My Experiences with Plants in ARLC Tanks

[travis simonson]

I've been growing (or at least trying to grow) plants in my African Rift Lake Cichlid tank for about two years now. My tank is a high-light (3.5 wpg), CO2 supplemented, 125 gallon tank that contains strictly Malawian mbuna. I have a high fish load and heavy canister filtration, along with strong UV sterilization. The substrate is roughly 50% Eco-Complete Cichlid Sand and 50% Eco-Complete Planted Tank Substrate. What follows is a listing of the various plant species that I have tried growing in these conditions. I hope my experiences may help others who decide to try growing plants in similar conditions. I will try to keep this updated as I learn more. I would love to hear your experiences with plants in these conditions as well


Ferns

Bolbitis heudelotii
-Did not grow well; attracted black marl and withered in hard water

Ceratopteris siliquosa
-Grew extremely well in good light; one monster of a plant

Ceratopteris thalicroides
-Like C. siliquosa, grew incredibly well and became difficult to tame in good light

Marsilea drummondii
-Did well although it spread slowly which is typical of Marsilea spp.

Marsilea quadrifolia
-Did very well in hard water and required very little light

Microsorium pteropus 'Standard'
-Did very well; no problems at all

Microsorium pteropus 'Narrow'
-Does very well; seems to appreciate and thrive in high light/CO2 environment

Microsorium pteropus 'Needle'
-Doing well currently although growth is slow

Microsorium pteropus 'Windelov'
-Like M. pteropus 'Standard' and 'Narrow' does very well in hard water


Flowering plants

Alternanthera reineckii 'Sunset'
-Did not do well at all in hard water; leaves withered and died

Ammania sp. 'Bonsai' / Rotala indica
-Does quite well in hard water with good light and CO2; does best when left in one spot and not replanted often; takes well to pruning and replanting when necessary

Anubias barteri v barteri
-Did well; slow grower

Anubias barteri v nana
-I've had several plants in my tank for almost two years now and they grow slowly but steadily; they tend to attract some green algae in high light but PO4 levels of 1.0+ ppm moderate algal growth

Anubias barteri v nana 'petite'
-Does very well in hard water; I have a wall of these plants growing on porous piece of lace rock, climbing it like ivy

Aponogeton undulatus
-Does well in hard water; turns into a monster, like many Apos, and is not one of my favorites; will even bloom in an ARLC tank

Bacopa caroliniana
-Does well in hard water given proper light; hard to kill

Bacopa myriophylloides
-This is one tricky plant; looked great when planted as an emersed specimen and began to put out submerged growth but slowly withered and died

Blyxa japonica
-Would grow just fine in an ARLC tank except for the fact that mbuna seem to savor the taste of its leaves; if you can find a species of fish that won't eat it then you're in good shape

Cabomba furcata
-Did fairly well although did not seem to want to take on purple-red coloration that it does in softer water

Crassula helmsii
-Looked good when first planted but slowly withered away/melted; would like to try again

Crinum calamistratum
-Did well at first until it attracted a bit of algae because of its slow-growing nature in hard water; algae attracted Africans; end of story; would like to try again

Cryptocoryne affinis
-Loves ARLC water conditions; next to C. wendtii, the easiest Crypt I've found to grow in an ARLC tank

Cryptocoryne cordata v blassii
-Tricky and a very slow grower in ARLC conditions; I've kept one in my ARLC tank for over a year now and it has never show any inclination to put out more than a half-dozen leaves at any given time

Cryptocoryne crispatula v balanciaga
-A beautiful Crypt that simply won't grow fast enough in hard water although it has a beautiful bronze hammered/bullate leaf texture; best kept in softer conditions

Cryptocoryne cris

 

[travis simonson]

Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosa Nervig'
-Grows quite nicely in hard water given plenty of light; CO2 helps as well; leaves still take on the characteristic "pink with white venation" look at the tips

Lagenandra thwaitesii
-Withered and died; did not seem to do well in hard water but I would like to try again

Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
-Grew well and took on rich green submersed coloration like a grass yard but eventually attracted algae and slowly shrunk until I had to remove; might work well in the right conditions but requires tons of maintainence to make it look good; will try again when I have more time

Limnophila aromatica
-Loves hard water and grows quite well with characteristic purple-red leaf coloration; fast, healthy growth

Limnophila sessiliflora
-Very healthy and fast vertical growth; hard to keep up with; nice bright green accent

Lobelia cardinalis 'small form'
-Healthy but slow, low growth; does better in softer water

Ludwigia brevipes
-Grows quite well in hard water; branches and propagates readily

Ludwigia glandulosa
-I love this plant but it grows so slowly in hard (or soft) water; the coloration is an unreal deep wine-red; easily my favorite Ludwigia species; will be trying again soon

Ludwigia inclinata var verticellata 'Pantanal'
-Melted like an ice cube; definitely a soft water plant

Ludwigia ovalis
-Grows quite well in hard water; did not get the pretty salmon-pink coloration quite as well as it does in softer water

Ludwigia repens
-Grows vibrantly in hard water; lower stems will lose leaves without sufficient light

Ludwigia repens 'Rubin'
-Like its standard cousin, grows very well in hard water; upper leaves near light turn a brilliant blood red; highly recommended for ARLC tanks

Mayaca fluviatilis
-Slow growth compared to soft water but the tips still got the nice frosted white look until they attracted algae and became lunch for my mbuna; would like to try again

