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Rataj and Horeman
I might as well add my 2 cents worth... I've found R&H to be a
reasonable book for identifying plants however there are enough mistakes
that its not very good beyond the common aquatic plants. At the time it
was written, this book was one of the better hobbyist books on aquatic
plant identification. Nowadays, there are much better books but few are
without error.
As for the advice on growing aquatic plants in this book, there might be
some useful information on water hardness but beyond that and especially
on substrate issues, this book is a poor reference. But then, substrates
are the most controversial!
As for the fanciful theory about Crypts being forced to colonize shady
regions because they have weak roots, this is silly. Crypts don't
compete well with plants which are fast growing and tall because those
plants will outcompete for light by growing across the surface of the
water. Crypts are not fast growers but they are tough competitors. Given
time, I think they are able to crowd out other plants. Seem to in my
tanks but it depends which plants you thin out. If you left the stem
plants to grow freely, they'd soon cover the water surface!
Steve Pushak teban at powersonic_bc.ca
Visit "Steve's Aquatic Page" http://home.infinet.net/teban/
for LOTS of pics, tips and links for aquatic gardening!!!