[Sushi_23]

Sorry first time posting here, so I apologize if I used the wrong area for this question. I'm planning my first "real" aquascape with co2 and a real filter, so I'm trying to do it right instead of buying random plants and just planting. I noticed that a lot of people often mixed up their plants, especially their rotalas. I'm planing on having a rotala background as I love the red, but I was wondering if I should get a purely red plant, or if I should do what aquascapers do, where they get like 5 different types of rotala. Also how do you make it look natural, gradient it? Or do you just plant wherever?

 

[25cube2019]

I do difference back ground plants tall of course. One of these is Rotala and keep in mind they get red and stay red only if you the right par.

 

[davemonkey]

It depends on what you want it to look like. If you like a solid feel in the back, go with a single plant species. If you want something more diverse or a spattering of different colors/tints/hues, mix it up, or plant small groupings in a particular order. Your aquarium is your canvas, and the plants your paint. And if you create something that doesn't feel right to you, just pull them up and rearrange it all until you like it.

 

[Sushi_23]

I do difference back ground plants tall of course. One of these is Rotala and keep in mind they get red and stay red only if you the right par.

Do you stay with the same species and just go into differ variations of that species, or do you just go with many types of plants. And if you do, what types of plants is that?

It depends on what you want it to look like. If you like a solid feel in the back, go with a single plant species. If you want something more diverse or a spattering of different colors/tints/hues, mix it up, or plant small groupings in a particular order. Your aquarium is your canvas, and the plants your paint. And if you create something that doesn't feel right to you, just pull them up and rearrange it all until you like it.

Thanks for the response, I just worry that a all red background will look a bit unnatural. I might just do several different variations of the same species.

Cross Country Movers Elyria company thinks about your wishes and the specific requirements of your household possessions. That is why they can provide you with the best possible options when it comes to boxes and other materials.

 

[ElleDee]

You're asking good questions, but there's no right answer. Studying photos from aquascaping competitions or something like the Inspiration section on the Tropics website can help you figure out what you want to do - ask yourself what you like and don't like about each one and try to look for common threads. An all red background can totally be too much, but it can also be done well. There's a bit of magic (and personal opinion) in the difference. I would stick to looking at tanks that are similar in size to yours, but otherwise seek out as much diversity as possible.

 

[Blackheart]

I do personally. I usually use Rotala Indica, Crypt Balansae and Amazon swords.

 

[MissCris]

I have one tank (60g cube) with a mixed background of vallisnaria behind the driftwood in one corner and some stems in the middle and a sword in the other corner. This tank has a few fish that are prone to dislodging things, so I want mostly plants that will root well and stay put.

My 30g cube tank has stems (unknown species, I think it's some type of myrio) and really tall narrow-leaf java fern in back. This tank has a lot of cryptocoryne and other low to medium light plants because the light isn't as good. It's also a somewhat deep footprint relative to height, so I wanted tall, narrow stuff that would give the feeling of the space continuing beyond.

The 20-tall that I'm re-scaping now is getting a clean uniform background of pearlweed along the rear wall, but I have rotala in the midground. It's a nano-fish tank, and I am trying to use some forced perspective with the size and shape of the plant leaves to make the tank seem larger and to provide a sense of scale with the tiny fish.

Things I consider when choosing plants are what sort of light is available, how different plants will look with the hardscape I've chosen, what kinds of fish are going in the tank, and what kind of feel I'm shooting for in the layout.

I've grown several species of rotala, and pretty much all of them do insist on decent lighting to keep their color.

One of my favorite mixed-rotala looks is an off-center cluster of wallichi flanked by two different colors (like a super bright pink on one side and an orange on the other). This can be really stunning if a few ludwigia are clumped in, like red mini and ovalis, and then a really green stem is tucked in to crank up the contrast. That look requires a lot of maintenance and attention to the tank though, and some people want to spend more time just enjoying their tank than working at it (and others really enjoy tinkering with it, and don't think of that as "work", which is equally valid).

Go with what makes you happy, and what will require a maintenance schedule you're going to be comfortable committing to.

 

[25cube2019]

Do you stay with the same species and just go into differ variations of that species, or do you just go with many types of plants. And if you do, what types of plants is that?


Thanks for the response, I just worry that a all red background will look a bit unnatural. I might just do several different variations of the same species.

Cross Country Movers Elyria company thinks about your wishes and the specific requirements of your household possessions. That is why they can provide you with the best possible options when it comes to boxes and other materials.

This what I have for my back ground on a 40B 36" across Rotala, Red amboba, Red Myriophyllun, Vallisneria Spiralis, Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Pantanal', Nymphoides hydrophylla 'Taiwan' and a couple more that I dont know the names