floating / shade plants for Gourami

Hi guys and girls

I intend on having a Dwarf Gourami as the show-piece of my 3ft tank.
I cant give him sunglasses, so I'll have to make some shade. There is a nice tall piece of wood he can hide under, but I would also like to have some floating or at least tall plants to provide some shade.

I had a look at the plant db thread, and saw Limnobium laevigatum was particularly recommended for Gouramis.

Where can I get it?
How easily does it grow? (my Anubias is exploding after three days in the new tank if that's any indication of conditions?)
What else can you recommend? I'm really not keen on imitation plants..

I also had an idea - take some hardy ground cover type plant and tie it onto a piece of foam and let that float around the surface of the tank, allowing its off-shoots to drape down over the edges...could this work?

 

Plain old Vallis should do the job - healthy vallis can make leaves over a metre long, and they float just below the surface providing plenty of cover.

You could also attach a nice moss to your wood just below the surface - it will bush out and create a lovely shade patch for your gourami to linger in.

 

Or try Hydrocotyle leucocephala. Not hard to get and should do the trick

 

or a dwarf water lily that you leave to grow until it makes little lily pads

 

thanks for the ideas I have some Vallis, think I will add some more to make a curtain / wall effect, will see which of your suggestions the lfs can get hold of