Plant Recommendations

[doubledee]

Can anyone recommend a bushy crypt suitable for background?
I'm looking at replacing some of my Hyg. Polysperma with a few differnent background plants. They must be easy to grow (1wpg, no co2 with a terralit/sand substrate).

I'm also looking for something with a different leaf type to the stuff I've got (crypts, ferns, swords, rotala), something along the lines of wisteria. Any interesting red plants (low tech though) that would be suitable. I saw some rotala that looked nice but I'm not sure if it would grow in my setup.

Also, I had some sag. subulata in the foreground. The leaves died off at first and have came back again but instead of growing upwards, they've curled round and the plants are only about 2cm high!! Will they eventually grow upwards!?

 

[TammyLiz]

I don't know about crypts for background. It depends on how large your tank is, but crypts are usually used for midground as they're not huge.

Most red plants have higher light requirements. One exception is crypt wendtii red. Its still not very red, though, and isn't a stem like you were looking for. One nice stem with some red in it is ludwigia repens. How much light do you have? It has similar requirements to wisteria, but won't be very red in minimum lighting--just the undersides of the leaves.

You can also get red lilies but they get fairly large. If your tank is small enough for a crypt to be a background a lily would be a monster!

 

[RadaR]

Can anyone recommend a bushy crypt suitable for background?
I'm looking at replacing some of my Hyg. Polysperma with a few differnent background plants. They must be easy to grow (1wpg, no co2 with a terralit/sand substrate).

I'm also looking for something with a different leaf type to the stuff I've got (crypts, ferns, swords, rotala), something along the lines of wisteria. Any interesting red plants (low tech though) that would be suitable. I saw some rotala that looked nice but I'm not sure if it would grow in my setup.

Also, I had some sag. subulata in the foreground. The leaves died off at first and have came back again but instead of growing upwards, they've curled round and the plants are only about 2cm high!! Will they eventually grow upwards!?

Cryptocoryne crispatula var. Balansae, can get to 60cm+.
Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia, can get to 30cm+.
Cryptocoryne x willisii, can get to 20cm+.
All of these are easy to grow, I would however place root tabs underneath them.
In regards to the sag problem, what ferts are you dosing?

 

[nry]

Rotala macranda grew fairly well in my tank under 1wpg with decent substrate (JBL AquaBasis Plus) and regular liquid fertiliser. It never went deep red and stayed pinkish, but providing you can space it about well enough it should do 'OK'.

 

[TammyLiz]

Cryptocoryne crispatula var. Balansae, can get to 60cm+.

Oh, I've never noticed that plant before.

NOW I WANT ONE!

 

[doubledee]

Cryptocoryne crispatula var. Balansae, can get to 60cm+.
Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia, can get to 30cm+.
Cryptocoryne x willisii, can get to 20cm+.
All of these are easy to grow, I would however place root tabs underneath them.
In regards to the sag problem, what ferts are you dosing?

Thanks for the suggestions, I will have a look. The only ferts I use is a weekly dose of API Plant Zone. The sags are just planted in sand, the terralit is only at the rear of the tank, maybe that's what's wrong. Would root tabs be an idea?

The tank is 18" high and the lighting is about 1WPG (very, very low tech) but the plants are growing fine, well at least they're not dying on me!

Rotala macranda grew fairly well in my tank under 1wpg with decent substrate (JBL AquaBasis Plus) and regular liquid fertiliser. It never went deep red and stayed pinkish, but providing you can space it about well enough it should do 'OK'.

Thanks, I will check it out. I'm not looking for a deep red, as I don't want a planted tank look, more a natural look if you know what I mean (probably not!).

 

[RadaR]

You may not be dosing enough for ferts for them. Try either a different brand (tropica nutrition) or try dosing less but more frequently. Say... 2ml ever other day.
Root tabs are only really needed for swords and crypts.