# Wisteria in 10-gallon?



## gnome (Jan 27, 2004)

Hi, All!

I started a 10-gallon planted about four months ago, *finally* got algae under control about six weeks ago, and now I'm at the point where I'm tossing and replacing the plants that are too fussy or look too weird in my tank.

I have a spot in the back corner that's presently being occupied by a few sickly stems of Myriophyllum matogrossense. I've been thinking about what to put in its place, and I'm actually considering H. difformis. Would this get too big in a 10-gallon tank? I think it would add a different texture to my mostly-roundy-leafed aquascape, which is what I'm looking for. The other plants in this tank (which are going to stay) are the following:

H. micranthemoides
Micranthemum sp. ("Amano" pearlgrass)
Micranthemum umbrosum
Lobelia cardinalis 'small form'
Lysimachia nummularia 'aurea'
Bacopa caroliniana 'variegated'
R. indica
Alternanthera reineckii
Proserpinaca palustris
Cryptocoryne pygmaea
Corkscrew val (one small "test-piece" in the back)

Besides the M. matogrossense, I plan to find a new home for some Lindernia rotundifolia 'variegated' and R. indica 'aurea' that haven't been working out too well for me.

Would it be going overboard with the reds if I were to add Ludwigia repens to my tank? I probably have way too many species, as it is.

So my MAIN question is whether or not I can work a bit of H. difformis into the aquascape without it getting out of control. If anybody can add their "two cents" about the combination of all of these plants in such a limited amount of space, I'd love to hear. I know it makes no sense to have both H. micranthemoides AND Amano pearlgrass in the same tank - I may eventually decide to get rid of one or the other. I'll take suggestions on any "easy" species I could add to diminish the monotony of my plant selections. Like I said, it's a lot of roundy-leafed stem plants in one tank.

Thanks. 

-Naomi


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## Sir_BlackhOle (Jan 25, 2004)

Can you post up any pictures? I would love to see it.


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## tsunami (Jan 24, 2004)

Sorry that I haven't been able to reply to your email yet Naomi, but I will redeem myself here. Yes, you can grow Hygrophila difformis in a ten gallon tank. Remember though that the stems can be very large (almost Ammania sized). To control the large size, you just have to prune it ruthlessly so that it continuously produces lots of smaller sideshoots. I think it would add an interesting texture to your tank. Here is a 10g tank by Jason Luebke using Heteranthera zosterifolia, Glossostigma elatinoides, Hemianthus micranthemoides, Didiplis diandra, Java moss, Anubias barteri v nana, Rotala magenta, and Hygrophila difformis. Notice the Hygrophila in the top right corner:










Carlos


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## gnome (Jan 27, 2004)

Heya, Carlos!

No worries - I know you're busy. I just realized a few days ago that you're also a moderator at AB. That's a lot of moderating for ya!

Thanks for posting Jason's tank photo. I guess I could try some wisteria and see how it goes. I'm already having to do a lot of pruning with the fast-growers in my tank. What's ONE more plant... :wink: ? And I'll try your method of pruning frequently. I think it'll be nice behind my little stand of golden lloydiella.

I was originally thinking that Asian ambulia would be a close alternative for the Myriophyllum, but I've seen photos of it, and I'm not too keen on the LONG internodes. It sort of reminds me of the hornwort I once had that grew and grew and grew but was mostly stem. After a while, the needles ALL fell off and created a terrible mess. I *should* add a fine-leafed plant somewhere in my tank, though. Any easy ones (that don't get too leggy) you could recommend?

Kevin, I'm reluctant to let people see my sad little tank, but here's the site: http://photos.yahoo.com/mizmo_naomi. The only relevant photos are the ones down near the bottom of the page. It's actually a major improvement since just two months ago. After the most recent photo, I added C. pygmaea and removed the R. macranda 'green' (you can't even see it in the photo, it was so scrawny). You can't see the Proserpinaca palustris because I topped it and gave it to somebody right after I took the final close-ups of it.

Anyway, there it is.

-Naomi


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## Sir_BlackhOle (Jan 25, 2004)

I think it looks good! A whole lot better than mine! I will try to get some pics up somewhere and post a link....


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