Favorite Plant Types

[fish_4_all]

Since they appear in a lot of different posts, I thought it might be a good idea to collect them all in one place. Please help build this list to help fellow aquarists make better plant decisions. Add a category if you can think of one. Maybe we can get this as a sticky or someone, maybe me, will write an article for here once we have enough replies.

Fastest Grower:
Easiest to Grow:
Hardest to Grow:
Slowest Grower:
Best for fighting algae:
Hardest to Kill:
Easiest to Kill:
Best Red:
Best Color:
Best ground cover:
Best floating:
Best fry protector:
Most annoying:

Overall top 3 favorite plants:

Overall top 3 hated plants:

 

[azn_fishy55]

Fastest Grower:Hygrophila polysperma
Easiest to Grow:Any type of aquatic moss
Hardest to Grow:Tonina sp. "Belem"
Slowest Grower:Eriocaulon setaceum
Best for Fighting Algae:Ceratopteris thaillithrodes(Watersprite)
Hardest to Kill:Anubias Petite Nana
Easiest to Kill:Eriocaulon setaceum
Best Red:Ludwigia sp."Guinea"
Best Color:Ludwigiasp."Guinea"
Best ground cover:Hemiacanthus callithrodes
Best floating:Amazon Frogbit
Best Fry Protector:Riccia flutians
Most Annoying:duck weed

 

[newfound77951]

awesome thread idea! I'm not experienced enough with plants to really give answers but this will be super for plant newbies like me.

Reply! Reply! Reply!

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Fastest Grower: Hygro Polysperma
Easiest to Grow: Anubias (any kind)
Hardest to Grow: Rotala Macranda (smaller plants wouldn't grow for me)
Slowest Grower: Java Fern
Best for fighting algae: ?? (haven't witnessed a plant eating algae yet)
Hardest to Kill: Anubias
Easiest to Kill: Haven't tried, they all die when taken out of water..
Best Red: I liked the pics of Rotala Macranda
Best Color: Crypt Becketti (very beautiful brown)
Best ground cover: Hemianthus callitrichoides "cuba"
Best floating: Hemianthus callitrichoides "cuba" (not officially a floating plant, but does well)
Best fry protector: Haven't had fry, but I hear Java Moss is great
Most annoying: Hygro Polysperma (unpredictable growth that is very fast)

 

[Zezmo]

Interesting question... I had not thought down these lines before. Having to answer the questions gets you thinking.

Fastest Grower: Ludwigia Repens
Easiest to Grow: Rotala “Indica”
Hardest to Grow: Eriocaulon Mato Grosso
Slowest Grower: Cryptocoryne Parva
Best for fighting algae: Proper non-limiting fertilization
Hardest to Kill: Duckweed
Easiest to Kill: most Eriocaulon sp.
Best Red: Alternanthera Reineckii V Cardinalis
Best Color: Echinodorus “Indian Summer”
Best ground cover: Elatine Triandra
Best floating: Nymphaea Micrantha
Best fry protector: Thick groves of fine stem plants on the surface.
Most annoying: Crypts that melt

Overall top 3 favorite plants:
Echinodorus “Ozelot”
Echinodorus “Marble Queen”
Nymphaea Micrantha


Overall top 3 hated plants:
Anacharis
Duckweed
Algae

 

[mr funktastic]

i am going to have to agree with wizzard and azn fishy about the hygro polysperma. i will make a larger list later on down the road once i start building up my own plants and actually try enough different ones to comment. great idea though

 

[Fishy_Fishy]

Great post~~~ more ppl reply plz~~~

I'm totally newbie to the plants.. but I sure hate algea.

 

[sherry]

Fastest Grower: any cabomba
Easiest to Grow: ludwiga repens

Hardest to Grow: rotala macrandra, still can't get it right, ludwiga inclinata
Slowest Grower: annubias
Hardest to Kill: Duckweed
Easiest to Kill: ?
Best Red: rotala macrandra and ludwiga glandulosa.. different colors, both great
Best Color: ditto best red
Best ground cover: Elatine Triandra -- I'll second that one for the EASIEST ground cover
Best floating:
Most annoying: rotala macrandar when it starts to come in gorgeous than stunts.

