Plant Suggestions for my 15-gal Low Tech tank?

[s_in_houston]

I’m looking to jazz up my aquarium by adding more plants and id like your suggestions. 15 gallons, no added CO2. 

Although I didn’t originally plan for it to be “South American” I ended up buying fish from that region, so I’d like any new plants to be South American, too. 

Also: I’d like to add some plants to the foreground and give my tank a fuller look. 

My substrate is Seachem Flourish and I use both root tabs and liquid ferts. 

My most successful stem plant has been moneywort, so I have quite a few stems by default. On the left is a Ozelot (Amazon) sword that has been growing very slowly since I lowered the lighting and cut off its big leaves that were low quality. 

[MattyM]

Some MicroSword might look good, I think that's South American. 

[Odd Duck]

This is a list I put to get her when I was researching for my angelfish biotopish tank.  I have definitely not grown most of these plants, some I’ve tried and failed, some are great.  Some of these I’ve not been able to find for sale.  There were others I didn’t include because they didn’t appeal to me.   Much of this was a “notes to self” with more notes added after I started sharing the list.  Use the list at your own discretion.  YMMV

South American Plant List

Alternanthera reineckii - Scarlet Temple, there are several varieties and other Alternanthera sp. from South America also.  Look at A. bettzickiana - Calico Plant, A. ficoidea - Joseph’s Coat

Bacopa lanigera - Hairy Bacopa (same genus as Bacopa caroliniana which is North American)

Cabombaca caroliniana - Fanwort or Green Cabomba, C. piauhyensis - Red Cabomba Plant

Echinodorus angustifolia [AKA E. vesuvius] - Vesuvius sword, E. argentinensis [AKA E. grandiflorus, AKA E. longiscapus] - Argentine Sword, E. aschersonianus [AKA E. uruguayensis, AKA E. osiris, AKA E. portoalegrensis] - Melon Sword, E. bolivianus [Helanthium bolivianum] - Bolivian Chain Sword, E. bleheri [AKA E. grisebachii, AKA E. Amazonicus] - Amazon Sword, E. cordifolius - Spade-leaf Sword, E. horemanii, E. macrophyllis [AKA E. radicans] E. opacus, E. latifolius [AKA Helanthium tenellus] - Pygmy Chain Sword, E. palaefolius, E. scaber.

Egeria densa - Anacharis, E. najas - Narrow Leaf Anacharis

Eichhornia diversifolia - Dwarf Azurea

Eleocharis minima - a species of dwarf hairgrass that’s very widely distributed on multiple continents.  There are many species of Eleocharis that may, or may not, be adaptable as aquatics.

Gymnocoronis spilanthoides - Senegal Tea

Hygrophilia guanensis - Giant Mint Short Leaf

Heteranthera zosterifolia - Stargrass

Hydrocotyle leucocephela - Brazilian Pennywort

Hydrothrix gardneri

Limnobium laevigatum - Amazon Frogbit

Ludwigia inclinata (same genus as Ludwigia glandulosa which is North American)

Mayaca fluviatilis - Big Moss

Myriophyllum aquaticum - Parrot’s Feather, M. elantoides - Water Milfoil, M. mattogrossense - Mattogrosso Milfoil

Potomegeton gayi - Pondweed

Salvinia minima - Water Spangles

 

My additions:

Hygrophilia crostata - Gulf Swampweed, Gush Weed, H. lancea - Araguaia

Lilaeopsis brasiliensis - Brazilian Micro Sword

Phyllanthus fluitans - Red Root Floater

Sagittaria guayanensis - Guyanese Arrowhead (widespread across multiple continents), S. intermedia, S. lancifolia - Bulltongue Arrowhead, S. latifolia - Duck Potato, Broad-leaved Arrowhead, S. longiloba - Longbarb Arrowhead, S. montevidensis - California Arrowhead, S. planitiana, S. rhombifolia - Pygmy Arrowhead, S. sprucei, S. subulata - Dwarf Sagittaria (probably best suited for aquariums).  [Not all of the Sagittarias are suitable for the aquarium.]

Vallisneria americana - Jungle Val, Eelgrass, Tapegrass.  

There’s lots of confusion in the trade about the different Vals.  Jungle Val is a common name applied to both V. americana and V. gigantea [from Asia] in the trade.  V. spiralis [from southern Europe, the Middle East, through southwest Asia and northern Africa, is named after the spiral stalk of the flower, not the shape of the leaves which are flat, not spiraling] and is often confused with V. torta [AKA V. asiatica ‘Biwaensis’ (Corkscrew Val) from Japan] and V. asiatica [AKA V. contorta - Giant Corkscrew Val, also from Japan] both of which have twisting, corkscrew leaves.  

