What Plants/supplies would I need for a Tank to Look Like This?

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Anonymous Fox

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ignore my bad drawing. The brown thing is not poop, it's driftwood.
My plan for a one-gender 10-gallon tank:

I think I've got it down?

Hornwort
Duckweed
Jungle (I think it's called that..?)
Coco fiber mat
Water lettuce
Some type of driftwood?
 
View attachment 147831ignore my bad drawing. The brown thing is not poop, it's driftwood.
My plan for a one-gender 10-gallon tank:

I think I've got it down?

Hornwort
Duckweed
Jungle (I think it's called that..?)
Coco fiber mat
Water lettuce
Some type of driftwood?
Very hard to know exactly what you mean by your drawing.

Most carpeting plants are very hard to do in a tank that small, especially without CO2. Dwarf Hairgrass does grow rather well, so you may want to try that.

Jungle Val’s looks like what you have off to the right side, and they grow pretty fast with root tabs.

I would only recommend one floating plant, just so the other doesn’t choke it out.
 
The brown thing is not poop, it's driftwood.
Well, that's a relief to hear. :lol: To get a tank to look like that, I'd say you need some crayons and a big piece of green construction paper.

OK, OK, enough kidding around. I'm not sure what you mean by a one-gender tank. Male-only livebearers, something like that?

Floaters could be duckweed (grows well; annoying as bleep if you have an HOB filter, though), frogbit (my go-to), water lettuce. Check out Salvinia natans, too. My current favorite floater. Really, really pretty.

For the spikey thing on the right: Jungle val, maybe? But it gets very large for a ten gallon. And I've never been able to get the stuff to grow. I would recommend a big clump of Cryptocoryne balansae, maybe. Or one of the smaller sword varieties. (don't use regular amazon sword, as it will grow to fill the entire tank, eventually)

That little emergent plant in the middle? That could be a dwarf lily (Nymphea stellata). Keep it trimmed down to 3-4 leaves on the survace so it doesn't take over.

On the left: Hornwort grows best as a floater. But how about a big clump of crystalwort, weighted with a stone to keep it down? Or a clump of smaller crypts, maybe parva or wendtii.

All the rooted plants I've mentioned like a good, deep substrate. I usually do 1" of organic (no added fertilizers!) potting soil under 2" of sand. If you're doing lilies or floating plants, you want a low-flow filter, maybe just a sponge filter. If you keep your stocking small, you could plant densely, put in a very small pump or powerhead to circulate the water, and dispense with the filter all together.

Hope that helps!
 
all vallisneria are best left for long tanks with over 2 feet height, so they can grow to almost their full length without overtaking the whole aquarium
also I recommend to first look around online and at your LFS for driftwood before deciding on its shape
 
View attachment 147831ignore my bad drawing. The brown thing is not poop, it's driftwood.
My plan for a one-gender 10-gallon tank:

I think I've got it down?

Hornwort
Duckweed
Jungle (I think it's called that..?)
Coco fiber mat
Water lettuce
Some type of driftwood?
I love your drawing! 😅 makes total sense to me!
 
My plan for a one-gender 10-gallon tank:
What does this mean?
View attachment 147831ignore my bad drawing. The brown thing is not poop, it's driftwood.
My plan for a one-gender 10-gallon tank:

I think I've got it down?

Hornwort
Duckweed
Jungle (I think it's called that..?)
Coco fiber mat
Water lettuce
Some type of driftwood?
Ok let’s see. What is the coco fiber mat for?

it looks like you want floating plants, carpeting plants, and some different plants to fill that center space, as well as a neat piece of driftwood.

For floating plants I would do frog bit, salivinia, or red root floaters. Duckweed is a pain according to everyone else Lol.

For those plants you want to cover the bottom with, I would do dwarf sag, dwarf hairgrass, or dwarf Pennywort. Your Fish Stuff has good prices on dwarf Pennywort, discus.com has good prices on dwarf hairgrass.

For those center space filling plants I would look into getting one large Anubias or small Sword, some Ludwigia, anacharis, Italian valisnarias, and a banana plant or dwarf aquarium Lily.

What kind of lighting do you plan to have? What is your planned stock?

