How to grow hairgrass?

[SpuD]

Hi anyone can advice me how to grow hairgrass?spacing between? what are the things to take note.

Thanks!!

[David]

Hi SpuD

there are three species of hair grass of which we are more into only two. The shorter ones that is commonly seen in LFS are more demanding. They require rich substrate, plenty of light, and rich CO2 water. The other, the longer variation are somewhat less demanding.

Planting hair grass is somewhat similar to tennellus, but i always find it a pain in the butt loosening the bunch. Substrate should not exceed 1in to base fert.

[SpuD]

hi David,
does that mean i can only plant them where the subtrate are a inch or else from the base ferts?coz currently one part of my tank is more than a inch. ard one and a half inch.

where can i get the longer ones?

do i plant them in bunches? how far apart from each bunch?

[checkerboard]

Hairgrass also need a substantially low temp to have any measure of success, lots of iron helps to give the bright green as well. If you want a dense lawn soon, you might have to plant bunches close together probably 1.5-2 cm apart especially when they might take some time to settle in. Agree that it is a terrible pain to separate them.

[cks]

planting hair grass is like planting padi !
you pick up a few strands with your twizzer and plunge the hg in the substrate
let it be for a few days
some will turn yellow / dont' panic or gabra [ it's like dat one ]
but leave them alone
once you see that they have stablised [ easier said than done ] you can trim them for a more bushy look
and wallah ! your tank will look like amano's
dont loose sleep over such small matters ... it take some time before you see results .. shiok huh !

[SpuD]

Ah ha! Just finished planted the hairgrass..still looks sparse and looks weird..maybe of the distance btw the grass..jus wondering roughly how long will it take to cover the ground fully?my temp is 26 and at 2bps. lighting for my 3ft tank(156l) at 120watts.

[anakin]

cks, how do you trim hg? just crop off the top? Mine's in my tank for 2 months now. growing and sending out new darker green leaves/ strands/ blades?

[apollo]

Hi SpuD

May i know if you use chiller or cooling fan to achieve the temp of 26c ??

Its a gd temp for planted tank so what is your secret??Just damn curious and jealous!! Haha..

[]

[checkerboard]

Hi Apollo,

sorry for intruding your msg to spud...

but actually i am here to say that fans can achieve 26C...
currently i am using 2 ista fans (a bit uglier becoz they are slightly bigger) for my 4 feet tank and temp can go down to 26C and at times 25.5C even. Think they cost $30 each at Nature...

[hwchoy]

I don't know what kind of HG you guys are planting. I bought mine from Teo, separated them into small bundles of 5-10 strands (arga arga can oredy lah!) and make them fall-in parade square and ke kanan lurus (ala padi field). Should be 2cm apart cos too near you will dislodge the previous plant. Use tweezer and plunge the whole bunch into the substrate until only the tip can be seen (just like glosso).

Now all you need is good lights (mine is 4+ Wpg), good CO2, temperature nevermind (mine is 28-30C). Remember these are GRASS, you ever seen grass growing in the field? Havoc right? Mine grows an inch in two days. The ones I got grew to 4-5 inches high. They also bubble but if they're dense then the bubble collects into a BIG bubble before they burst up to the surface, frightens the hell out of the shrimps

Actually my problem is HOW TO STOP THEM FROM GROWING SO FAST!!!

I don't know how to insert a pic here, but if you want to see my HG, drop me a mail

[juggler]

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On 1/19/2003 10:54:51 PM

there are three species of hair grass of which we are more into only two. The shorter ones that is commonly seen in LFS are more demanding. They require rich substrate, plenty of light, and rich CO2 water. The other, the longer variation are somewhat less demanding.
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David: According to Tropica, there are more than 100 species of Hair Grass.
See Eleocharis acicularis

[cks]

more than 100 species of hg not all can survive in the aquarium . most of these hg are temporary residents in water eg during times of flooding etc . however they will eventually die if submerged in water for prolong periods .
as for trimming hg : don't be scared to trim them to your requirements . they can withstand regular trimming . you can trim them very short [4 x 2] no problem except your hg must be very healthy
and don't forget to plug the gravel where you have hg with jobe sticks etc

[bettapassion]

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On 1/21/2003 12:42:43 AM

Actually my problem is HOW TO STOP THEM FROM GROWING SO FAST!!!

I don't know how to insert a pic here, but if you want to see my HG, drop me a mail
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Bro, I looking for such HG leh, me wan to get some also...mine is dying after my salt treatment for white spot...and they grow slower than grass, hardly notice any growth for a month now
[]

[hwchoy]

get from Teo!

[SpuD]

Hi apollo,
i affirm what checkerboard said...i'm jus using fan that's all...heh....
jus curious...when i'm trimming them..wounldnt it get very messy..coz all the loose strands will be floating abt on in the tank. is that at way to be neater?what basic tools to use for trimming?

[sherchoo]

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On 1/21/2003 9:25:38 PM

jus curious...when i'm trimming them..wounldnt it get very messy..coz all the loose strands will be floating abt on in the tank. is that at way to be neater?what basic tools to use for trimming?


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Trimming hairgrass tends to be messy but you can easily scoop them up with a net. The remainder strands can be then syphon out during water change.

The basic tool for trimming is a pair of sharp scissors and a pair of hands (not necessary to use both hands)

[SpuD]

IC....Thanks!!!
anyway jus to clarify...how deep should the HG be planted...some say till can only see the tip? but i planted mine half-half (half on the surface, halF in the ground) will it still work?

[checkerboard]

Actually, i am not for planting hairgrass too deeply although is it is too shallow it may float up should you have any corys etc. Also, simply because the runners that hairgrass sents out are from the crown of the plant, so if planted too deeply, the hairgrass might be spreading, but you cant see it becoz it is too deep. What you have done shd be fine. That's what i did as well and it's ok!

[avant]

i've just started on hairgrass recently too...got both the tall and short versions.
may i know how do i add iron in??

[pipsqueak]

just planted my hair grass today, and i agree, its so tedious seperating them and planting them, but i guess its worth it. Achieving 26c? i poured in cold water into the tank to age the water, and when i planted the tank today, the water was still cold! the last i checked it was 26-27. And i'm assuming its still the same cos it was still cold. Maybe topping up with cold water might help, or as mentioned in the other thread, top up with ice cubes.
theres no internal filter in it so the waters not heated up i suppose. My other tank is at a constant 29c, kinda bad for plants..looks like i gotta get a fan soon.