

I'm afraid you're going to have to forget about the melon sword though, I couldn't keep mine in a 38g, way to big, it was growing out the top in no time at all.

Some things I like in a small tank are,

Stem plants:

• cabomba

• bacopa

• rotala wallichi

Some other ideas:

• Dwarf sagitaria

• cryptocoryne wendtii

HTH

 

[ddaquaria]

Have you considered:
anubias barteri roundleaf or other tall variety for the back and sides
anubias coffeefolia for the mids
anubias nana for the front

These are just a variety of suggestions.

I also agree with farm41's suggestions. And you may wish to add crypt spiralis, crypt retrospiralis, and crypt balansae to the list as a background or side plant.

 

[aspen]

is this tank high light with co2, or low to moderate with no co2?

you want to select plants which will grow to full size and not grow too big for the tank. 'bush' plants like hygrophila polysperma or h. rosanveig can be kept pruned low, and even laid down and grown like a ground cover and is a fast growing plant. stems like the ones mentioned can be cropped and the nice bushy tops can be re-planted after taking the bottoms out and throw them away to keep them to the right size. i really like the rotalla walichii that farm mentioned, it is a beatutiful plant but imo, should not be attempted unless you go with high light and co2.

ime, a 10 gal planted tank is more hassle than a larger tank, say 20- 35 gal, but is a nice place to start. things will happen quite quickly, and pruning mistakes will grow out quickly. btw, i don't think anyone ever started a planted tank without making pruning mistakes, it is part of the learning process of what YOU like in a tank. there is nothing wrong with starting with a single fast growing species, and trying a new plant now and again, as you get more exp. the most common mistake in a small tank, is to start with too many different species. how about a grass like lilaeopsis brasiliensis for the front and a hygrophila species for the rest of the tank. echinodorus quadricolita (sp) is a nice sword, and it stays small, max 8", and is an ideal sword for that tank, but you may find it hard to get. the leaves are a nice light green colour. most swords except the pygmy chain swords grow way too big, but an amazon tank should have a sword looking plant, imo.

rick

 

[Cichlids1]

I haven't seen crypts mentioned, so I'll toss them out there. Very undemanding as far as lights and co2. Also, for a sword-type plant, E. parvioflorus var. "Tropica" I've got some that are about 5 years old now and are a whopping 3 - 4 inches tall. Got them to throw a couple runners right after I bought them, nothing since. I would love to get these guys to reproduce and have them in large clusters in a tank or two...
Corkscrew vals would do well as a background plant. They'll reach the top and more and are almost bullet proof. Too tall, trim them down. Too many, thin them out. Doesn't seem to affect them in the negative at all.

 

[Eva32181]

Java fern tied to driftwood gets my vote. Or anubias tied to driftwood. Both will do will under the standard lighting that comes with a 10 gallon tank. If I ever decide to add substrate to any of my tens, a big clump of baby tears and E. quadricostatus will be a must in there.