The Val species I have sorted as best I can, cross checking with multiple sources as much as possible.

[clownbaby]

For the foreground plants, I would either recommend pygmy chain sword (very widespread South American species) or if you're able to get it, mayaca fluviatilis. A good midground plant that grows kinda moderate to fast with grassy leaves is dwarf sagittaria.  Echinodorus bolivianus is another good foreground to midground plant.

For a "fuller" look, definitely recommend cabomba sp. Some are super easy to grow. Lots of people say they need c02 but I have grown Cabomba Caroliniana successfully without it. Also ludwigia sp. Lotsss of ludwigia is native to South America -- l. palustris, peruviana, repens, inclinata, etc... very easy plant to grow. Highly recommend ludwigia! Under high light it grows a bit slower so you could have it as a midground plant. Heteranthera and Alternanthera sp are good south american species, but some need c02, some don't. 

[s_in_houston]

On 10/13/2024 at 5:45 PM, Odd Duck said:

This is a list I put to get her when I was researching for my angelfish biotopish tank.  I have definitely not grown most of these plants, some I’ve tried and failed, some are great.  Some of these I’ve not been able to find for sale.  There were others I didn’t include because they didn’t appeal to me.   Much of this was a “notes to self” with more notes added after I started sharing the list.  Use the list at your own discretion.  YMMV

 

South American Plant List

Alternanthera reineckii - Scarlet Temple, there are several varieties and other Alternanthera sp. from South America also.  Look at A. bettzickiana - Calico Plant, A. ficoidea - Joseph’s Coat

Bacopa lanigera - Hairy Bacopa (same genus as Bacopa caroliniana which is North American)

Cabombaca caroliniana - Fanwort or Green Cabomba, C. piauhyensis - Red Cabomba Plant

Echinodorus angustifolia [AKA E. vesuvius] - Vesuvius sword, E. argentinensis [AKA E. grandiflorus, AKA E. longiscapus] - Argentine Sword, E. aschersonianus [AKA E. uruguayensis, AKA E. osiris, AKA E. portoalegrensis] - Melon Sword, E. bolivianus [Helanthium bolivianum] - Bolivian Chain Sword, E. bleheri [AKA E. grisebachii, AKA E. Amazonicus] - Amazon Sword, E. cordifolius - Spade-leaf Sword, E. horemanii, E. macrophyllis [AKA E. radicans] E. opacus, E. latifolius [AKA Helanthium tenellus] - Pygmy Chain Sword, E. palaefolius, E. scaber.

Egeria densa - Anacharis, E. najas - Narrow Leaf Anacharis

Eichhornia diversifolia - Dwarf Azurea

Eleocharis minima - a species of dwarf hairgrass that’s very widely distributed on multiple continents.  There are many species of Eleocharis that may, or may not, be adaptable as aquatics.

Gymnocoronis spilanthoides - Senegal Tea

Hygrophilia guanensis - Giant Mint Short Leaf

Heteranthera zosterifolia - Stargrass

Hydrocotyle leucocephela - Brazilian Pennywort

Hydrothrix gardneri

Limnobium laevigatum - Amazon Frogbit

Ludwigia inclinata (same genus as Ludwigia glandulosa which is North American)

Mayaca fluviatilis - Big Moss

Myriophyllum aquaticum - Parrot’s Feather, M. elantoides - Water Milfoil, M. mattogrossense - Mattogrosso Milfoil

Potomegeton gayi - Pondweed

Salvinia minima - Water Spangles

 

My additions:

Hygrophilia crostata - Gulf Swampweed, Gush Weed, H. lancea - Araguaia

Lilaeopsis brasiliensis - Brazilian Micro Sword

Phyllanthus fluitans - Red Root Floater

Sagittaria guayanensis - Guyanese Arrowhead (widespread across multiple continents), S. intermedia, S. lancifolia - Bulltongue Arrowhead, S. latifolia - Duck Potato, Broad-leaved Arrowhead, S. longiloba - Longbarb Arrowhead, S. montevidensis - California Arrowhead, S. planitiana, S. rhombifolia - Pygmy Arrowhead, S. sprucei, S. subulata - Dwarf Sagittaria (probably best suited for aquariums).  [Not all of the Sagittarias are suitable for the aquarium.]

Vallisneria americana - Jungle Val, Eelgrass, Tapegrass.  

