I can only tell you how my breeding tank is set up. My tanks are set with plastic plants. same would hold true with live plants. Heavy dense planting 3 to 4 inches off the bottom. heavy to med plants that are mid way tank. clumps of anacharis so it grows and strings a cross the top. floating duck weed is good to. With breeding you are preventing the parents and other fish of the same sp. from getting at the babies. That's why you need plants that the parents cant penetrate that only the babies can get into. That's why I use Plastic. I need to make a thread difference between breeding fish and just having fish to have babies.