 

[czcz]

Fastest Grower: favorite is R. rotundifolia
Easiest to Grow: L. repens
Hardest to Grow: Eriocaulonaceae - Tonina, Eriocaulon sp.
Slowest Grower: Rotala sp. from "Goias"
Best for fighting algae: H. polysperma variants
Hardest to Kill: Anubias sp.
Easiest to Kill: Eriocaulonaceae - Tonina, Eriocaulon sp.
Best Red: R. macrandra "narrow-leaf"
Best Color: P. stellata "fine leaf"
Best ground cover: ET
Best floating: Phyllanthus fluitans - aka "Red root floater"
Best fry protector: Java moss
Most annoying: P. stellata "fine leaf" stunting for no apparent reason

Overall top 3 favorite plants:
Pogostemon helferi - aka "Downoi" - just a sweet plant.
P. stellata "fine leaf" - headache, but its like an old friend
R. rotundifolia - like a good teacher and big saftey net. Regularly surprised by how different it looks across set-ups.

Overall top 3 hated plants:
Riccia (messy, pita)
P. stellata "fine leaf" - love/hate
Hornwort

 

[7Enigma]

Wizzard~Of~Ozz,

The watersprite is apparently one of the few plants thought to release algicides into the water that inhibit the growth/reproduction of algae. I've read this on several sites, but have never had any actual experience with it. None of my local stores seem to have any of this, but I've been thinking of getting a clipping or so from someone in the plantXchange section. It's worth a shot to keep a small amount of this somewhere in the tank if it does indeed have any anti-algae properties!

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I ws mainly joking around as there are no plants that eat algae. I haven't heard of any plant giving off "anti algicides", tho the concept may not be that far fetched. I doubt however that a plant will be any more efficient then we can be by keeping the nutrients and light in check. So the answer to the best for fighting algae would be nutrient control, if you have an abundance of Nitrate being produced then it could be hornwort, a deficiency in nitrate it could be anubias as that consumes very little. All in perspective I suppose.

 

[newfound77951]

I have some watersprite, both the floating and rooted types. I'm not sure if it gives off any allelochemicals that deter algae, but it does grow very fast and when I had major algae problems, it was one of the few plants that didn't have any algae on it at all.

I'd be happy to trade a piece of floating or rooted for something else...but we are getting off topic....

 

[7Enigma]

I gathered you were joking, just didn't know if you had heard or not about watersprite's supposed unique attribute. I'll see if I can dig up any factual info (for instance WHAT substance is actually being released by the plant) and report back.

I don't doubt that proper nutrient levels are the overall most important factor in a algae free (or mostly) tank, but if this would help to keep it down further, its all the better.

 

[fish_4_all]

Ok, let's add the following:

Easiest Ground Cover:
Lowest Ground Cover:
Biggest appetite (not for fish either) 8O
Fastest to reproduce actuall new plants: (not duckweed)

 

[7Enigma]

Wizzard~Of~Ozz,

All of the searching I did on watersprite came up negative on any unique properties, I think it might have been implied somewhere but I cannot find that. I think the reason it comes up so frequently is its ability to quickly absorb nutrients and out-compete the algae.

So it looks like its not so special after all, and wisteria or hygro is probably just as good.

 

[fish_4_all]

Barley Straw is the only plant, natural algecide I found. Everything else only protects itself. The straw kills it but all I could find was that it works for green water, not algae in the plants or glass. Might work might not.

Now get me those lists of plants

 

[AshleyXavier]

Wizzard~Of~Ozz,

The watersprite is apparently one of the few plants thought to release algicides into the water that inhibit the growth/reproduction of algae. I've read this on several sites, but have never had any actual experience with it. None of my local stores seem to have any of this, but I've been thinking of getting a clipping or so from someone in the plantXchange section. It's worth a shot to keep a small amount of this somewhere in the tank if it does indeed have any anti-algae properties!

I have water sprite and I do not see any algae killing properties since my algae are still growing at the usual slow pace. The only thing I can think of is if your tank have lotsa nutrients, nitrates, etc, the watersprite being a super fast grower simply outfights the algae for the nutrients.. thus either reducing or stopping the algae growth. =)