Plants that don't need planting

[Flumpweesel]

Aside from Java ferns and Anubais' are there any other plants that thrive tied to things rather than being planted.

I don't have a very deep substrate so plants so much better for me.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Moss if you're good at it (I don't happen to be). Floating plants. If you want to get really crazy you could do pothos or bamboo out of the back of your tank. 🙂 

I belive Pennywort, Ludwigia Repens and even crypts?

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I like plants like what you need anyway- there are lots of neat/different Anubia and I am a huge fan of Narrow Leaf Java Fern. They seem so much easier to care for than lots of other plants AND easy to move if you want/need to rearrange. 

[Helan]

I love such plants because they are super easy, you can ignore it totally and it would still grow and thrive , all my tanks have anubias and or java fern as well as java moss because why not?

[Flumpweesel]

On 11/29/2021 at 8:14 AM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

I like plants like what you need anyway- there are lots of neat/different Anubia and I am a huge fan of Narrow Leaf Java Fern. They seem so much easier to care for than lots of other plants AND easy to move if you want/need to rearrange. 

Agreed I like them, and I am considering buying some of the larger leaved  varieties (for drama) but just wondered if I was missing anything before I clicked buy. Shops (I can use here) seem keener to describe what you will receive rather than what they will become so it is taking a lot of cross referencing to find out. You are lucky to have the co-op it gives so much info on its products I check it regularly in my research. 

Growing things out of tank isn't an option as the tank is set back in a fireplace so light is very limited. Tank lights are set in the lid. 

[Helan]

On 11/29/2021 at 6:20 PM, Flumpweesel said:

Agreed I like them, and I am considering buying some of the larger leaved  varieties (for drama) but just wondered if I was missing anything before I clicked buy. Shops (I can use here) seem keener to describe what you will receive rather than what they will become so it is taking a lot of cross referencing to find out. You are lucky to have the co-op it gives so much info on its products I check it regularly in my research. 

Growing things out of tank isn't an option as the tank is set back in a fireplace so light is very limited. Tank lights are set in the lid. 

Just thought of something quite unique, banana lily technically speaking doesn’t need to be planted

[Odd Duck]

All epiphytes: Anubias species and their varieties; Bucephalandra species and their varieties plus relatives like some Aridarum, Homalomena, and Lagenandras (the relatives are more challenging to grow); all the aquatic ferns - Java ferns in all its many varieties (Leptochilus pteropus), Bolbitis species, Hymenasplenium; Crypts I’ve read can be grown as epiphytes but I’ve never tried it; and all the different aquatic mosses - Vesicularias species, Fissidens species, Taxiphyllum species, Fontanalis species, Physcomitrium, Jungermannia, Distichophyllum, . . .

I kind of love plants, especially odd balls.  🤷🏻‍♀️

Your safest bets are Anubias, Buces, Ferns (especially the Java fern varieties), and mosses.

[Jennifer V]

I tried susswassertang in my newest tank and it's been so easy to grow and so cool looking I have it in both my tanks now. You just plop it in the tank and that's it. 

[JettsPapa]

On 11/29/2021 at 1:38 PM, Jennifer V said:

I tried susswassertang in my newest tank and it's been so easy to grow and so cool looking I have it in both my tanks now. You just plop it in the tank and that's it. 

You just plop it in the tank and that's it . . . if it likes your water.  I bought some online that I believe was grown in low pH soft water.  It was a beautiful clump that quickly started melting away until I thought it was all dead.  Eventually I started seeing a few very small pieces, and now it's growing rapidly and looks great, but it took many months.

Apparently it didn't like switching to my liquid rock 8.2 pH water.

[Jennifer V]

On 11/29/2021 at 1:08 PM, JettsPapa said:

You just plop it in the tank and that's it . . . if it likes your water.  I bought some online that I believe was grown in low pH soft water.  It was a beautiful clump that quickly started melting away until I thought it was all dead.  Eventually I started seeing a few very small pieces, and now it's growing rapidly and looks great, but it took many months.

Apparently it didn't like switching to my liquid rock 8.2 pH water.

Oh no! I didn't realize it was finicky. Now that I think about it, some of the large clump I got did get a little upset when I put it in my first tank but it rebounded quickly and seems to be doing fine now. Well, better than fine. It's almost too much now for my tiny 5g. But that's the progression since March of last year. Time flys! Good to note that it can react just like any other plant and isn't a bulletproof option for everyone. 

@Flumpweesel I'd still put it on your list if you like the look of it and don't mind something that's a little less manicured looking than some of the other plants out there. I agree with @Odd Duck that Buce plants can be really fun and there are tons of different kinds. I think they do tend to grow rather slowly, although mine are growing like crazy. 

[PedroPete]

Great ideas above ^  super fun to grow 🙂

Bolbitis doee super well for me - gets big, too. 

Hygrophila pinnatifida works as an epiphyte, too.

 

[Flumpweesel]

Thanks for all the great suggestions, I'll see what I can find. The planting options do bring a lot to the hobby but do make keeping down to one tank tricky. 

You could end up wondering if you keep plants to help the fish or fish to feed the plants

[Torrey]

On 11/29/2021 at 4:55 PM, Flumpweesel said:

You could end up wondering if you keep plants to help the fish or fish to feed the plants

Have you perused Streetwise's 'wet plants' section?

Ever since I lost the majority of my plants (and my entire herb garden 😭) last year when we got sick with covid, I have not felt bad about my MTS. A few tanks are dedicated plant grow out tanks with bladder snails as clean up crew. I have **never** been able to grow red plants until this past summer!

Thanks to this forum, I have expanded my tank repertoire, and have not needed CO2 for success. Even my glass bottom fry tank has an octopus pogestemon (sp? typing while waiting for pain meds to kick in), has a 2" layer of pearlweed floating at the top (was 6" deep before it melted  due to coming from an RO source water tank with CO2, to my liquid rock, no CO2, lower temp tank. ⅔ to ¾ melted back, now it's got fresh growth galore *and* I took out half over the weekend and distributed to other tanks)

Guppysnail has introduced me to suction cup planting, and Atitagain has improved upon my plastic canvas mesh hacks, and really the entire forum is like one big plant family! I use 2 gallon glass jars with an air stone to propagate many plants, and an LED light.... which makes for a lovely temporary centerpiece on the dining room table 😉

In other words, I firmly believe in picking up unidentified clearance plants as well as purchasing plants with a specific look, and playing with plants in a manner that brings you joy.

PS: best part about wet plants?

Can't overwater🤣🤣🤣

[CalmedByFish]

On 12/1/2021 at 4:01 AM, Torrey said:

Guppysnail has introduced me to suction cup planting

That's exactly what I came here to suggest! I vaguely remember someone on here saying they even did it with an Amazon sword. Plant weights are an option too. Really, for any plant, the roots need water and nutrients, rather than substrate itself. So if you've got nutrients in your water, your roots are getting what they need. 

[Dawn T]

On 11/29/2021 at 4:55 PM, Flumpweesel said:

The planting options do bring a lot to the hobby but do make keeping down to one tank tricky. 

Wait. One tank? Is that even possible? 😳 😁

[Flumpweesel]

On 12/1/2021 at 6:19 PM, Dawn T said:

Is that even possible

Just about but it isn't easy