Don't want to jinx it but the Pogostemon helferi does seem to be doing well. Although, saying that it doesn't seem to grow much it just stays the same all the time. If it continues in that way then that's fine for me as it means very little maintenance required, no trimming etc. and it has to be better than it just melting away. The moss at the RHS grows like mad and does need a bit of trimming now and then which then just means that there are lots of bits of moss all over the tank and these seems to take hold anywhere, so most of my time is spent weeding these out wherever I can... Is there an easy way to trim moss without it going everywhere?
The Anubius seems to grow well too - slowly of course but that's to be expected from Anubius. I'm quite pleased with the Nymphoides in the LH back corner now as well as I think it balances out the overall look well but still leaves plenty of free swimming space in the tank too. As for the foreground then maybe a moss would do the trick, but as you say it might be a little too dark. The Eleocharis and Echinodorus are still hanging in there but don't seem to be doing much. I'm beginning to think that maybe overall energy levels (light and CO2) are actually quite low as it's the Anubius, Moss and Nymphoides that seem to be doing well. Maybe an increase in light and CO2 levels would help, but I'm a little reluctant to start fiddling with that as:
1. I seem to have a good balance at the moment with not too much algal growth.
2. Most plants seem to be surviving even if some are not 'thriving'.
3. Growth is relatively slow which is fine by me as I don't want to be trimming plants everyday.
4. The plants with lower energy requirements seem to be growing well.
5. The fish seem more than happy with the way things are at the moment.
Although reluctant to increase energy levels if the consensus is that doing so would improve the health of the plants, especially the foreground Eleocharis and Echinodorus without upsetting the plants that are currently doing well, I would be tempted. The question is, is it worth the risk of causing an imbalance now that things seem quite settled? Also, I don't currently add any fertiliser, plant food or supplements of any sort - if I increased the energy levels I might need to start supplementing with nutrients as well which would be just one more thing to get wrong!
Maybe I would be better off looking for foreground plants with lower energy level requirements - after all I can't provide suitable conditions for all plants if some have different requirements to other... or can I?
Al.
The Scape is looking good 