There’s lots of confusion in the trade about the different Vals.  Jungle Val is a common name applied to both V. americana and V. gigantea [from Asia] in the trade.  V. spiralis [from southern Europe, the Middle East, through southwest Asia and northern Africa, is named after the spiral stalk of the flower, not the shape of the leaves which are flat, not spiraling] and is often confused with V. torta [AKA V. asiatica ‘Biwaensis’ (Corkscrew Val) from Japan] and V. asiatica [AKA V. contorta - Giant Corkscrew Val, also from Japan] both of which have twisting, corkscrew leaves.  

The Val species I have sorted as best I can, cross checking with multiple sources as much as possible.

Thanks! I ended up with jungle Val and dwarf sags. 

Now I pray to the Plant Gods that they’ll survive and even thrive in my aquarium. And if not, I can come back to this list I suppose.

[Odd Duck]

On 10/13/2024 at 10:41 PM, s_in_houston said:

Thanks! I ended up with jungle Val and dwarf sags. 

Now I pray to the Plant Gods that they’ll survive and even thrive in my aquarium. And if not, I can come back to this list I suppose.

Jungle Val gets very tall, like 3+ feet long when they like the conditions.  You might find those too tall for a 15 G in the long run.  Val. torta would likely be a better long term fit.  See how you feel about the jungle Val in 6 months.  By then it will have either failed or be taking over your house.

[s_in_houston]

On 10/14/2024 at 12:03 AM, Odd Duck said:

Jungle Val gets very tall, like 3+ feet long when they like the conditions.  You might find those too tall for a 15 G in the long run.  Val. torta would likely be a better long term fit.  See how you feel about the jungle Val in 6 months.  By then it will have either failed or be taking over your house.

Okay. I asked the sales guy and he told me it’s okay bc you can just the leaves like grass. And yeah, I’m coming to learn it can take at least 3 months for me to see if a plant is working or not. 

[s_in_houston]

On 10/13/2024 at 5:45 PM, Odd Duck said:

This is a list I put to get her when I was researching for my angelfish biotopish tank.  I have definitely not grown most of these plants, some I’ve tried and failed, some are great.  Some of these I’ve not been able to find for sale.  There were others I didn’t include because they didn’t appeal to me.   Much of this was a “notes to self” with more notes added after I started sharing the list.  Use the list at your own discretion.  YMMV

 

South American Plant List

Alternanthera reineckii - Scarlet Temple, there are several varieties and other Alternanthera sp. from South America also.  Look at A. bettzickiana - Calico Plant, A. ficoidea - Joseph’s Coat

Bacopa lanigera - Hairy Bacopa (same genus as Bacopa caroliniana which is North American)

Cabombaca caroliniana - Fanwort or Green Cabomba, C. piauhyensis - Red Cabomba Plant

Echinodorus angustifolia [AKA E. vesuvius] - Vesuvius sword, E. argentinensis [AKA E. grandiflorus, AKA E. longiscapus] - Argentine Sword, E. aschersonianus [AKA E. uruguayensis, AKA E. osiris, AKA E. portoalegrensis] - Melon Sword, E. bolivianus [Helanthium bolivianum] - Bolivian Chain Sword, E. bleheri [AKA E. grisebachii, AKA E. Amazonicus] - Amazon Sword, E. cordifolius - Spade-leaf Sword, E. horemanii, E. macrophyllis [AKA E. radicans] E. opacus, E. latifolius [AKA Helanthium tenellus] - Pygmy Chain Sword, E. palaefolius, E. scaber.

Egeria densa - Anacharis, E. najas - Narrow Leaf Anacharis

Eichhornia diversifolia - Dwarf Azurea

Eleocharis minima - a species of dwarf hairgrass that’s very widely distributed on multiple continents.  There are many species of Eleocharis that may, or may not, be adaptable as aquatics.

Gymnocoronis spilanthoides - Senegal Tea

Hygrophilia guanensis - Giant Mint Short Leaf

Heteranthera zosterifolia - Stargrass

Hydrocotyle leucocephela - Brazilian Pennywort

Hydrothrix gardneri

Limnobium laevigatum - Amazon Frogbit

Ludwigia inclinata (same genus as Ludwigia glandulosa which is North American)

Mayaca fluviatilis - Big Moss

Myriophyllum aquaticum - Parrot’s Feather, M. elantoides - Water Milfoil, M. mattogrossense - Mattogrosso Milfoil

Potomegeton gayi - Pondweed

Salvinia minima - Water Spangles

 

My additions:

Hygrophilia crostata - Gulf Swampweed, Gush Weed, H. lancea - Araguaia

Lilaeopsis brasiliensis - Brazilian Micro Sword

Phyllanthus fluitans - Red Root Floater

Sagittaria guayanensis - Guyanese Arrowhead (widespread across multiple continents), S. intermedia, S. lancifolia - Bulltongue Arrowhead, S. latifolia - Duck Potato, Broad-leaved Arrowhead, S. longiloba - Longbarb Arrowhead, S. montevidensis - California Arrowhead, S. planitiana, S. rhombifolia - Pygmy Arrowhead, S. sprucei, S. subulata - Dwarf Sagittaria (probably best suited for aquariums).  [Not all of the Sagittarias are suitable for the aquarium.]

