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Beginner and red plants

Niall

Member
Joined
1 Jun 2019
Messages
117
Location
Dublin, Ireland
Hi I am going to be setting up my 19l tank soon, I originally not going to go c02 but the more I saw and read about it I tool the plunge and got a kit.
My question is should a beginner stay away from red plants? I would like some but don't want to waste money either.
Any advise would be great thanks!
 
Nope, no need to avoid them! Red plants are great, and not necessarily harder to grow than green plants :).

A select few red species in particular can be a bit fussy, mainly preferring softer water and requiring high light levels, but most don't have this issue. Also, some red species may grow less red than expected and look more green when grown under relatively low light conditions. Just Google (or simply make a thread to ask here) any particular red species you are interested in before buying if you are unsure if a purchase is worth it, but that advise should equally apply to green plant species too IMO.

Some plants produce red pigments to block out unrequired and damaging excess light, and some aquatic plants only look red in aquarium when they are grown under nitrogen limiting conditions that reduces the green chlorophyll concentrations in their leaves relative to redder pigments like carotenoids.

Are there any red species you are particularly interested in? If you are looking for something super-easy that will stay red in relatively low light, I would recommend Ludwigia palustris. L.repens is easy too, but tends to stay greener under lower lighting conditions for me IME. My favourite is probably Limnophila aromatica, or "rice paddy herb", which is super easy to grow but needs higher light to stay red. Grown in low light, only the top of the plant will be orange./red, but it will still be healthy and pretty. Best thing about it is that you can use excess cuttings for stir fries :lol:.
 
Interesting that you mentioned LIMNOPHILA AROMATICA. I just bought one today from an Asian grocery store, and split half to grow emerged as herb in my window sill, and the other half grow submerged in my planted tank. The leaves have a sweet aromatic scent and is used in Vietnamese noodle soup. It’s the only one aquatic plant I know of that can double as food and ornamental. I am glad to hear that it is an easy red plant and hope it will grow well in my medium light high tech tank, and a perennial herb for my kitchen.
 
Hi I am going to be setting up my 19l tank soon, I originally not going to go c02 but the more I saw and read about it I tool the plunge and got a kit.
My question is should a beginner stay away from red plants? I would like some but don't want to waste money either.
Any advise would be great thanks!
It's good that you invested in a CO2 kit. It's worth it and my only regret is not have it earlier. Dennis Wong has a good article on how to grow red plants with recommendation on a few beginner red. From a design perspective, too many red plants in a nature scape is distracting, so don't try too hard.

https://www.advancedplantedtank.com/newsletter_2ozn.html


Thanks for the links to edible aquatic plant list. Many in the list are common food plants, such as water cress, water spinach, and lotus, not ornamental in aquarium setting. Others like duckweed, hornwort, and Vals, I will only eat them under desperate situation like trying to survive in a jungle. As far as culinary herb that is aquatic and ornamental in aquarium, Limophila aromatica is the only one I found tasteful. Limophila aromatica is known as Ngo Om in Vietnam and is a common herb in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. I love its aroma which is as good as and comparable to basil.
 
I have also seen some almost whiteish midground plants I'll have to research them too I think they look great breaking between red and green!
 
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