Re: Plant suggestions for hard water
#9
I've had good results with the following:
Ceratopteris thalictrichoides,
Ludwigia palustris ("green" rather than red, unless you're going for something more high tech), Hornwort, Java Fern, various mosses,
Bacopa monnieri, duckweed (ugh! - If you can find it
Lemna trisulca the "Ivy Leaved Duckweed" is very nice and floats just below the surface- much better than the "normal" stuff, and much less likely to take over the tank),
Vallisneria spiralis,
Nymphoides peltata (AKA Water Fringe),
Limnobium laevigatum and
Samolus valerandi.
I never got on with Cabomba- it always shed the lower leaves and made a complete mess.
Eleocharis acicularis,
Hydrocotyle verticillata and
Lysimachia nummularis and
Stratiotes aloides (Water Soldier) never did well for me either, they'd grow for a while, sometimes quite well and then waste away pretty quickly.
I'm trying
Blyxa japonica,
Rotala rotundifolia and
Limnophila sessiliflora in my rescaped WCMM/Loach tank and so far the
Limnophila is doing pretty well (its a bit too soon to tell with the others).
Echinodorus tenellus doesn't appear to be doing terribly well right now. The emersed leaves are dying off, but it doesn't seem to be growing immersed ones, although there are a couple of runners appearing.
None of my tanks (except the little shrimp one) are heated, and I use sand substrate with a few JBL balls (mostly for the Water Fringe), and don't dose CO2 (I've used liquid carbon on the smaller tank in an effort to control some algae, but I don't think it made any difference. I probably need to add ferts to that tank too. Even in an unheated tank Water Violet, and the UK native Milfoil species didn't do well. I'll definitely give them a go when/if I get a pond though.
When I had a tropical tank I had good results with
Hygrophila siamensis "53B" and
Crptocoryne wendtii.
Loaches, Barbs, Minnows & Shrimp! Oh My!