Anything under 18" resembling water sprite?

[Barbels]

I would love to find something as closely resembling water sprite as possible, but that would grow under 18" tall.
I think the filigree of the water sprite is absolutely delicious, dahling.
However my tank is only 18" deep.
Any suggestions?

[observant_imp]

Hygrophila difformis looks a lot like water sprite. It's a stem plant and super easy to grow.

[Nolan W.]

Hygrophila difformis is also known as wisteria.

H. difformis doesn't grow as fast as its cousin H. polysperma, and mine grows horizontal stems along the substrate. It can be used as a foreground plant if you prune it regularly. I prefer wisteria over water sprite because it is, imo, prettier.

[Buck]

Originally Posted by Barbels

I think the filigree of the water sprite is absolutely delicious, dahling.

LMAO ! That was cute...
If you take watersprite and lash it to a rock or wood it will grow much slower and stay much smaller. Its when you stick the roots in the substrate that it gets wildly out of control.
You can float baby WS's in the tank for weeks and they only get tighter, smaller stem patterns but as soon as you plant it in the sub look out !

You have to start with small ones though.

[jart]

Originally Posted by NWong8589

H. difformis doesn't grow as fast as its cousin H. polysperma, and mine grows horizontal stems along the substrate. It can be used as a foreground plant if you prune it regularly. I prefer wisteria over water sprite because it is, imo, prettier.

I am trying to make the decision as to which plant must go. I like both wisteria and water sprite, but at the moment they are both out of control and I only have so much room. Care to share any tips on how you trim your wisteria?

[BSS]

I've never actually seen this plant, but as I was staring at my tank tonight thinking about replacing the H. difformis, the idea of Bolbitus heudelotii came to mind. The leaves aren't quite as intricate, but the growth should be much slower. Not too sure on the height.

Brian.

[possum]

Originally Posted by jart

I am trying to make the decision as to which plant must go. I like both wisteria and water sprite, but at the moment they are both out of control and I only have so much room. Care to share any tips on how you trim your wisteria?

If you keep your wisteria trimmed back to 2 to 4 inches it will spread out and makes an awesome looking ground cover. I discovered this by mistake. After pulling out some overgrown wisteria I found a lot of small plants. Everytime they would grow an inch or two I would pinch the new growth off. They have continued to spread and fill in and I now have an awesome looking ground cover of 2 to 4 inches that the fish and shrimp just love. Try it.....you'll be surprised by the effect you get....Steve

[Nolan W.]

My wisteria is not growing like crazy, probably due to the lack of CO2 injection and macronutrient fertilization. I only got it about a month ago, and it has formed a nice bush, with only a couple of taller stems. I haven't trimmed it yet. Mine seems to like growing horizontally instead of vertically... I don't know why. My fish like to play in the bush, particularly the SAE's.

[jart]

Originally Posted by possum

If you keep your wisteria trimmed back to 2 to 4 inches it will spread out and makes an awesome looking ground cover. I discovered this by mistake. After pulling out some overgrown wisteria I found a lot of small plants. Everytime they would grow an inch or two I would pinch the new growth off. They have continued to spread and fill in and I now have an awesome looking ground cover of 2 to 4 inches that the fish and shrimp just love. Try it.....you'll be surprised by the effect you get....Steve

Interesting, I would love to see a pic of this if possible. Where did you ever get the idea... certainly I see a lot of the smaller plants starting to grow from the base of the larger ones. Great tip.

To NWong8589: My wisteria displayed the same growth pattern you describe for about 3 weeks. Then, it exploded. Horizontal and vertical. Of course I started dosing ferts at about the second week, and I aim for 25-30 ppm CO2, so take this for what it's worth. Also, a friend of mine claims he had to push his nitrate level to >10 ppm to get his to grow well. I'm not sure this is a universal finding though.