Vallisneria americana - Jungle Val, Eelgrass, Tapegrass.  

There’s lots of confusion in the trade about the different Vals.  Jungle Val is a common name applied to both V. americana and V. gigantea [from Asia] in the trade.  V. spiralis [from southern Europe, the Middle East, through southwest Asia and northern Africa, is named after the spiral stalk of the flower, not the shape of the leaves which are flat, not spiraling] and is often confused with V. torta [AKA V. asiatica ‘Biwaensis’ (Corkscrew Val) from Japan] and V. asiatica [AKA V. contorta - Giant Corkscrew Val, also from Japan] both of which have twisting, corkscrew leaves.  

The Val species I have sorted as best I can, cross checking with multiple sources as much as possible.

Thank you for this info. I made some choices. If they don’t work out I’ll look to this again.

[Odd Duck]

On 10/14/2024 at 5:45 AM, s_in_houston said:

Okay. I asked the sales guy and he told me it’s okay bc you can just the leaves like grass. And yeah, I’m coming to learn it can take at least 3 months for me to see if a plant is working or not. 

You can. You will have cut edges that tend to get a bit brown sometimes. It’s got a nice wide leaf so it will be a great contrast to the dwarf sag while still having some continuity.

A cool effect can be done by planting the jungle Val in front and the dwarf sag in back so it gives a perception of greater depth front to back in the tank. It’s like a forced perspective effect that is often used in the really fancy, show-winning tanks. There’s a couple videos online about an aquascaping guy that has won the ADA contest multiple times, [Josh(?) something], that uses this a lot by using similar shape / type plants with coarser / larger stuff up front gradually going to smaller / finer stuff in back to make it look like the background is receding into the distance.  Very effective in his hands, very tricky to pull off in real life. @Mmiller2001 might remember his name.

On 10/14/2024 at 7:25 AM, s_in_houston said:

Thank you for this info. I made some choices. If they don’t work out I’ll look to this again.

It’s very cool looking to let jungle Val lay over the top of the tank a bit as long as it doesn’t overshadow lower plants too much. If it really likes your tank it may get to be too much. I would love for Jungle Val to like a couple of my big tanks better. 😆  There are certain fish, who shall remain nameless, that have interfered severely in my jungle Val plans.  🤣 

[Odd Duck]

On 10/14/2024 at 5:45 AM, s_in_houston said:

Okay. I asked the sales guy and he told me it’s okay bc you can just the leaves like grass. And yeah, I’m coming to learn it can take at least 3 months for me to see if a plant is working or not. 

You can. You will have cut edges that tend to get a bit brown sometimes. It’s got a nice wide leaf so it will be a great contrast to the dwarf sag while still having some continuity.

A cool effect can be done by planting the jungle Val in front and the dwarf sag in back so it gives a perception of greater depth front to back in the tank. It’s like a forced perspective effect that is often used in the really fancy, show-winning tanks. There’s a couple videos online about an aquascaping guy that has won the ADA contest multiple times, [Josh(?) something], that uses this a lot by using similar shape / type plants with coarser / larger stuff up front gradually going to smaller / finer stuff in back to make it look like the background is receding into the distance.  Very effective in his hands, very tricky to pull off in real life. @Mmiller2001 might remember his name.

On 10/14/2024 at 7:25 AM, s_in_houston said:

Thank you for this info. I made some choices. If they don’t work out I’ll look to this again.

It’s very cool looking to let jungle Val lay over the top of the tank a bit as long as it doesn’t overshadow lower plants too much. If it really likes your tank it may get to be too much. I would love for Jungle Val to like a couple of my big tanks better. 😆  There are certain fish, who shall remain nameless, that have interfered severely in my jungle Val plans.  🤣 

[s_in_houston]

On 10/14/2024 at 11:46 AM, Odd Duck said:

You can. You will have cut edges that tend to get a bit brown sometimes. It’s got a nice wide leaf so it will be a great contrast to the dwarf sag while still having some continuity.

A cool effect can be done by planting the jungle Val in front and the dwarf sag in back so it gives a perception of greater depth front to back in the tank. It’s like a forced perspective effect that is often used in the really fancy, show-winning tanks. There’s a couple videos online about an aquascaping guy that has won the ADA contest multiple times, [Josh(?) something], that uses this a lot by using similar shape / type plants with coarser / larger stuff up front gradually going to smaller / finer stuff in back to make it look like the background is receding into the distance.  Very effective in his hands, very tricky to pull off in real life. @Mmiller2001 might remember his name.

