Sorry Kim, can you refresh our memories of your plants? I know you have a sword & I see some stems. I mostly use a root tab like Flourish, since, well, I love crypts. What is your nitrate level lately (oh I see you posted, that's plenty)? What's your tap water like? Mine is very soft & my plants would like me to dose a GH & KH booster but well...
I have to say I may be the lamest fertilizer in my plant club, lol. I have our club's version of Excel but mostly just use it to "control" some algae forms. I don't know if it's safe to use often enough as a true co2 replacement, if I use it too often my fish look less happy but that may be just me.. It's a biocide...with a byproduct that produces co2...Iron is iffy too, some say it promotes algae but helps red plants be red, be careful! If you have any iron in you tap water it may be enough
I will suggest you get easy plants for you water & tank conditions. That red rotala has never grown well for me for long...& I usually get plants for free...The hydrocotle tripartita, well, it's not that it doesn't grow but it's pretty fragile. Yours looks to be recovering with some new growth. There are some "sturdier" hydrocotles, faster growing with stouter stems but maybe too "happy" for your short tank. Stems are hard to control in a short tank...they should & do grow fast! An easy but fast growing stem is ludwegia repens x arcutata, not as red as red rotala, kind of green on top & maroon underneath, may be too much trouble in a short tank
1 of my favorite 20g long plants is Italian spiral vallisneria (really v. asiatica I think NOT v. spiralis, how's that for confusing?). 8-10 inches tall but needs a bit of control since it spreads by runners. Not a big deal if you have a long index finger or thumb nail to pinch off wanderers.
I also love cryptocorynes in all their many forms. Wendtii red, brown, green, mi oya (maroon) are pretty easy to find but there are thousands!! Wendtii mostly grow 4-6 inches tall, so medium height in your tank. (Gee, have I said this to you before? I tend to repeat myself). For a low grass like plant laeliopsis species (formerly dwarf chain swords) might work but most won't be a dense ground cover, more sparse or clumps.
Sorry to go on & on, I know easy plants much better than peacock gudgeons, lol.
I have to say I may be the lamest fertilizer in my plant club, lol. I have our club's version of Excel but mostly just use it to "control" some algae forms. I don't know if it's safe to use often enough as a true co2 replacement, if I use it too often my fish look less happy but that may be just me.. It's a biocide...with a byproduct that produces co2...Iron is iffy too, some say it promotes algae but helps red plants be red, be careful! If you have any iron in you tap water it may be enough
I will suggest you get easy plants for you water & tank conditions. That red rotala has never grown well for me for long...& I usually get plants for free...The hydrocotle tripartita, well, it's not that it doesn't grow but it's pretty fragile. Yours looks to be recovering with some new growth. There are some "sturdier" hydrocotles, faster growing with stouter stems but maybe too "happy" for your short tank. Stems are hard to control in a short tank...they should & do grow fast! An easy but fast growing stem is ludwegia repens x arcutata, not as red as red rotala, kind of green on top & maroon underneath, may be too much trouble in a short tank
1 of my favorite 20g long plants is Italian spiral vallisneria (really v. asiatica I think NOT v. spiralis, how's that for confusing?). 8-10 inches tall but needs a bit of control since it spreads by runners. Not a big deal if you have a long index finger or thumb nail to pinch off wanderers.
I also love cryptocorynes in all their many forms. Wendtii red, brown, green, mi oya (maroon) are pretty easy to find but there are thousands!! Wendtii mostly grow 4-6 inches tall, so medium height in your tank. (Gee, have I said this to you before? I tend to repeat myself). For a low grass like plant laeliopsis species (formerly dwarf chain swords) might work but most won't be a dense ground cover, more sparse or clumps.
Sorry to go on & on, I know easy plants much better than peacock gudgeons, lol.
? I will continue to update on them in case it helps another member. Thanks again AC friends. I couldn’t do this without you
