# Want to replace my Cabomba...



## Sophie and Mom (Feb 28, 2012)

...Because I'm really starting to hate it. It looks messy, it's uprooting and floating all over the place, and it's just a mess.

What can I replace it with? What do you think makes a pretty (and affordable) background plant? I want to have replacements ready before I rip this stuff out and I'm running out of aesthetic patience!

What do you suggest, folks?


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## _chicken_ (Oct 7, 2007)

How about something like Myriophyllum mattogrossense? Nice fine leafed plant and not fussy at all. I have it in a medium light tank, and in my daughter's low light shrimp tank.


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## The Trigger (Apr 23, 2012)

Rotala rotundifolia is very common, very cheap and pretty easy to grow. Looks great too. if you have high co2 and high light, it grows like a weed (which it is in the wild  ) low nitrates and a lot of iron really bring out its colors.


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## Sophie and Mom (Feb 28, 2012)

I'm sorry I took so long to reply...we've been having family issues that prevented me from getting online. I'll look up both plants, thank you.


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## Sophie and Mom (Feb 28, 2012)

_chicken_ said:


> How about something like Myriophyllum mattogrossense? Nice fine leafed plant and not fussy at all. I have it in a medium light tank, and in my daughter's low light shrimp tank.


Ah, yes! We have some of this in red in my daughter's tank. This will probably work out well.


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## _chicken_ (Oct 7, 2007)

Ironically, I re-acquired some purple cabomba at a club auction not long ago. "Gosh, why did I ever get rid of this? It's really pretty stuff," I said to myself. 

Ha! It's starting to drive me crazy! In a tank with high light and co2, it grows way too fast and just looks stringy. I'm trying it in a couple lower light low tech tanks now, but I've told it it's on probation. If it doesn't behave itself, it's out!


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## Sophie and Mom (Feb 28, 2012)

Good luck to you! I have low light and no CO2 supplementation, and it still grows like crazy and makes a mess.

You know what else grows like crazy and makes a mess? WATER LETTUCE. I can't get rid of it. It occludes the light, grows like mad, and grows explosively whenever I try to remove it all. Grrrrr.....Its hive mind knows I'm trying to eradicate it, and reproduction goes into overdrive. I'm getting ready to nuke it from space.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Now you know why water lettuce is on the Federal Noxious Weed list. :laser: 

Good luck on your tanks.


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## Sophie and Mom (Feb 28, 2012)

Thanks. Right now I could use it.


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

Water lettuce really does well in softwater...

I second the Myrio. Matto.

Another nice plant that does great in these setups is ludwigia arcuata x breviseps


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## Sophie and Mom (Feb 28, 2012)

bratyboy2 said:


> Water lettuce really does well in softwater...


I get the feeling it does well no matter what you have. I'm running liquid rock over here, and I can't kill it off.[smilie=l:

Thanks for the suggestions, too.


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## Sophie and Mom (Feb 28, 2012)

I started removing some of the cabomba today, and some of them were pretty deeply rooted, bringing up lots of soil with the roots. Would I be better off just snipping them at the bottom of the stem to remove them, or will they just grow back?


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## DerekFF (Nov 21, 2011)

Cut into the soil around the base of the stem so that the roots get severed then remove it

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2


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## Sophie and Mom (Feb 28, 2012)

Ah, thank you. That makes so much sense.


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