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I currently have two amazon swords. I am looking for some suggestions for a forground plant that is native to the amazon basin. Specifically black water or whitewater(brownwater). I need something that will spread noticably but still not so fast that it could fill the tank as I would like to keep open areas of just substrate. I have fairly low lighting as the fish I keep are not really fans of bright light. Any suggestions would be helpful.

"A fish swims through the sea, while the sea is in a certain sense contained within the fish."
-mewithoutYou

With low light it is going to be hard to grow the ground cover plants.

Start looking around on this site for plant ideas.
http://www.tropica.com/default.asp

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Thanks for that, Wingsdlc.

When I search for amazon though it only gives me two options. One is a smaller species related to the Amazon Sword, of which I already knew and have enough of.

The other option is a creeping moss (Vesicularia sp.) which I'm really interested in. The only problem is that most of the species are from Asia and not the Amazon. The few that are from the Amazon I can not find much (if any) information on. The only common names mentioned on the Tropica site is "Christmas Tree Moss" and "Amazon Willow Moss", but I think these are names for the whole Vesicularia genus rather than a specific species. Any more information on Amazon species of Vesicularia would be appreciated.

Also, I've tried the Brazilian Micro Sword (Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis), but the bunches kept uprooting and were very susceptible to hair algae which my busynose pleco seems to ignore completely and my Corydoras Panda seems only to like looking at. Any suggestions for removal of the algae or related replacement plants also found in the Amazon black/clear waters?

"A fish swims through the sea, while the sea is in a certain sense contained within the fish."
-mewithoutYou

Alright...

What size tank?
How much light?
Type of Gravel?
Ferts?
CO2?

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

20 tall
One tube for lighting (Hagen Life-Glo II)
Part Sand Part Medium Gravel (to mimic river bank)
Tetra FloraPride with every water change plus Hagen Plant Gro when the leaves begin to look thin (because of iron deficiency)
Only the CO2 that the fish respire (see below for list of fish) though I'm not opposed to adding a system.

I realize that lighting is probably one of the biggest setbacks, but considering that none of my fish like bright light I'm not really willing to increase the wattage.

6 Neon Tetras
1 Panda Cory
1 Bushynose Pleco
2 Cockatoo Apistos

Thanks.

"A fish swims through the sea, while the sea is in a certain sense contained within the fish."
-mewithoutYou

Hi,
You are fighting yourself with your desires vs the
capability of your system. With the "tall" tank
the water column will dispurse the light rays as they
travel through it which will leave less light available
for the plants at the gravel. Your light is a "glow"
light and not what you need for good growth and maximum
light for that wattage bulb. Virtually all of the plants
that one might use for foreground or ground cover are high
light plants and need 3+ watts/gallon.

You best bet, if you continue with that bulb would be to
stick with varieties of Swords or Crypts. The next best
idea would be to change the bulb to a Coral Sun or
something that has the words SUN or SUNLIGHT in its name.
That will be a higher "K" rating bulb and penetrate the
depths of the tank more intact. If you are concerned
about the fish, their shyness, and the light, the swords
will grow to provide the shade that will make them
comfortable.

Frank


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