Eleocharis sp. 'mini' vs Eleocharis sp. 'japan'?

**Urban Aquaria** · 16th Jul 2013, 02:45

I'm currently looking to setup a new scape with either Eleocharis sp. 'mini' (from Tropica 1-2-Grow) or Eleocharis sp. 'japan' (aka japanese hairgrass from LFS).

What are the differences between those 2 variants? The reason i ask is because the online photos of both seem to look oddly similar.

Any experts here who have grown both variants? How do they compare in terms of actual shape, height and growth rate etc?

Thanks!

**blurless** · 16th Jul 2013, 13:08

Japan hairgrass have slightly curving leaves and they don't look that spiky. It's like having curly hair vs straight spiky hair. Japan hairgrass grows slower than the mini hairgrass in my tank and hence will get overwhelmed by the mini.

Quite hard to differentiate from LFS pots I think, they all looked the same!

**qngwn** · 16th Jul 2013, 13:23

Personally i have grown both species, i prefer the 'mini'.

"Mini" grows to a maximum of approx 4 to 5cm tall, and is good for nano scapes or foreground. They grown upwards in a straight fashion similar to normal hairgrass. They grown to form a very nice, thick and dense lawn with the hairgrass growning straight and upwards.
"Jap" grow to a maximum of 4 to 6cm tall. They are straight when young and short, but they will start to curl once they are longer. They grown and curl, and when grown into a dense lawn, it actually looks quite messy for my liking. Imagine curled hair cluttered together, yes thats what it'd look like.

It is quite hard to differentiate 'mini' and 'jap' when sold in pots. I tried ordering 'mini' at Y618 before, and to them, 'jap' and 'mini' are the same.
If you would want to get the real deal, best would be to get from tropica as their plants are all lab grown and species are pure.

**blurless** · 16th Jul 2013, 13:34

Originally Posted by qngwn

Imagine curled hair cluttered together, yes thats what it'd look like.

Yep, boils down to whether you like curly hair or spiky hair in your tank. For me, curly hair is currently my type... =)

**Urban Aquaria** · 16th Jul 2013, 16:14

Thanks for all the info!

Looks like the Tropica "Mini" variant is what i'm looking for... a hairgrass with shorter vertical growth.

Will get a tub of it later today and try them out.

**qngwn** · 16th Jul 2013, 16:21

Originally Posted by Urban Aquaria

Thanks for all the info!

Looks like the Tropica "Mini" variant is what i'm looking for... a hairgrass with shorter vertical growth.

Will get a tub of it later today and try them out.

Best would be to have them when they're fresh and newly arrived if you can wait for new stocks..

**limz_777** · 19th Jul 2013, 00:51

any idea how to see the freshness ? last month i went to a lfs , seen those topica tubs , some already rotting away

, it stated 30 days , but how consumers know?

**Urban Aquaria** · 19th Jul 2013, 01:14

Originally Posted by limz_777

any idea how to see the freshness ? last month i went to a lfs , seen those topica tubs , some already rotting away

, it stated 30 days , but how consumers know?

What i do is just visually check the plant condition in the tubs and only buy the ones which look the freshest.

You could also get them directly from Fishy Business, they keep their stocks in a refrigerator, so that probably helps keeps the plants fresher.