Crystal Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Hi, I know very little about plants. I am after some suggestions for Hardy, short (2-3 inch) plants. I am looking for some that will form a fairly dense carpet in hte front of my tank, and can tolerate a couple of mystery snails and shrimp crawling over it, and small tetras spawning in it. My ph varies between 6.5-7.8 from the tap depending on the season, I try to keep it at about 7-7.5. No added CO2, fertilizer is usually liquid form, though I can get the small pellets. I was thinking maybe micro sword or riccia, but know next to nothing about them. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegrandpoohbah Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 How much light do you have? Just about any carpet plant will require good lighting (>2WPG) and CO2 to grow properly. Otherwise they tend to grow tall and scraggly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crystal Posted July 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 I just have two 18 inch aquarium grow-light florescents on my 55 gallon. Not too sure how you measure light, and I would have to look at home for the wattage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegrandpoohbah Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 18" tubes will either be 15 or 20W. In a 55G tank that is definitely not enough to grow any carpet plants. I'd look into a power compact fluorescent (PC) or T5HO (high output) fixture which will give you a lot more options for plants. Be prepared to spend some money though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 With that light, try Crypt. parva - if you can find it. Like all Crypts, it's not really picky on light,a nd it stays small. Howver, don't expect it to grow into a lush carpet in a few weeks - with low light, it will take several months. Another options is Anubias coffeeifolia or A. nana (or A. barteri var nana). Again, low light plants that stay small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crystal Posted July 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 The tank sits where a fair bit of day light hits it, usually indirectly. I did have hair grass that was doing pretty well and my java moss thinks its a bad weed, it triples in size every month or so. Thank you all for your suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted August 1, 2008 Report Share Posted August 1, 2008 If your'e having success with hairgrass, then Pygmy Chain sword should do well. If you add just a bit of CO2, you could probably grow Glossostigma, but don't go spend a bunch on that... it can be finicky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted August 5, 2008 Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 And if you are going with CO2 and good lights, a great plant you can attach to rocks and driftwood is riccia fluitans. It stays really small, and you can attach it using mesh and some fishing line or cotton string. http://www.aquariaplants.com/plantingtips.htm http://www.aquabotanic.com/ricciaarticle.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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