Foreground Plant

951 Views 8 Replies 5 Participants Last post by timwag2001, Sep 26, 2009

urbguy

Discussion Starter · Sep 25, 2009

What makes a better foreground plant? riccia fluitans or Hemianthus callitrichoides, what are their pros and cons?

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It depends on your taste. I used Riccia as a foreground plant for awhile, but have switched over to HC.

Riccia tends to float unless anchored down, and trimming it can be very messy, as little bits will float up and decorate the surface of your water. However, it can be easy to plant, as you can simply sandwich it between some plastic canvas and tie some slate to it to keep it weighed down as it grows through the holes.

HC is less messy in terms of trimming, but is very difficult to plant.

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urbguy

Discussion Starter · #3 · Sep 25, 2009

Hey thanks for the input! I was actually going to just go with HC all the way. but i was going to use the riccia to make a few grassy mounds instead of using it all as a foreground plant. I recently went to a nearby creek and found some really nice rocks. I washed all the rocks of course and boiled it to be completely safe because it came from the creek who knows what is in it. I was planning on taking the riccia and some mosquito net and wrap the rock and riccia together so that the riccia can grow through the net openings. I just ordered some on ebay, would you recommend to just let them float for a while or actually doing that process with the rocks?

in respect to what you said about planting the HC, i have really small gravel for a base. do you think that that is enough or would i have to use another substrate? i heard that HC can pretty much grow anywhere but i just wanted some input. thanks again.

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talontsiawd

· #4 · Sep 25, 2009

I have HC and I don't find it to be challenging at all. You just have to be patient. My low tech 10 gallon took almost 6 months to carpet. I took it out, trying again, I know it is going to be awhile. In my 29 gallon with highish light, co2, easy, just plant and it grows.

I haven't used Ricca but I think it looks better. The turn off for me is having to put it on something else. I may use it as an "accent" plant at some point but for the main carpet, seems like a PITA.

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Consigliere

· #5 · Sep 25, 2009

The one issue with riccia is that if you do not trim it often enough it will float off whatever you have attached it to. This happens because it doesn't root. It is much more work than HC although it is a great looking plant when taken care of properly.

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urbguy

Discussion Starter · #6 · Sep 26, 2009

thanks for all the input! last night i went to a pet store that wasn't the conventional petsmart or petco store. I ordered some riccia online that cost like 6 dollars. i was going to see if i was going to get lucky and find some at this store. but the thing is i heard that stores usually dont carry riccia, being that the fact that it is so popular and all as a foreground plant. but i found them selling the stuff because they grow their own. the grew it for a while and it just blossomed into like 10 tanks. they had this deal if you buy the whole tank it's only 10 bucks. however, i looked in their potted plants section and i see that they had riccia in a cup. he claims that the stuff i was buyin is also riccia, i mean it looks like riccia to be honest but for some reason the other in the cup looked kind of thicker. i asked why are you guys charging 5.99 for the riccia in the cup and 10 dollars for the whole tank? it just doesn't make any sense. he said that the manager bought it for a higher cost and he's just selling it for a higher cost than the normal ones. does this guy really knows what he's talkin about?

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Darkblade48

· #7 · Sep 26, 2009

Different growth conditions can lead to different appearances of Riccia, I believe. If it's thicker, it could be due to more nutrients, more light, and more CO2.

In addition, there are different Riccia varieties too, so that might be another thing you are seeing.

Edit: Tropica has a good article on this:

http://www.tropica.com/article.asp?type=aquaristic&id=471

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urbguy

Discussion Starter · #8 · Sep 26, 2009 (Edited)

Darkblade48 said:
Different growth conditions can lead to different appearances of Riccia, I believe. If it's thicker, it could be due to more nutrients, more light, and more CO2.

In addition, there are different Riccia varieties too, so that might be another thing you are seeing.

Edit: Tropica has a good article on this:

http://www.tropica.com/article.asp?type=aquaristic&id=471

You are the best...i had no idea haha. But after close examination, i can conclude that i have the Japanese variety. I just thought that riccia should be flat and leafy like but i am glad that you showed me this. i went ahead and washed all the riccia and bought some mosquito nets and wrap them around rocks and submerged it. But thanks alot darkblade i would have never knew about the different types. Here are a few pictures.

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timwag2001

· #9 · Sep 26, 2009

the only thing i dont like about riccia is the amount of time it takes to grow out of the netting. i've had mine wrapped up for about 3 weeks now and im sill not impressed.

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