Favorite Foreground Plant for Low Maintenance tank

[adi99]

Hey Low maintenance Pros,

Wondering if u can share your favorite plants you use for carpeting effect in low maintenance tanks.

For glosso and APP, need strong lights + CO2 can do well in low tech tanks? Any growing conditions to share will be appreciated. E.g. Lighting/G, fertilizers, etc.

Cheers.

[benny]

I did a moss tank once and used it as a foreground. It was pretty okay for a while. 30W light in a 60L tank with no CO2 injection.

Got bored after a while as nothing seems to happen. Well..what do you expect from slow growth plants right? Then started to load it with lots of fishes and bam! Algae!

Cheers,

[lorba]

moss is the most care-free foreground carpet, provided there is no algae.

[bclee]

Hey Low maintenance Pros,

Wondering if u can share your favorite plants you use for carpeting effect in low maintenance tanks.

For glosso and APP, need strong lights + CO2 can do well in low tech tanks? Any growing conditions to share will be appreciated. E.g. Lighting/G, fertilizers, etc.

Cheers.

APP (Elatine triandra) is one of my favorite for low-tech tank. It does not need CO2 injection. In fact, it grows more compact in a non-CO2 tank (nicer looking IMO) and the growth rate is just nice without need of frequent pruning. A slightly higher light is needed though. You might need to add NO3 once in a while.

I grew it in my 15 gal tank with 51W of lights, no CO2.

BC

[vinz]

I'm for C. walkeri, but you need to consider it'll be about 2 inches or more taller. I'm using it for my 6'x2'x2' tank.

[Phillipians]

if you have $$ to blow, i suggest HC which would be really really nice

[adi99]

Sorry for my ignorance what is HC.

Prob will try java moss + glosso.... any experiences to share share?

[brianclaw]

Hemianthus Callitrichoides. I'm actually looking for some now... Just to try. Glosso tends to grow upwards on me... Not as nice looking as HC.

[sslow]

Read a copy of the ADA Magazine and noticed that there are more tanks using HC as foreground plants. Very nice.
Tried growing HC before but was not successful. Any experts out there with advise?
Thanks.

[bclee]

if you have $$ to blow, i suggest HC which would be really really nice

I have not been able to grow Hemianthus callitrichiodes well without CO2. What conditions do you have to make it growth without CO2?

BC

[ranmasatome]

if you want somthing like HC you can try.. MM... in low tech my seemed to stay very low and small leafed...looked almost like HC

[wong1979]

You can try glosso like me, I've been growing them for about 1 year starting with only a couple of plantlets. Now, they haven't even filled 1/4 of my 2 feet tank. And not even dense enough to cover the sand. I would suggest that you get the exact amount needed to cover your foreground and plant them deeply into the sand.

Many people complain about glosso growing vertically. The reason is simple: You may have switch on your lights too late, ie perhaps at 1100 am? That's because the diffused sunlight in the morning at around 8-10 am have spurred your glosso to wake up. But with not enough light available, it starts to grow upwards in search of more light.

Or it could be that you have forgotten on days to switch on your lights in the morning. Get a timer, it's important to maintain a constant daily photoperiod.
I've grown glosso in a high lighted, CO2ed enviroment before and they don't grow vertically. That's because I maintain a strict regime to have enough lights when it wakes up.

Of course, fertilisation is a must. Daily dosage at low amounts is prefered imo. You have to monitor your own parameters closely as every tank is unique. Recommended dosage is just a guide. Ultimately, you have to base on your own judgement, ie depending on your fauna and flora bioload.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

[brianclaw]

if you want somthing like HC you can try.. MM... in low tech my seemed to stay very low and small leafed...looked almost like HC

I'm sorry, MM? I tried doing a search, but the forum wouldn't let me...


Don't kill me.... My current tank gets indirect sunlight only. No store bought lights on it. Could that be why my Glosso grew upwards?

[wong1979]

MM = Micrathemum micranthemoides

[cs_sg]

So, besides APP and MM, is there any other plants which creeps fast and easy to maintain with high light but without CO2?

I've tried both the above before, but MM was definitely easier when I had both in the same tank, as my APP developed pinholes after a while.

[stormhawk]

There's always Echi. tenellus and Sagittaria subulata aka Dwarf Sag. I have both in my tanks and they do OK with no CO2. You'll need to give them some fert tabs or base fert. I grow both plants in ADA soil and normal river sand. They've not given up on me yet.

[cs_sg]

Thanks Stormhawk,

I don't intend to use base fert in this tank but just root monsters and lapis gravel.
Echi. tennellus is a little too tall for my foreground. I would like something creeping on the substrate to carpet it.

Does the Dwarf Sag you mention creep on the foreground too?
Any special requirement for this plant?

[stormhawk]

Oddly enough my tenellus stays short because I planted them where the light is not so bright.

As for the dwarf sag, they reproduce by sending out runners. So their growth might become a little haphazard if not controlled. Some will get a little too tall though, especially mother plants. Not a demanding plant, low light will be okay for them. Root monsters and lapis gravel are just fine for dwarf sags.

Other than these two, perhaps you should give the smaller crypts like C. parva a chance. Only problem is that they grow very slowly most of the time.

[cs_sg]

Thanks, Stormhawke.

I don't think I can 'tolerate' a slow growing foreground plant

I'll read more on the crypts before deciding then.
I wasn't attracted to them at all before because of the leaf shape resemblance to 'java fern'. hehe...ok, I'm not a fan of the Java ferns.

Have you got any picture of your foreground with C. Parva?
When you say slow..how slow???? one leaf a week?

[stormhawk]

Ah.. I don't use Crypt. parva as a foreground plant but I know some of the fellas here do. I do have some small Crypt. wendtii here and there but they are very slow growing. I can't judge how slow their growth is, but they spread around over a long period of time. One leaf a week is not strange with Crypts.

Crypt growth can be fast or slow, depending on certain conditions. A friend of mine has giant Crypt. wendtii "Brown" with lots of baby plants but he can't grow Crypt. wendtii "Mi Oya".

Similarly, different crypts have different needs according to their habitat. Some are easy, some are difficult. If you have some plant ID books, read up on the different crypt species. I think Tropica might have some info sheets on the various species in their plant section.