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Other than crypts are there any red red-green plants that do well in low to medium lighting?

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Generally speaking, with most red plants the red coloration is a defnse reaction to light that is "too" bright - hence the need for bright light to keep these. Some are just very light demanding irregardless of the color.

So while there are some that will grow in moderate light they will usually grow out green, kind of defeating the purpose.

One notable exception is Reineckii (Scarlet Temple). The reason being is that the red color is actually on the underside of the leaf, the top is a dull olive color. Lickily it has the very helpful habit of growing it's leaves pointing upwards showing off the bright undersides. This plant would do very well in 2 wpg upwards.

Other are Sunset Hygro and Rotala Indica. Both of these will do well in moderate light but again are likely to grow out green except those leaves right at the top near the surface.

Red Tiger Lotus does well in moderate to low light. It's a darker red.

Red Rubin Sword should do ok in moderate light. The Narrow Leaf variety is a beautiful plant.

There's also a red variety of Java Fern would you believe. The only place I know sells it for sure is Tropica. Although some other online retailers may stock it.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Go on over to your local Walmart or pet store and find the packages of dwarf lily bulbs. They're rather red/pink under higher light, but become this really rich red/green/brown under lower light. I have one in my 12 gallon (same footprint as a 10, just a bit taller) and it's a gorgeous plant.

I've found putting more than one in a tank doesn't seem to agree, though. The leaves were pale pink and nearly transparent... as soon as I separated them, they started doing better. *shrugs*

This isn't the best picture in the world (was attempting to ID the plant in front of it), but you can see the colors of the lily. It's currently in the midst of sending up lily pads. I really quite like this plant.



Edit: Oh... right... There's a simple 15 watt fluourescent over the tank, and it's two or three inches taller than a ten gallon, whatever that figures out to be... definitely rather low light.

Last edited by Kitten at 10-Apr-2005 21:58[/font]

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Additional feedback on bensafs post.... Reineckii, I've seen it as red temple @aquarium center, does fine on 2-2.5wpg. Rotala indica does grow somewhat pink in the same wattage, but loses it on the lower leaves. Both of them appreaciate CO2 even in a lower light tank....my indica has been the only thing growing (out growing the wisteria @that ).

^_^



[hr width='40%']"I'm alright, I'm alright
It only hurts when I breathe"

Rotala indica does grow somewhat pink in the same wattage, but loses it on the lower leaves.

I'll be honest, Indica is one of my favorite plants. But it can be a bit of a pain in the you know what.

It does lose it's bottom leaves easily. Really it's the top half of the plant that is really beautiful. It grows fast so I usually have to pull it up weekly and throw out the scraggly bottoms. It's also very thin so you need a lot to make any kind of statement which just makes it more difficult to get light to the bottom. It also doesn't like a lot of Nitrates, more then 5ppm and it can show as ugly markings on the leaves, so it's a struggle to keep that balanced with other plants requirements.

So overall it's easy to grow but a bit of pain to keep looking good - BUT for me it's worth the effort. It's the perfect plant for covering the area in my tank that I want covered, I've tried others but nothing looks as good as the Indica so I put up with it.

The Reineckii on the other hand couldn't be easier. It's actually very slow growing so needs practically no maintenance. A trim every 6 weeks or so. Throws out side shoots happily so will get bushy in time. No demands. The only thing to watch out for is that the older leaves can get a coating of green spot algae. Some Ottos will keep this cleaned up and any leaves effected can be trimmed off. Not a major issue. Very highly reccomended. Because of the leave shape looks the way it does looks best poking out of some shorter green plants - like a flower.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.