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Bristlenose pleco (Ancistrus): algae grazer, driftwood, veggie diet, 80 L+, vs tiny otos and common pleco giants.

Red root floater (Phyllanthus fluitans): high light for red roots, delicate pads, vs salvinia and frogbit easy floaters.

Amazon frogbit (Limnobium): lily pad floater, long roots, medium light, vs salvinia and duckweed.

Salvinia (Salvinia minima / auriculata): fast floating fern, blocks light, nutrient sponge, vs frogbit and red root floater.

Bolbitis heudelotii (African water fern): rhizome on wood, slow grower, medium flow, vs Java fern and Anubias.

Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum): rootless stem, float or weight down, nutrient sponge, fast grower, algae competition.

Red tiger lotus (Nymphaea zenkeri): bulb plant, spotted leaves, can surface lily pads, vs Amazon sword rosette.

Dwarf sagittaria: grass-like foreground runner, medium light, spreads by runners, vs Vallisneria giants and hairgrass carpet.

Bacopa caroliniana and Bacopa monnieri: green stem, round leaves, low–medium light, slow trim, vs Ludwigia and Alternanthera.

Alternanthera reineckii: red stem with oval leaves, medium–high light, CO₂ optional, and how it differs from Ludwigia and Bacopa.

Ludwigia palustris and repens: red–green stem, medium light, trim tops, and how they differ from Alternanthera reineckii and Bacopa.

Rotala H'ra (Rotala sp. 'H'ra'): orange stem, medium–high light, trim tops, and how it differs from rotundifolia and other Rotala.

Cryptocoryne parva: slow lawn crypt, low light, no melt panic, and how it differs from Wendtii, wendtii green, and taller Crypt species.

Pearl weed (Hemianthus micranthemoides): bushy stem, medium light, optional CO₂, and how it differs from HC Cuba, Monte Carlo, and Glossostigma.

Marimo (Aegagropila linnaei): algae ball, not moss — rolling, cool water, gentle light, and why it is not Java moss or a glued moss ball.

Flame moss (Taxiphyllum): upward flame fronds, attach like moss, low–medium light, and how it differs from Christmas moss, Java moss, and Fissidens.