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What are good "jungle" stem plants?

PlantMan216

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31 Jan 2024
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I am building a new 60p scape and making it more of a heavily planted jungle feel. Im having trouble finding good stem plants for the entire back side of the tank to help add to that overall feel. I am looking for a darker green or very lush green stem plants that would resemble anubias or ferns. I am also thinking of mixing up diff. species to make it less uniform than traditional aquascapes are with their seperate bunches of species. Was thinking of plants with leaves that resemble the bonsai stem plants but not sure if too many stems with that wider leaf will end up looking how I want it to.

As of now, I have a center rock scape with some wood. I plan to make a nice HC cuba carpet in the front with Hydrocotyle verticillata, Marsilea hirsuta, and cryptocoryne parva bunches in around the edge of the carpet by the rocks and wood for detail. Along with that ill be adding riccardia and flame moss for some extra micro detail around the rock and wood (as well as bigger clumps of them). Finally in the mid ground add repens and bigger bushes of anubias nana petite and some around the lines and unnatural-looking areas of the hard scape (hoping that the bushes of the anubias leaves help that lush jungle feel). Also might add some larger anubias species behind the rock scape with the leaves coming over the top and possibly Mini Bolbitis (baby leaf) coming from the sides of the rock scape.

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I don't think there's a stem plant that really looks like a fern or anubias, but Hygrophila corymbosa or Alternathera reineckeii have wider leaves? Heteranthera zosterifolia has strappy leaves and can be pretty lush, though it is often used as a mid ground. Bacopa caroliniana is a very chunky plant as well.

You might want to consider a larger crypt or smaller Amazon sword.

You didn't give any information on your skill level or many tank details, but everything I mentioned are often grown without CO2, though some more easily than others
 
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