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Need a list of easy to grow plants in gravel/pebble tank


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Most of the cheap ones sold in shops. The trick is to make sure the substrate has enough depth for the roots and the plants you choose have a good root system.

I have way too much red rotala and it is growing in ordinary aquarium gravel.

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A decent (5cm min) thickness is required for amazon swords along with plenty of root fertiliser.

Of interest, when you say pebbles - what size pebbles are you talking about?

I have purchased rustic gravel 5mm 8mm 10mm well its a mixed size really. I kinda like the mixed colors and its giving my tank a unique look to it.

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Anubias, Java fern, bolbitus and mosses can be grown attached to drift wood or rocks.

Some of the easy to find and grow stem plants are Rotala rutundifolia, Hygrophila polysperma, Ludwigia repens, ambulia and star grass.

Crypts and swords should do ok in gravel as well, but since these are heavy root feeders they will much prefer a richer substrate.

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Anubias, Java fern, bolbitus and mosses can be grown attached to drift wood or rocks.

Some of the easy to find and grow stem plants are Rotala rutundifolia, Hygrophila polysperma, Ludwigia repens, ambulia and star grass.

Crypts and swords should do ok in gravel as well, but since these are heavy root feeders they will much prefer a richer

substrate.

Where can i buy them from?

I didnt like the one i seen at the pet store.

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Whats your tank lighting as some of those are high light plants, some of them are low light plants?

You also have heavy root feeders in there (mostly swords) and some that need fertiliser through the water column.

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BLUE HYGRO - stem plant, grown emmersed, may or may not adapt to growing submersed

RED HYGRO - stem plant, grown emmersed, may or may not adapt to growing emmersed

RED LUDWIGIA - requires higher lighting as do all red plants

LUDWIGia - will grow in lower light, may stretch (grow tall and spindly) if light is not high enough

ROTALA WALICHI - Rotala wallichii, red plant needs high lighting to see its proper colour, may stretch

AMBULIA - easy to grow -

WATER SPRITE - grows anywhere, often used as floating cover

JAVA fern 2 types - low light, grows attached to wood, rock, do not plant

SWORD PLANTS - grow low - high light depending on species, heavy root feeders, require lots of fertilisers in the soil and also root tabs

PENNY WORT - low light

Babies tears - high lighting, root feeder, often in shops as a stem plant grown emmersed, which may or may not adapt to submersed

Lindernia - Rotundifolia? Wasnt aware it was here in NZ, normally an emmersed plant.

Twisted val - mod to high light plant, do not plant deeply into substrate, intolerant of flourish excel as it will melt.

Dwarf sag - moderate lighting, root and water column feeder.

As you will see you do have a mixed bag of plants.

What depth of substrate do you have covering your aquatic mix? If that is leeching into your water column you will be plagued with algae until it stops happening. What sort of algae do you have?

Until your plants start growing they will not be using any ferts.

Flourish excel is a form of carbon and is used in conjunction with fertilisers (Excel is generally used to replace a CO2 system), and lighting.

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Yea its lindernia rotundifolia. I purchased of trademe

I have pot planted most of them with 3 layers

Base : Gravel

Mid: Soil

Top: Gravel

And for the java ferns i have cable tie them to my driftwood.

For the substrate just plain rustic gravel. Dont have balls to do full soil yet.

I dose flourish excel evry 2-3days 2-3 capful. I dose flourish /trace/iron once evryweek.

I get mainly brown algae but its heavy. Theres a few stringy mucus stuff aswel.

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