Mayaca sellowiana
-This is one of my favorite plants when healthy but, alas, I can't seem to keep it healthy in any tank conditions; attracts algae and stunts in hard water; eaten by mbuna once it gets algae

Micranthemum umbrosum
-Beautiful bright yellow-green growth in hard water with lots of light and CO2; lower stems tend to become brittle and rot more quickly than they do in softer water so it requires more frequent replanting, but is still one of my all-time favorite plants

Myriophyllum hippuroides
-This is one fast-growing, bushy, green plant; requires plenty of light lower stems will rot; will readily produce offshoots if allowed to bend across top of water; great background plant

Myriophyllum matogrossense 'Green'
-Does extremely well in most water conditions; brilliant green foliage and medium-height growth makes it a great mid- to background plant; needs plenty of light

Myriophyllum tuberculatum 'Red'
-Sparse foliage and somewhat slow growth in hard water, but has a nice brown-red coloration; I wish it would grow faster and thicker; does better in softer water

Nesaea sp 'Red'
-I cannot grow this plant under any conditions; would like to talk to someone who has

Nuphar japonicum var Formosa
-Slow growing lily that turns into a monster given time; it does very well in hard water and has brilliant orange-gold leaves; does not put up floating leaves readily like the Nymphaea genus; highly recommended if you have a big tank and don't mind the plants below it getting shaded

Nymphoides aquatica
-Will grow anywhere; typical banana plant

Pogostemon helferi
-Does very well in hard water; in my 50% carbonate-based substrate it takes on a richer, darker green coloration than it does in my softer water, Flourite-based substrate grow-out tank; beware, Africans seem to like nibbling on the new growth so they need to be fed well to be kept away from it

Pogostemon (Eusteralis) stellata 'Broad-leaf'
-Grows amazingly well in ARLC tanks; will lose lower leaves without sufficient light; does not seem to mind hard water at all; brilliant color as it approaches the surface

Pogostemon (Eusteralis) stellata 'Narrow-leaf'
-Grows well in ARLC conditions, sometimes; I still haven't figured this one out; requires as much light as you can give it; tends to stunt for no good reason, even when it appears to be in perfect health; still working on this one

Polygonum sp
-I've tried several mystery Polygonum species and they've all done quite well in my hard water, although the species is not one of my favorites - sort of boring in my opinion

Potamogeton gayi
-Very interesting plant that does well in hard water; nice bronze-green leaf coloration with quick, vibrant growth; tricky to use in an aquascape because of its unique growth habits, but I'm working on it

Ranalisma humile
-Very similar to E. tenellus bet smaller and with a reddish tinge to the new growth; growth is fairly slow compared to E. tenellus and it requires good light and CO2

Ranunculus papulentus
-A very interesting runner plant with little fringed leaves that does amazingly well in ARLC conditions; it does grow faster in softer water, and the leaves tend to live a bit longer, but it does quite well in my ARLC tank

Rotala macrandra 'Red'
-Slow to establish from emersed growth specimens with about a 50% mortality rate; survivors tend to do fairly well although leaves are not as lush and growth seems a bit stunted compared to soft water-grown specimens; once acclimated it does fairly well

Rotala macrandra 'Variegated'
-Almost identical to R. macrandra 'Red'; beautiful pink leaf coloration with faint white venation

Rotala rotundifolia 'Colorata'
-Grows very well in hard water but tends to be sort of 'tangly'; I wish it would grow straighter because the leaf coloration is truly amazing, ranging from greent to yellow, orange, pink, red and every shade in between; still working on this one

Rotala rotundifolia 'Green'
-Extremely vibrant growth with amazing coloration on the growth tips as they approach the light; this is one of my favorite plants because it is so amenable to trimming and sculpting and has a very regular growth habit

Rotala wallichii
-Very fragile in hard water; does not seem to like it at all; not recommended

Sagittaria subulata
-Grows like wild but leaves tend to wither and die quite quickly; sort of messy; not one of my favorites

Sagittaria weatherbiana
-Like S. subulata on steroids and growth hormones; I really like the leaf shape of this plant; grows well, even
in medium light

Vallisneria spp.
-Lasts no longer than 24 hours when placed into my tank; I've never found a plant that my Africans enjoy eating more than Vallisneria; not recommended, buy your mileage may vary


Liverworts

Monoselenium tenerum (Pellia)
-Grows well; left alone by fish; still ugly

Riccia fluitans
-Grows very well; left alone by fish unless it attracts hair algae, in which case they will dig in it

Riccia species 'Dwarf'
-Grows in low tufts; tends to attract hair algae, and thus mbuna


Mosses
-None of them will grow in my tank because my Africans take perverse pleasure in shredding them and scattering them to the four winds


Quillworts

Isoetes japonica
-Grew poorly and slowly; attracted the dreaded black marl from the hard water; does very well in my softer water grow-out tank; great bright green quill-like leaves

 

[czcz]

Dude...

 

[Jchillin]

Man, what a thorough and informative post. As you are aware, no one believed any plant could survive being in an ARLC tank and that was indeed a service in itself.

 

[travis simonson]

Thanks guys

I don't want people to think that this post deals only with plants in ARLC conditions. Many people have water that is very similar out of the tap and I want to help them out with the types of plants that they can keep. An amazing variety of plants that one would not expect can be kept in hard water. A little CO2 never hurts though

 

[greenmaji]

Exellent post Travis..

(ummm STICKY!!!!!!) ROFL

 

[sherry]

Wow!!!!