.jpeg){kind=link}
Foreground: the short plants at the front
Foreground plants stay low enough to leave the view open. Carpets such as Monte Carlo and dwarf hairgrass spread into a lawn; dwarf sagittaria sends out runners more slowly and copes with less light. Banana plants and marimo balls sit as single plants in the open sand.
| Plant | Height | Light | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monte Carlo | 1 to 2 in | Medium | Moderate |
| Marimo moss ball | 1 to 4 in | Low | Slow |
| Dwarf hairgrass | 2 to 6 in | Medium | Moderate |
| Dwarf sagittaria | 2 to 6 in | Low | Moderate |
| Banana plant | 4 to 12 in | Medium | Moderate |
Midground: the plants that join front and back
Midground plants hide where the carpet meets the tall plants and the base of wood and rock. Crypts are the easy choice in low light; dwarf lilies and tiger lotus grow a few big leaves and send pads to the surface unless you cut them back.
| Plant | Height | Light | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pearl weed | 2 to 8 in | Medium | Fast |
| Cryptocoryne wendtii | 4 to 10 in | Low | Slow |
| Echinodorus 'Vesuvius' | 8 to 16 in | Medium | Moderate |
| Dwarf aquarium lily | 6 to 24 in | Medium | Fast |
| Tiger lotus | 8 to 24 in | Medium | Fast |
Background: the tall plants at the back
Background plants hide the heater, the filter intake and the back glass, and give the fish cover. Stem plants grow fast and use up spare nutrients, which helps against algae; Amazon swords and vallisneria grow from the substrate and want a root tab.
| Plant | Height | Light | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ludwigia repens | 8 to 20 in | Medium | Fast |
| Water wisteria | 8 to 20 in | Medium | Fast |
| Amazon sword | 12 to 20 in | Medium | Moderate |
| Anacharis (Brazilian waterweed) | 12 to 36 in | Medium | Fast |
| Vallisneria | 12 to 36 in | Low | Fast |
Choose the back row for your tank’s height
What fits is the water above the substrate, not the gallon number. A 20 gallon long is 12¾ inches tall on the outside, so with 2 inches of gravel and the waterline below the rim there are about 9 inches of water; a 29 gallon on the same footprint gives about 15. In the shorter tank, vallisneria, Amazon swords and anacharis reach the surface and spread along it, shading the plants below. That suits a jungle look and floating-plant lovers; for a tidier back row in a low tank, use water wisteria or Ludwigia repens and trim them to height, or crypts.
Tall tanks need light that reaches the bottom: a foreground carpet 18 inches down needs a stronger light than the same carpet in a 12 inch tank. Planted light fit
Plants that go anywhere
- Tied or glued to wood or rock, at any height: Java fern, Anubias nana, Bucephalandra, Java moss, Christmas moss and Flame moss. Their rhizomes rot if buried. How to attach them
- On the surface: Amazon frogbit, Water sprite and Hornwort (hornwort also floats in the water or can be weighted down at the back).
- Out of the water: pothos grown from the back rim with its roots in the tank.
Making the tank look deeper
Keep the front open and low, and let the plants rise toward the back or toward one back corner, so the eye travels into the tank. A sloped substrate, lower at the front and deeper at the back, adds to it and gives the back row deeper roots. Leave open water in front for the fish to swim. Aquascaping styles · Every plant