[Chris West]

Hey guys....

Living in tasmania is a bit of a drag sometimes... we've got strict quarantine laws and it's sometimes hard to get the plants that I want to use in my tanks.

The pet shops around here (Devonport) get their plants from: Pisces Enterprises - Home

I've had a bit of a look there and these are the plants I can see being most likely successful as a carpet for my 4ft iwagumi setup.

Can anyone verify the suitability of these varieties?

Dwarf Blyxa
Hair Grass
Rush Dwarf Green
Rush Dwarf Yellow

Leaning toward the Dwarf Blyxa and the Hair Grass... the other 2 may not carpet but clump together I think.

Thanks! Awesome forum btw

 

[Opare]

Welcome! I've never heard of Dwarf Blyxa, but B. japonica doesn't carpet. The hair grass is a good bet, depending which species it is, as there are some pretty large hair grass species, like E. vivipara.

EDIT: I was paroosing the website also the Lilaeopis, Glossostigma, Micranthemum and Cuba will carpet well and are commonly used(the last two are in the centre plant section). They offer all the pretty standard carpeting plants that people use, for Iwagumis I prefer Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo' or the Hemianthus callitrichoides (Cuba). The names they give the plants make identification hard as they just give like the genus or common name . Also, a few of the plants (like the rush) on it won't take to the full aquatic environment of a tank and are more for ponds by the way.


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[Chris West]

for Iwagumis I prefer Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo' or the Hemianthus callitrichoides (Cuba).

That's awesome actually I just ordered some Monte Carlo but avoided the HC (another guy I was talking to said they're a bit harder to maintain and look similar).

Good to see the advice is consistent! Thanks very much for your feedback

Edit: Oh... I also got some hair grass from the local pet shop but it does seem quite tall (about 3-4 inches?) so... while I think it will look quite nice, it'll probably be best for my taller tank. Anyway... it's fun to experiment

 

[Opare]

Yeah the leaves on Monte Carlo are a bit larger but they look similar and you'll get the same effect.
No worries it's what it's all about! By the way are you gonna start a thread about the progress of your tanks?


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[Chris West]

I am experimenting with a few 2 foot tanks in the shed right now. But have a 3 and a 4 foot tank in the house which I'll be rescaping once I've got a bit more stock for ground cover. Need to find some awesome stones too.

Will start a thread but will take quite some time for good pics I think haha!

 

[tapwater]

My experience with carpeting plants is that it's hard graft. They love to float. You may end up replanting the same pieces a few times. I read somewhere where a guy glued gravel onto some roots to keep it down.

 

[Chris West]

My experience with carpeting plants is that it's hard graft. They love to float. You may end up replanting the same pieces a few times. I read somewhere where a guy glued gravel onto some roots to keep it down.

I've been told this too. But I've also seen that some people tie pieces to small rocks so they stay down until they're rooted. It seems they grow best when the roots aren't directly submerged in the substrate too. So a rock, placed on the substrate will allow it to grow and spread to the substrate on its own?

I've seen them carpet over a piece of driftwood too! quite amazing. Hopefully I can get similar results!