Patrick_G Posted December 4, 2022 Share Posted December 4, 2022 I’m not sure what the best beginner plant is but a Red Dwarf Aquarium Lily Bulb sure has to be in the top three. I bought this as an afterthought during my last trip to Aquarium Co-op. It sat around in the bag for about a month before I literally tossed it into the tank. A few days later I had forgotten about it and planted a Bolbitis fern on top of it. A month later it looks like this! For scale it’s in a 14” high tank and the biggest leaf it’s about 6” long. 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolstoy21 Posted December 4, 2022 Share Posted December 4, 2022 I love those too. However, I find them hard to keep down in the substrate until they take root. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted December 4, 2022 Author Share Posted December 4, 2022 On 12/4/2022 at 12:05 PM, tolstoy21 said: I love those too. However, I find them hard to keep down in the substrate until they take root. Any suggestions? I got lucky, mine sunk. I wonder if you could make a little U with a piece of plant weight that’ll hold the bulb? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer V Posted December 4, 2022 Share Posted December 4, 2022 Beautiful! I tried one but it didn't work out. I've been thinking of trying again and you just convinced me. Thank you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted December 4, 2022 Author Share Posted December 4, 2022 On 12/4/2022 at 1:04 PM, Jennifer V said: Beautiful! I tried one but it didn't work out. I've been thinking of trying again and you just convinced me. Thank you! I tried a couple from Petco that didn’t grow, but got lucky the the one from Aquarium co-op! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer V Posted December 4, 2022 Share Posted December 4, 2022 On 12/4/2022 at 2:10 PM, Patrick_G said: I tried a couple from Petco that didn’t grow, but got lucky the the one from Aquarium co-op! Yes! I have one in my ACO cart now so I'm going to finally pull the trigger. 🌱 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted December 4, 2022 Share Posted December 4, 2022 Mine doesn't want to stay rooted either. After dropping its first set of leaves, it's actually smaller than when purchased in July. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlyGenusCaps Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 So, I have killed most of the available "easy" plants in the aquarium trade. Anubias? Dead. Java moss? Dead within days. Java fern? Don't make me laugh! However, on a lark, and out of desperation, I placed an order from Aquarium Co-Op this summer for plants. My local LFS just didn't have any at the time, and I had fish fighting, where I thought plants would lessen the aggression. I tossed a range of plants into my cart, figuring as these died I could try to find a source for plants adapted to my very hard water (Seattle water not being know for creating stalactites from your faucet). Much to my surprise most of the plants have survived, if not thrived. But the Pogostemon stellatus "Octopus" has grown insanely well! I never though I would succeed with a stem plant, but that plant is out pacing anything else in my tank. It's a darn-toot'n wonder! Pardon my French. In my experience thus far, that plants, which I've never seen anywhere but ACO, has been the easiest plant I've ever tried to grow. Side note, it worked to reduce the aggression, even this many months on! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smm333 Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 I have soft water and no fancy lighting or special equipment. I have had luck with anacharis, guppy grass, anubias- both nana petite and round golden coin, java fern, crypts- lucena and parvati, Brazilian pennywort, Christmas moss, frogbit, and susswassertang. Pogostemon octopus always dies on me. Tried dwarf pennywort Japan and it died too. And despite it's amazing reputation I can't for the life of me keep java moss alive! I tried many times and finally gave up. Christmas moss is close enough, and susswassertang does a similar job while looking so cool! It's definitely one of my favorites! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlyGenusCaps Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 On 12/4/2022 at 7:06 PM, smm333 said: I have soft water and no fancy lighting or special equipment. Oh sure, brag about it why don't you. 🤪 On 12/4/2022 at 7:06 PM, smm333 said: Pogostemon octopus always dies on me. That's interesting! On 12/4/2022 at 7:06 PM, smm333 said: Christmas moss is close enough So that's the moss that works for me too, despite out very different water qualities. Very cool! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 I think the "best" is probably going to be moss or a moss ball. They don't need much and it's easy to propogate without doing damage. One of the things I watched recently had discussed this topic and in my mind I'm thinking anubias all day long because it's so easy. Well, the creator had a good point. Sometimes these "beginner plants" are just too slow growing to out compete the algae. Something like Bacopa Caroliniana, water sprite, or Pogostemon sellatus octopus would be where I send someone because of that if they were trying to find a "first plant" to try. The big difference though is needed a light (some tanks just don't have them) and needing some sort of root tab or fertilizer regime. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 Hygrophila Polysperma, hands down. I'm not sure why it's not more popular with non CO2 tanks. It would probably grow in a swimming pool. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smm333 Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 On 12/4/2022 at 6:31 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said: Oh sure, brag about it why don't you. 🤪 That's interesting! So that's the moss that works for me too, despite out very different water qualities. Very cool! Ha Ha! I'd love some cool fancy lights, but they are expensive! I just think the "beginner" plants really depend on your water type and often times lighting. 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted December 5, 2022 Author Share Posted December 5, 2022 On 12/4/2022 at 5:00 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said: But the Pogostemon stellatus "Octopus" has grown insanely well! I never though I would succeed with a stem plant, but that plant is out pacing anything else in my tank. It's a darn-toot'n wonder! Pardon my French. In my experience thus far, that plants, which I've never seen anywhere but ACO, has been the easiest plant I've ever tried to grow. Side note, it worked to reduce the aggression, even this many months on! Yeah, that’s a great plant. For me it’s probably been the easiest and fastest growing plant I’ve tried with the exception of the lily bulb. I got luck and found a huge one at Aquarium Co-op. It’s been divided and doubled many many times. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted December 5, 2022 Author Share Posted December 5, 2022 On 12/4/2022 at 7:08 PM, Mmiller2001 said: Hygrophila Polysperma, hands down. I'm not sure why it's not more popular with non CO2 tanks. It would probably grow in a swimming pool. @Fish Folkwas kind enough to send me a cutting. I planted it horizontally on the substrate in hopes of getting a bunch of vertical shoots. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 On 12/5/2022 at 3:51 PM, Patrick_G said: @Fish Folkwas kind enough to send me a cutting. I planted it horizontally on the substrate in hopes of getting a bunch of vertical shoots. It will shoot up in no time. I have it in my qt tank and I only feed the shrimp and it still grows. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted December 6, 2022 Share Posted December 6, 2022 Here's mine, in low tech and don't fertilize. I completely neglected this tank. Only feed the shrimp and 2 gallon water change every couple of weeks or more. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted December 7, 2022 Share Posted December 7, 2022 On 12/4/2022 at 8:00 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said: So, I have killed most of the available "easy" plants in the aquarium trade. Anubias? Dead. Java moss? Dead within days. Java fern? Don't make me laugh! ...But the Pogostemon stellatus "Octopus" has grown insanely well! So far, I have killed 15 "easy" plants in my planted community. Anubia wasn't one of them. 3 of those have been brought back from the brink in my no tech project tank. The Coop's PSO wasn't the wonder plant I was hoping for, but has come back in a healthy compact form. I don't know what my water hardness really is. The local waterworks claims my water is "hard" at 120ppm., but my tests are off the chart. I'm guessing they should add a zero to the number🤯 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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