Plant a newbie's Ebi!

[Arcteryx]

So I'm going through these plant catalogs and I've got a million ideas as to what I should stock in my Fluval Ebi. Keeping in mind I've got a stock Ebi without CO2, and should start with something reasonably hardy and non-fussy, and am leaning towards putting shrimp in it... how viable is:

In the back:
Hygrophila corymbosa 'Siamensis 53B'
Alternanthera reineckii 'Pink' (roseafolia)

Middle:
Stargrass (Heteranthera zosterifolia)
Cryptocoryne X willisii

Foreground:
Eleocharis parvula

I know there's lots of choices out there... would love to hear of any particular favourites.

I've currently got a smallish piece of driftwood with an Anubias barteri var. nana attached to it; it's in my betta's tank and will make the move over as well. Would like some kind of moss carpet to grow on my backdrop as well but not sure where to go with that.

My thoughts are to go with something that'll generate some success and confidence, and then graduate into the more technical and demanding stuff as I go along.

[Morainy]

Hi Arcteryx, Congratulations on your Ebi! I am pretty sure you'll love it. I enjoy mine.

I've tried most of those plants in my Ebi, which usually has one standard Fluval Ebi light. I started with Fluval shrimp stratum and now I have Eco-Complete in it. Both substrates work well for plants.

I have tried the Siamensis 53 B in it. It grows well and quickly. It can grow tall very fast so you'll have to cut it often. For some reason, I haven't been able to getAlternanthera reineckii 'Pink' (roseafolia) to grow well in my Ebi, though it does well in some of my other tanks. In my Ebi for a red plant, I now use a red lotus.

I tried dwarf hairgrass in the front in my Ebi and in another tank and it died quickly (within 2 weeks). Maybe I didn't know how to plant it properly. But another small plant, some kind of chain sword, has done well, as well as the star grass. I also have a moss ball and some kind of tall, twisty grassy thing at the back that is unkillable. Sunset hygro has always done well for me, too. Crypts, not so well.

Anyway, I think that all your plants are beautiful choices, but the dwarf hairgrass might be tricky in a regular Ebi. That's just my experience, though!

[vdub]

For Alternanthera reineckii 'Pink' along with hair grass of any sort, I think you need CO2 and high lighting, well those are the conditions that mine grow in. Contrary to what some websites say (medium light and optional CO2), I find that they just wither away after some time when I subject them to those conditions. Those are just my own personal experiences.

[Arcteryx]

Thanks VDub - always appreciate hearing from others with a similar setup; I'll look more into that dwarf hairgrass, I really like it but if it's gonna kick off in a couple of weeks, there're others to try.

Do you plant it all at the same time or add a bit at a time and see how they take?

[vdub]

All at the same time.

[Arcteryx]

Well, in 4 weeks I have learned a bunch of things. Sometimes what you want to plant is dictated by availability. Or what the LFS has for sale The only thing on my "want" list that made it into my tank was the dwarf hairgrass, and surprisingly - knock on wood - it is surviving and is now sending out runners!

I'm also an 8 gallon ad for Seachem, since the tank is dosed entirely on the default "beginner" instructions for Excel, Comprehensive, Trace, N, P, K, Iron, Equilibrium & Alkilinity Buffer.

Along with all the weeds & assorted pick-ups here and there, there's a betta & a baker's dozen of pygmy cory's swimming around...

The biggest surprise though, is how much my wife is enjoying the tank! All in all, coming back after 10 years away from the hobby has been a nice return

[neven]

i found Alternanthera reineckii rosefelia to work fine with mid lighting no co2, it just grows really slow without as much intense pink, still looks great though, the Hair grass though will remain a problem, its really susceptible to hair algae. Part of the reason people with Ebi's dont see Alternanthera reineckii rosefelia do well is because they tend to have Ebi's as shrimp tanks so nitrates and phosphates are much lower, when the plant prefers 10ppm+ nitrates and higher phosphates.

i agree with morainy about Hygrophila corymbosa 'Siamensis 53B', it grows way too fast.

being that you have no co2, dont be shy with the excel, double the recommended dose and you will have no risk at all. As for LFS availability, i've stopped buying from them almost completely, only aquariums west kept a decent selection and it was too far for me. After that i used the forum and Aquaflora Nurseries. Remember though, cheap random plants work well as a place holder plant rather than leaving the space empty, this way algae has a harder time establishing

[Atom]

I have bacopa, windelov, java fern, alternanthera reineckii rosefelia, marimo balls and anubias nana in my ebi with two stock lights and excel.

Bacopa - grows well and tall, but the bottoms tend to go bare after awhile even with two lights.

Windelov and Java Fern - was growing well at first, but I must not be doing/dosing something because these have died on me twice. Turned brown and melted away. I'm currently trying potassium. Should work for most people, but not me

Anubias Nana - indestructible, but collects algae on the leaves.

Marimo - still alive. Offers something interesting to look at.

Rosaelia - I find that it grows slowly and the stems of mine tend to thin out eventually. Trimming them makes them busier, but the bottoms thin out when the tops outgrow them.