[Akeath]

I'm looking for a foreground plant for my 10 gallon that has a color besides green in it - red, bronze, pink, yellow, etc. Could anyone recommend one that would get that coloring with my lighting?

10 Gallons
2 Zoomed Ultrasun Daylight Compact Fluorescents (6500 Kelvin 10 watts each)
Eco-Complete Substrate
Excel for CO2, Aqueon Plant Food for general fertilizer once a week, and Seachem Iron.

 

[Byron]

This might be a bit tricky, partly because of the small tank size, as I am assuming by foreground you may want something fairly small? If not, there are crypts. Mosses would work well, but they of course are dark green. Dried leaves, like oak, would add some brown just on the substrate.
Byron.

 

[JDM]

These are a dwarf lily. While not technically a foreground plant they are green with some dark red highlights (my tannins give everything a yellow hue) and grow from a bulb on long stems (eventually). The plant on the picture is about four inches across. I thought the leaves would be bigger but I am glad they are not. I also thought that the stems would grow faster, but they are not, which has the leaves about four inches off the substrate so far. Later as they do grow tall you can nip off the long stems to leave the shorter ones grow. Mine is ready to split into two plants now as one of the stems has produced a node and roots.

I've not tried any foreground plants other than some small crypts, brown, sand and green leaved ones. If you want something really small... most is green and needs high light, at least anything I've sort of looked at.

Jeff

 

[ao]

technically you could carpet with a species of red stem plant... but it is unlikely that it will be red due to the lack of lighting at the subtrate level.

 

[Akeath]

I actually already have a Dwarf Lily. Its my favorite plant in there, and my Betta absolutely loves it, but its gotten rather big in my tank.
See, it is in the front on the side.


About how large would Crypts get?
And how could I try and make a stem plant carpet?

 

[JDM]

This is a picture of my crypt corner, the dark side of my tank. The pen is for reference and the whole shot is near 15" across on the tank.

Jeff.

 

[JDM]

Nice looking setup. Maybe a couple of rocks for accent pieces instead of foreground plants would help for what you are looking for... Something to break up the bottom... make a cave or even just something to plant around or attach java moss to.

Jeff.

 

[Akeath]

I have a slate cave on the other side of the tank already. The plant doesn't have to be an absolute crawler, but the way the tank is set up now all I have are midground and foreground plants, and it looks a bit odd. I think it will look even odder when the plants have all reached their full heights. I'm trying to keep hardscapes to a minimum, the only reason I made that cave is because I think Bettas should have at least 1. I'd like the tank to mostly be plants.

Would Hygrophila species 'Araguaia' or alternanthera reineckii 'mini' work, or would they be too large for a 10 gallon foreground?

 

[Deanna01]

You might look up Hygrophila corymbosa. It will get reddish under high light.

EDIT: The site I was looking at has it listed as a foreground plant, but the article here has it listed as a background plant.

 

[Byron]

You might look up Hygrophila corymbosa. It will get reddish under high light.

EDIT: The site I was looking at has it listed as a foreground plant, but the article here has it listed as a background plant.

H. corymbosa grows very, very fast under good light and with sufficient nutrients. In the foreground you would be pulling it up and trimming the tops to replant every day or so.:lol: