Advanced aquarium plants

High light is on almost every profile here. Most of these plants list CO2 as required rather than beneficial, and it has to be injected and held steady. A plant that gets 30 milligrams per liter one day and 10 the next melts. Soft water: most of the stems and rosettes want a low carbonate hardness over an acidic nutrient substrate, which means reverse osmosis water for most keepers. And dosing that never skips a day, lean or rich depending on the plant, but consistent. The exceptions list CO2 as beneficial and are hard for reasons of their own. They are the cool-water lace plants, the collector crypts, the Bolbitis heteroclita fern and the Fissidens nobilis moss. The brookweed, water hedge, Horemanii sword, Ludwigia sphaerocarpa, Littorella uniflora, giant cabomba, UG and whorled pennywort complete the list. The brookweed also tolerates hard water.

1. 01

   High light

   Nearly every plant here lists it

2. 02

   CO2 required

   Most plants here list it, injected and held steady

3. 03

   Soft water

   Low carbonate hardness over an acidic substrate

4. 04

   Daily dosing

   Lean or rich, but never skipped

The UG, Utricularia graminifolia, is a 1.6 inch (4 cm) carpet that wants medium light and soft water, and CO2 helps. It melts if planted in a new tank instead of a mature one. The waterwort is a 2 inch (5 cm) nano carpet that needs steady CO2 to keep going. The whorled pennywort grows fast out of water and at a moderate pace in it. It reaches 3.9 inches (10 cm), with round leaves that need bright light to stay compact. The Littorella uniflora is a slow, no-trim lawn at 2 inches (5 cm) for a clean, bright tank. The Eriocaulon buergerianum is a foreground rosette and the Eriocaulon Vietnam a midground one, both for soft, acidic water with a nutrient substrate.

The Ludwigia Pantanal is one of the most demanding stems in the hobby, 15.7 inches (40 cm) of red that needs high light, CO2 and water under 3 degrees of carbonate hardness. The rotala wallichii carries fine needle leaves at 11.8 inches (30 cm) and wants CO2 around 25 to 30 parts per million. The Ammannia senegalensis turns copper and red only under intense light, at 17.7 inches (45 cm). The red cabomba wants warm, soft, acidic water at 75 to 82°F (24 to 28°C). The Nesaea pedicellata Golden grows yellow-gold leaves on red stems under bright light. The Ludwigia glandulosa is the slow one, 15.7 inches (40 cm) of deep red that stalls the moment the CO2 does.

The Syngonanthus Belem is a 7.9 inch (20 cm) stem for water with a general and carbonate hardness under 5 over an acidic substrate. The Blyxa aubertii is a 15.7 inch (40 cm) rosette that wants bright light, CO2 and steady iron. The Pogostemon stellatus is a 23.6 inch (60 cm) background showpiece that needs nitrate, phosphate and iron dosed without a break. The Cuphea anagalloidea is a small red stem at 11.8 inches (30 cm) for a pH from 4.5 to 7. The Eriocaulon setaceum is a feathery stem for very soft, acidic water. The giant cabomba is marked difficult like the red cabomba, and it grows to 31.5 inches (80 cm). It wants the low carbonate hardness the common green one shrugs off.

Henkel's lace plant is a bulb for 64 to 75°F (18 to 24°C), and anything warmer melts the leaves. The Horemanii sword is a collector's sword at 19.7 inches (50 cm) that wants cool, soft water and a mature tank. The brookweed grows slowly underwater at 5.9 inches (15 cm) and needs water below 79°F (26°C). The Bolbitis heteroclita is a fern that is mostly an emersed plant, happiest in a paludarium. It sulks fully submerged, especially in hard or alkaline water. It is marked low light, and underwater it wants gentle light and soft water. The Fissidens nobilis is a moss marked difficult for its slowness and its dislike of dirt, tied in a thin layer to rock. The needle leaf bacopa is fine-leaved and light-hungry, for clean, soft, acidic water.