Fast growing, nice, hardy plants

[Nortzy21]

Hello all! I recently set up a 20g planted tank and so far it only has a few plants. I have some guppies in there now and I want to eventually add some shrimp so I want a nicely planted, dense tank with lots of hiding spots for shrimp, fry, etc. As far as lighting I only have two 5000k CFLs but considering its only a 20g tank and I'm not looking for rapid growth, it should be fine. I'm also using API leaf zone and I have Eco complete as my substrate.

So please tell me what kinds of plants I can add under these conditions. Here is some of the plants I want...

Floating

Grasses (low growing substrate grasses)

Thick, bushy dense

Vertical growing plants (plants that grow more upward if u know what I mean)

Mosses

Quick growers

I'm only familiar with some of the more common plants so please be descriptive when making suggestions!

Here's some pics of the tank...It would be awesome if anybody could ID my current plants!

















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[KidFish]

I'm still pretty new to the identifying game but if I had to guess I'd say java fern, then wisteria, and then some Anubias (maybe Anubias nana?)

I like top water too, from my research there I think dwarf water lettuce is the best, duckweed can be too messy.

For vertical growers I like jungle val but I think it's an aquired taste. But I think you would like some crypts.
For grasses I'd go with dwarf Sagittarius I guess they don't need a ton of light!

I just got some plants in, super excited


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[Mattfinn]

First plant is a crypt, it will need root tabs every 2 months. Second is egeria or elodea/anarchis, it's fast growing great for fry, man leave it floating but can be planted.

I'd go with anubias, crypts, Java fern, hornwort, Java moss, wisteria, water milfoil is another one.

You'll need to dose ferts still liquid carbon is a good idea if you're not growing Vals, root tabs are a must for crypts and sword plants.

Most "grass" plants require high light a co2 injection. Dwarf sag or crypt parva are your best bet. You can do moss carpets which are cool.

 

[Coursair]

You need to separate out your Anacharis. Stem plants should be spaced out so the leaves don't quite touch. Otherwise the bottoms of the stems rot.

Floating ?
Amazon Frogbit

Stems ?
Ludwigia repens
Bacopa monnieri

Short grasses ?
Won't happen in a lowlight/non CO2 tank IMHO

Foreground plants?
Crypt Parva
Dwarf Sag

More Crypts !!
So many types. Grow well in low light.


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[Rpeinhardt]

Cabombas are fast (upward) growing, easy plants, too. In my co2 injected tank it adds nearly 2 inches in height a day.

Wisteria is fairly bushy and dense. Water sprite, too.

 

[KaylNeko]

You'll want to pull the anubias (the third one) out just enough from the substrate so the rhizome (the part the roots and the leaves come out of) isn't buried, just the roots. It can be tricky to get it buried enough it doesn't float away, but the rhizome doesn't do well if buried. Either that, or super glue it to a small rock or a piece of driftwood. Either works.


Wendtii crypt works for me. It would be more midground with low light than foreground as it seems to reach for the light, but it's hardy.

The vallisneria are nice, but prepare to trim regularly if you go with them. V. spiralis and corkscrew vals are easy. Maybe amazon sword? Java fern is good too. And another vote for crypts.

I like anubias a lot. They have some that grow tall, some that are tall and huge, some that stay smaller. I'll group three or four anubias Nana or slightly larger together and it looks like a dense woodland. Very neat.

Pennywort is a nice floater. Hornwort is a nitrate sink, sucks them up, but you get shed needles to deal with. It too is a floater.