TankBud

Advanced aquarium plants

These plants are rated difficult in our catalog: carpets that melt without CO2, red stems that fade under weak light, and delicate species like Madagascar lace. They suit a tank where light, CO2 and fertilizing are already dialed in. Profiles list what each one demands.

At a glance

Height
1.2–31.5 in
1.2 in (3 cm) to 31.5 in (80 cm); half the list stays at 11.8 in (30 cm) or under
Temperature
68–82°F
20–28°C, most of the list
Light
4 low light
3 medium light · 51 high light
CO₂
11 CO₂ beneficial
47 CO₂ required
Growth
22 slow growing
22 medium growth · 14 fast growing

53 plants and 5 varieties

Start here

What difficult means for a plant

The dwarf baby tears is the carpet everyone wants and the one that melts without high light, injected CO2 and a pH from 5 to 7. The rotala macrandra is the red stem that needs the same, plus soft water, to hold its color at 19.7 inches (50 cm). The Madagascar lace wants the opposite of a tropical tank: 64–75°F (18–24°C), cool enough that most heated tanks kill it. The tonina fluviatilis needs soft water with a carbonate hardness of 4 or less, or its growing tips stall. The Eriocaulon cinereum is a 3.1 inch (8 cm) rosette that feeds through its roots and needs a deep nutrient substrate. The glosso is a classic carpet at 1.6 inches (4 cm) that grows upward instead of across the moment the light drops.

The rule

What every plant on this page asks for

High light is on almost every profile here. Injected CO2, listed as required rather than beneficial, and held steady, because 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, the cool-water bulbs and the ferns, are hard for reasons of their own.

  1. 01

    High light

    Nearly every plant here lists it

  2. 02

    CO2 required

    Injected, and held steady every day

  3. 03

    Soft water

    Low carbonate hardness over an acidic substrate

  4. 04

    Daily dosing

    Lean or rich, but never skipped

Carpets

Carpets that need everything

The UG, Utricularia graminifolia, is a 1.6 inch (4 cm) carpet that wants high light, CO2 and soft water in a mature tank, and melts if planted in a new 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 slowly in it, 3.9 inches (10 cm) of 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 and the Eriocaulon Vietnam are foreground rosettes for soft, acidic water with a nutrient substrate.

Red stems

The red stems that go green without light

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 75–82°F (24–28°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.

Collectors

The softwater collectors

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 the demanding cabomba at 31.5 inches (80 cm), and it wants the low carbonate hardness the common green one shrugs off.

Cool and odd

Cool water and the ones that hate being submerged

Henkel's lace plant is a bulb for 64–73°F (18–23°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, and it sulks fully submerged in low light. 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.

By the numbers

Smallest

  1. 01

    Eriocaulon Sulawesi

    Eriocaulon sp. 'Sulawesi'

    1.2 in (3 cm)
  2. 02

    Centrolepis Blood Vomit

    Centrolepis drummondiana 'Blood Vomit'

    1.6 in (4 cm)
  3. 03
    Fissidens nobilis (Fissidens nobilis)

    Fissidens nobilis

    1.6 in (4 cm)
  4. 04
    Glosso (Glossostigma elatinoides)

    Glosso

    Glossostigma elatinoides

    1.6 in (4 cm)

Tallest

  1. 01
    Giant cabomba (Cabomba aquatica)

    Giant cabomba

    Cabomba aquatica

    31.5 in (80 cm)
  2. 02
    Madagascar lace (Aponogeton madagascariensis)

    Madagascar lace

    Aponogeton madagascariensis

    23.6 in (60 cm)
  3. 03
    Pogostemon stellatus (Pogostemon stellatus)

    Pogostemon stellatus

    23.6 in (60 cm)
  4. 04

    Pogostemon stellatus Broad Leaf

    Pogostemon stellatus 'Broad Leaf'

    23.6 in (60 cm)

Low light

Fast growers

FAQ

Common questions

What makes an aquarium plant difficult?

Light, CO2 and water. Nearly every plant here lists high light and CO2 as required, most want soft water, and a few want cool water or a paludarium. The profile says which.

Can I grow dwarf baby tears without CO2?

Not as a carpet. The profile lists CO2 as required and high light with it. Without both it grows upward, uproots and melts.

Why do my red plants turn green?

The light is too low or the CO2 is unstable. Red pigment needs intense light to form, and many of these stems color best when nitrate runs lean and iron does not.

What is soft water for plants?

Low general and carbonate hardness, usually under 4 degrees, over an acidic nutrient substrate. Most keepers make it from reverse osmosis water. The tonina, syngonanthus and eriocaulon species need it.

Why did my Madagascar lace melt?

The tank is too warm. It lists 64–75°F (18–24°C), and the profile says to plant the bulb at an angle with only the lower half in the substrate so the crown does not rot.

Which difficult plants do not need high light?

The Bolbitis heteroclita, the Fissidens nobilis and a few collector crypts list low light. They are hard for their water, their slowness or their preference for growing out of it.

Index

All advanced plants

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