For driftwood, mopani if you want a big, thick chunk. If you want a branch I recommend manzanita.
 
Very hard to know exactly what you mean by your drawing.

Most carpeting plants are very hard to do in a tank that small, especially without CO2. Dwarf Hairgrass does grow rather well, so you may want to try that.

Jungle Val’s looks like what you have off to the right side, and they grow pretty fast with root tabs.

I would only recommend one floating plant, just so the other doesn’t choke it out.
if you dont let it get out of hand i suspect you can use hydrocoytle tripartita as carpet...
 
if you dont let it get out of hand i suspect you can use hydrocoytle tripartita as carpet...
Marsilia (clover fern) is a really good one, too. It takes a while to change to its submerged form, but once it does it stays under an inch tall and spreads like crazy. It's what I have in my Sumatra tank, if you want to see what it looks like. I'm really impressed with this stuff.

Another bushy plant (also in my Sumatra tank) that's really good, and almost unknown, is paddy herb (Limnophila aromatica). It is super easy to grown and looks really, really cool. And it's edible, if you're feeling extremely adventurous! :lol: I don't know why this plant isn't more well known.
 
all vallisneria are best left for long tanks with over 2 feet height, so they can grow to almost their full length without overtaking the whole aquarium
also I recommend to first look around online and at your LFS for driftwood before deciding on its shape
Are you joking? that stuff never stops growing. In my 120 i have leave over 8 FEET long and it just keeps growing. In my 29 I have stuff over 6 feet long (jungle val in 120 italia val in 29); it never stops growing; even if cut it - it keeps on growing. I don't think the size of the aquarium matters you are just going to have to trim it to meet your desired target.

Having said that there are other plants that don't grow quite so fast nor so unlimited that might meet your need. Some of the smaller sword plants - though they will have a different look - some of the medium tall crypts - though they will have a different look - and one particularly interesting plant that has almost exactly the look you want xyris.
 
if you dont let it get out of hand i suspect you can use hydrocoytle tripartita as carpet...
😭 hydrocotyle refuses to grow in my tank! No fair! Out of hand?!
 
😭 hydrocotyle refuses to grow in my tank! No fair! Out of hand?!
oh yeah when all the leaves die, DO NOT
Well, that's a relief to hear. :lol: To get a tank to look like that, I'd say you need some crayons and a big piece of green construction paper.

OK, OK, enough kidding around. I'm not sure what you mean by a one-gender tank. Male-only livebearers, something like that?

Floaters could be duckweed (grows well; annoying as bleep if you have an HOB filter, though), frogbit (my go-to), water lettuce. Check out Salvinia natans, too. My current favorite floater. Really, really pretty.

For the spikey thing on the right: Jungle val, maybe? But it gets very large for a ten gallon. And I've never been able to get the stuff to grow. I would recommend a big clump of Cryptocoryne balansae, maybe. Or one of the smaller sword varieties. (don't use regular amazon sword, as it will grow to fill the entire tank, eventually)

That little emergent plant in the middle? That could be a dwarf lily (Nymphea stellata). Keep it trimmed down to 3-4 leaves on the survace so it doesn't take over.

On the left: Hornwort grows best as a floater. But how about a big clump of crystalwort, weighted with a stone to keep it down? Or a clump of smaller crypts, maybe parva or wendtii.

All the rooted plants I've mentioned like a good, deep substrate. I usually do 1" of organic (no added fertilizers!) potting soil under 2" of sand. If you're doing lilies or floating plants, you want a low-flow filter, maybe just a sponge filter. If you keep your stocking small, you could plant densely, put in a very small pump or powerhead to circulate the water, and dispense with the filter all together.

Hope that helps!
the plant in the middle could be Melon Sword?
iu
 
😭 hydrocotyle refuses to grow in my tank! No fair! Out of hand?!
i have a tip: when you get one, it is most likely emersed, if all the leaves die, dont throw it out, it will grow from the stems, that is what happened to mine, it is a happy little grape vine now
 
i have a tip: when you get one, it is most likely emersed, if all the leaves die, dont throw it out, it will grow from the stems, that is what happened to mine, it is a happy little grape vine now
20211105_141713.jpg

This is what mine looks like
 

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