carpet plants

[kenneth_kpe]

hi guys im trying to look for "carpet" plants that would cover the gravel of my aquarium ? what do you people suggest ? ive looked at a few but couldnt find any in the local fish stores around here ( philippines ). What do you guys suggest i look for ? u know fairly common everywhere type of plants that i can use to cover the gravel of my aquarium ?

 

[fraservet]

what are your tank conditions?
(e.g. light/fertiliser/co2/dimensions/water parameters etc.)

I would also like a nice carpet, but the really good looking ones you see in pictures tend to require very bright light and co2 addition etc. to grow well.

I've just ordered some 4-leaf clover, which I have been told does well in moderately good conditions.

 

[tear-scar]

I'm letting my riccia grow as a floating plant before tying it to the bottom. I have a journal about it somewhere . . .

Also, I'm getting a load of glossostigma soon! It'll be so cool. Check those plants out.

 

[jams.alaskan]

As friservet noted, several of the great carpet plants have very high light and CO2 requirements - I've had a devil of a time growing any that I think are even comming close to covering their area...

ALASKA

 

[kenneth_kpe]

well i have a 15 gal tank with two 18" 15 wat flrscnt tubes. 7000K each at around 12 hours a day ? I was not able to add "supplements" to the gravel like err ? flourite ? i keep reading it around that its really needed. and wat else.. no C02 injection and liquid plant fertilizer around every week to every other week along with the water changes my tank is 13" high abt the water parameters ? i dunno testing kits are kinda expensive here haha

 

[yhbae]

How about just a thin layer of cut-up java moss growing on the coconut shells? If you have enough of these, it could sort-of resemble carpets and requires very little light....

 

[kenneth_kpe]

hmm thats a good idea ! but how do i stick that java moss to the shells ? or other stuff ? maybe a piece of plywood that would cover a part of the aquarium floor ? btw i know this may sound soo noob but is java moss green ? the java moss that my friend has in his tank is a bit brownish ? is it just dead ? lol

 

[yhbae]

hmm thats a good idea ! but how do i stick that java moss to the shells ? or other stuff ? maybe a piece of plywood that would cover a part of the aquarium floor ? btw i know this may sound soo noob but is java moss green ? the java moss that my friend has in his tank is a bit brownish ? is it just dead ? lol

Healthy java moss should be as green as any other plants...

I haven't tried yet (but I will). It goes sort of like this....

Cut off top 1/3 of the coconut shell. Wash it thoroughly. Cut up java moss, roughly 1cm in length, and "sprincle" on the shell. Place it in a glass container with a top, put some water in there so that it doesn't quite submerge java moss. Place it where it is bright but not direct sun light. In few weeks, they are supposed to stick to them and start to resemble a layer of grass...

 

[jams.alaskan]

Kenneth, Javamoss as a carpet is a viable possibility, you can tie or rubberbans it to several pebbles in the tank and soon it should mesh and cover. Just saw a tank entered in a competition that looked super and it was a javamoss foreground!

ALASKA

 

[tear-scar]

Java moss ends up getting pretty untidy though . . . willow moss is probably a nicer looking alternative . . . (though I personally have java )

 

[kenneth_kpe]

i see i see, il try to look for the willow moss and try carpeting with java moss. there shouldnt be problems with tying it down right? haha jeez im looking at my tank now and i can see snails lol

 

[luxum]

I'm having good luck with pygmy chain sword in my medium light tank (1.8 WPG), a single plant has sent out 5 or 6 runners, each runner has at least 10 plants associated with it, it's amazing stuff.

Edit: here's a pic of the tank, you can see the chain sword spreading, i've had to prune off the tips of the runners on the right so my crypt balansae has some room!

 

[kenneth_kpe]

i found this errr "carpet" type plant at the LFS well local flea market shop haha what kind of plant is this ? and by the looks of it its a lot and how do i plant something like this ? i cant just shove it all in the gravel right ? do i seperate the plants and go for like 3 - 5 little plants pieces and plant them seperately in the gravel and pray they spread ? : )

thanks

 

[Cat]

If you carpet your tank,do you never hoover it?

 

[Discomafia]

If you carpet your tank,do you never hoover it?

If hoover means vacuum the gravel, then yea, you don't need to.