What plants for foreground

[royquek]

Hi people, I'm considering setting up a planted tank.

Can anyone advise me as to what kind of plants can i use to create the foreground carpet effect?

I know Riccia is very popular but it has to be tied to a rock or so and has the tendency to float up after a while. I'm looking for something less troublesome yet visually stunning as well.

Any plants that can create the carpet grass effect (ie it's less than 1 cm tall) and can be planted on the substrate intead of tying?

Also i live near Petmart, wondering where i can get Oiso sand. Thanks in advance!

[budak]

have a look at the gallery on this site... there's a list of foreground plants.

[HantuAir]

Bro, some of the popular ones are :

1)Glosso
2)Elatine Tiandra (Apek Plant, APP)
3)E Tenellus
4)Java Moss
5)Willow Moss

I'd suggest you read up more or look at pics to see the desired effect you wanted. Best, buy them and experiment. Riccia a bit tedious because naturally its a floating plant. Maintenance is very high. Good luck on your amazing journey. []

[checkerboard]

less than 1cm...

then it has to be glosso, elatine tiandra, or marselia crenata.[:]

these are the plants that will not grow taller than 1cm because they creep.

if you are really good, try crassula helmsii.

[kadios]

Alternatively, you can try mini riccia, less maintenance compared to the normal ones. Marsilea Crenata is a good choice too as it will not grow upwards. Glosso may get rather tricky in getting them to crawl. E tenellus look good too! I will recommend hairgrass but they are taller than 1cm. However, they seem to "glow" when it forms a nice carpet. My advise to U is to decide on your preference and work on getting the plants to grow as you wish. That's where the challenge of this hobby comes in.

Cheers!

[MdmBudak]

You need to have alot of patience with hairgrass.

[royquek]

Thank you for your various inputs!

I've done a search on those plants. I think Willow and java moss suits me the best. I still like the effect of Riccia but unfortunately it has to be a floating plant and can only be tied down to a rock or wood.

I was wondering if Willow and Java moss need to be tied down too? Cos quite a couple of websites i viewed seemed to suggest this.

I'm curious about mini riccia. How does it differ from the original? It still needs to be tied down isnt it? Seen Petmart selling small packs of plants that seemed suitable for the carpet grass effect i crave. Since i'm new to this art, i have no idea what plant species it is. Sorry for my ignorance! But it sure is costly for that small pack

Perhaps i could take this opportunity to tap into the vast expertise available here! I have a really small tank of 12 litres and i desire to achieve the effect of a grassland. So it will look like a flat plain of green grass that's constant throughout and the plant won't be too tall until it resembles an unkempt jungle. Something like a patch of football field is what i wanna achieve. Short grass spreading evenly and lush green.

Any idea how i can go about achieving this? I know base on this, the riccia is almost out of the question.

I've seen very short plants sold tied to mesh. While its nice, the mesh seems to be highly unsightly when placed in the tank. How can i "cover up" the mesh so it will look more natural?

Thanks alot and pardon me for my long excessive mail!

[bigjohnstud]

Roy,

From your description of the effect you are trying to achieve, riccia is a logical choice. You don't necessary have to tie them to bulky items like rocks or wood. I personally use tiles and they stay relatively flat.

On the other hand, forummers here will be able to tell you the mess riccia can cause to your tank. Pros and Cons, you must try it to experience it for yourself. Effect wise, riccia is 'breath-taking' while clearing riccia, on the other hand, is 'hair-pulling'.

Cheers