# Plant suggestion for Walstad Method



## lake_tuna (Mar 18, 2010)

I'll be starting a natural 2.5g tank. I thought it would be useful for others who are interested in starting one of these setups what kind of plants would work well in a natural tank. It would be nice to have people pitch in from their experience which plants worked well! 

My fish tanks currently have mostly java fern and moss, both of which don't get nutrients (or the at least the majority of it) from the soil. I'm sure they won't die in the natural setup, but I'm not sure if they'll thrive, either. Thanks!


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

The stem plants I recommend to people are:

Bacopa monnieri (Moneywort)
Hygrophila polysperma
Limnophila sessiliflora (Ambulia)
Ludwigia repens
Crypts of any kind

Floaters:

Hornwort
Duckweed
Water Lettuce
Riccia fluitans

These are all plants that have grown well for me so I always recommend them to others who are new to setting up NPT's.


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

In smaller tanks such as the one you mention, some smaller, or lower growing plants that seem to do well are Stauro. sps. 'low grow' and 'porto vehlo', Crypt. x willisii 'lucens-bronze', Marsilea sps., Lileopsis braziliensis, pinwort, et cetera...there's quite a few that will work actually, mostly will be a limit on size.

For floaters I have Azolla (mosquito fern) that is doing so-so, and some smaller leaved Salvinia that is doing fantastic.


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## lake_tuna (Mar 18, 2010)

mudboots said:


> In smaller tanks such as the one you mention, some smaller, or lower growing plants that seem to do well are Stauro. sps. 'low grow' and 'porto vehlo', Crypt. x willisii 'lucens-bronze', Marsilea sps., Lileopsis braziliensis, pinwort, et cetera...there's quite a few that will work actually, mostly will be a limit on size.
> 
> For floaters I have Azolla (mosquito fern) that is doing so-so, and some smaller leaved Salvinia that is doing fantastic.


Could you list these desirable plants for a 2.5g fish tank in more plain English, hehe? I'm having a hard time looking them up! I know what crypts are, so I should look into buying some of that for now.


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## totziens (Jun 28, 2008)

The plants that work or worked for me are:

1. Sagitaria Subulata
2. Water Wisteria
3. Salvinia natans
4. Duckweed
5. Blyxa (before the Kribs dig them up)


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## Tuiflies (Jan 21, 2010)

lake_tuna said:


> Could you list these desirable plants for a 2.5g fish tank in more plain English, hehe? I'm having a hard time looking them up! I know what crypts are, so I should look into buying some of that for now.


Use the plant finder at the top of this page (on the gold bar) and search under Genus using the first of the Latin names ie.


> Stauro. sps. 'low grow' and 'porto vehlo'


 Staurogyne is the genus; sps. stands for species such as "low grow" and "porto vehlo".

Some others I like are Anubias Nana Petite and Golden as well as Microsorum Pteropus "Windelov" (Microsorum Pteropus is Java Fern and "Windelov" is a variant that stays a bit smaller than the others). These are all rhizome plants (which means they grow leaves from a single, large, horizontal root-like structure that should _not_ be buried) so they don't benefit so much from the Walstad method but they do use nutrients from the water column which helps control algae. I also like floating Ceratopteris Thalictroides and Cornuta (Water Sprite and the broad leaf variant) for the same reason. They're great for fighting off green water.


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