# Suggest a new plant for this layout, please?



## cholly (Jun 12, 2007)

Started a 15 gallon tank 10 weeks ago and there's one area of the tank I'm just not happy with, the left side. I've tried a couple of different things but I'm not happy with any of the results, so I thought I'd ask here for suggestions. Here's a few (crappy) pics of what I'd done so far...

Week three photo. The left side here is bounded by a piece of driftwood, behind which is a row of blyxa japonica, behind which are some ludwigia repens.










At the six week mark I pulled the ludwigia and replaced it with a piece of driftwood which has HC, anubias nana 'petite' and a small java fern planted on it...










Not happy with the end result of the new driftwood+plants, but not at all sure what to possibly replace them with. This is the first freshwater tank I've kept in 25 years and first planted tank ever, so what familiarity I have with most plant species comes simply from photos.

Tank is a 15 gallon with ADA substrates, 96w of t5 lighting, pressurized CO2, fertilized with ADA ferts + Excel. Water from my tap is extremely soft and acidic. Given all that, any suggestions for the left side? Assume I left the driftwood that's in the substrate and the blyxa, then pulled the new driftwood... what would you put in it's place?

Thanks for any input.


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

Any stem plant w/ some (non green) color. I think I prefer the red lud to the fern. Maybe some Rotala or Alternanthera could add the needed splash of color. Sunset Hygro would too, but I'd never actually recommend that plant to anyone unless I know that they're going to be elbow deep in the tank on a weekly basis anyway...

The tank is really very attractive. The problem may just be that you're missing a clear focal point at any of the "phi" spots.


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## NoSvOrAx (Nov 11, 2006)

How about a thick grove of ludwigia cuba in the back right corner.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

I like the first try with the Ludwigia better than the driftwood and ferns. The layers of Anubias, wood, Blyxa, and wood are all on the same diagonal and look odd, like you've got stripes in your tank on the left side. As a replacement you could try Rotala rotundifolia with its smaller leaves that get pink/red near the top. And a tall flowing grass plant behind it like giant hairgrass or Valisnaria nana that would grow up to and across the surface.


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## cholly (Jun 12, 2007)

Thanks, the three of you. It looks like a consensus here is to add color, so I think I'll start thinking along those lines.



> I like the first try with the Ludwigia better than the driftwood and ferns.


In retrospect, so do I. But still looking to do something more satisfying with it going forward.


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## Jessie (Apr 23, 2007)

If you can get your hands on a nice big Crypt. wendtii "red" or "bronze", it could neat behind the Blyxa and in front of the the driftwood.


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## Aquaspot (Jan 19, 2006)

To make this scape look more natural, you can add some _Eleocharis vivipara_ to the left (high maintenance). Otherwise some bright green stem plants like _Myriophyllum matogrossense_, _Hemianthus micranthemoides_ or _Rotala rotundifolia 'Green'_ will fill it up nicely.

You only need a small splash of red so choose something with a leaf size suitable for this tank. _Ludwigia brevipes_ or _Ludwigia arcuata_ should highlight it nicely.


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