It’s very cool looking to let jungle Val lay over the top of the tank a bit as long as it doesn’t overshadow lower plants too much. If it really likes your tank it may get to be too much. I would love for Jungle Val to like a couple of my big tanks better. 😆  There are certain fish, who shall remain nameless, that have interfered severely in my jungle Val plans.  🤣 

Okay now I’m getting some buyer’s remorse. Even if I can trim them (and I would want to if they succeed) I realize I will be left with cut leaves and I might not like how they look. It might be nice to instead have some Val I can let go and just pull up the “babies” when they start growing where I don’t want them. 
 

I love those aquascaping tricks. My dream would be to be able to read about them in an easily-referenced format instead of having them “buried”inside super-long YouTube videos. 
 

Thanks!

[Odd Duck]

Nearly any Val might need some trimming in a 15 G, but I would absolutely try what you’ve got and see how it does, see how you feel about it.  You won’t know until you try!  If it looks great, that’s a win.  If you don’t like it for whatever reason you can always try a different species and see if that works better.  I think it would be cool with jungle Val growing like stage curtains at the front on each side and the dwarf sag at the back so it looks like it’s farther in the distance back there.  Instant perceived depth - all about fooling the eye and playing tricks on your own brain.  😆 

[Odd Duck]

On 10/14/2024 at 5:45 AM, s_in_houston said:

Okay. I asked the sales guy and he told me it’s okay bc you can just the leaves like grass. And yeah, I’m coming to learn it can take at least 3 months for me to see if a plant is working or not. 

You can. You will have cut edges that tend to get a bit brown sometimes. It’s got a nice wide leaf so it will be a great contrast to the dwarf sag while still having some continuity.

A cool effect can be done by planting the jungle Val in front and the dwarf sag in back so it gives a perception of greater depth front to back in the tank. It’s like a forced perspective effect that is often used in the really fancy, show-winning tanks. There’s a couple videos online about an aquascaping guy that has won the ADA contest multiple times, [Josh(?) something], that uses this a lot by using similar shape / type plants with coarser / larger stuff up front gradually going to smaller / finer stuff in back to make it look like the background is receding into the distance.  Very effective in his hands, very tricky to pull off in real life. @Mmiller2001 might remember his name.

On 10/14/2024 at 7:25 AM, s_in_houston said:

Thank you for this info. I made some choices. If they don’t work out I’ll look to this again.

It’s very cool looking to let jungle Val lay over the top of the tank a bit as long as it doesn’t overshadow lower plants too much. If it really likes your tank it may get to be too much. I would love for Jungle Val to like a couple of my big tanks better. 😆  There are certain fish, who shall remain nameless, that have interfered severely in my jungle Val plans.  🤣 

[s_in_houston]

On 10/14/2024 at 12:57 PM, Odd Duck said:

Nearly any Val might need some trimming in a 15 G, but I would absolutely try what you’ve got and see how it does, see how you feel about it.  You won’t know until you try!  If it looks great, that’s a win.  If you don’t like it for whatever reason you can always try a different species and see if that works better.  I think it would be cool with jungle Val growing like stage curtains at the front on each side and the dwarf sag at the back so it looks like it’s farther in the distance back there.  Instant perceived depth - all about fooling the eye and playing tricks on your own brain.  😆 

Oh I get it. For now I’ll keep my simple arrangement and see what takes hold. Not to mention what my “little” plant on the left ends up looking like. 

[PonyPlantedTanks]

I wouldn’t worry too much. I have jungle Val in a 10g right now😂(yes I’m a rebel) and it’s taken months to get going. It still hasn’t gotten that tall or sent out hardly any runners. So I’d give yours a minute and once it starts taking off then you can decide whether you like the look or not 🙂

[s_in_houston]

On 10/15/2024 at 9:35 AM, PonyPlantedTanks said:

I wouldn’t worry too much. I have jungle Val in a 10g right now😂(yes I’m a rebel) and it’s taken months to get going. It still hasn’t gotten that tall or sent out hardly any runners. So I’d give yours a minute and once it starts taking off then you can decide whether you like the look or not 🙂

Yeah I’m not worried about anything taking over this tank. But all 4 of my new plants have melt on all leaves. Yeah I know “normal” but the months-long road ahead - in which I don’t like the look of my tank while I wait for the plants to “grow back” - makes me tempted cross over to the dark side aka CO2.