Mine shed a few weeks back now and I swear she got that much more green. I also am insane to think this but it almost seems like she gets green as she gets aggressive for food. Weird but that's the way it looks. Then again I am more concerned about my fingers than her colors during feeding lol!

Oh, I know you are wanting a planted tank but if not I saw someone use those dog training pads as substrate. Thought that was a brilliant idea to soak up extra water and contain waste. In fact I saw it on that site you gave me for accessories.