# Elecharis Parvula & Staurogyne Repens Emersed



## DanMullan

Hi guys,

Thought I'd share my attempt to grow E.Parvula (dwarf hairgrass) and S.Repens emersed for my 110L/29gal planted tank. I'm hoping the hairgrass will form a nice lush carpet accross the forground with the repens spreading around the base of the redmoor roots. After the tank is filled I'll add a large Microsorum Pteropus (Java fern) or two in the middle of the roots.

I've attached some pics of my set-up so far. 

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience (good or bad) growing these plants emersed, I've seen a few posts while searching around that say it can be fairly slow to spread emersed, but I thought I'd try anyway.

Any tips would be great.

Cheers
Dan


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## looking4roselines

I've grown dwarf hair grass emersed before and it grew farily slow for me and the blades of the hair grass is much longer if grown emersed. Also, the starugyne repens will grow vertically. 

The wood you have there looks awesome. Could we get a full shot of your tank?


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## DanMullan

*Re: Eleocharis Parvula & Staurogyne Repens Emersed*

Thanks for your reply,

I haven't seen any noticable growth yet but it's still very early days.

I keep going to do a full tank shot but the glass is always misty. haha. I'll get one in the morning after the top has been open for a bit.

I'm hoping to get the hairgrass to grow a low carpet before filling but have heard this is very slow and easier to do it submersed. Is it worth carrying on?

Cheers
Dan


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## Thorald

Hi,

Any updates? I had a good experience with growing Staurogyne emersed. The leafs are really strong and don't drop down when you take the plant out of the water. I got new side shoots out of the Stauro in less then 2 weeks.

The Stauro does grow vertically like looking4roselines said. Another problem is that it grows hairs on the emersed leafs those hairs will trap a lot of detritus once you float the tank. It doesn't seem to bother the plants, but it looks unsightly.

Good luck!


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## DanMullan

Hi guys, 

sorry i haven't updated, I have attached some pics, it's been almost 3 weeks now since they went in and are looking good. the pics here are after just under 2 weeks, as you can see there has been a lot of growth and no hairs on the stauro yet but thanks for the warning.

I've also got a FTS as requested.

Cheers
Dan


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## DanMullan

Just a couple more, 

Also a couple of pics just after misting so you can see the difference.

Cheers
Dan


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## Thorald

Your plants are looking good healthy, keep it up 



DanMullan said:


> no hairs on the stauro yet but thanks for the warning


Mine only started to grow hairs after about 1.5 - 2 months. I think it is because at that point the new emersed growth was getting mature. It will also grow less compact and more vertical. The extra vertical space between the leaves will allow more space for side shoots, so it's just a disadvantage.


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## m3177o

im loving that custom plastic wrap.


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## DanMullan

Hi guys,

Sorry for the lack of updates. I will be filling the tank in a few weeks so thought I'd let you know how it was going.

Growth has been fairly good, the S.Repens took off straight away and has covered the area around the original plants with new runners. It is, as predicted, growing fairly vertically though and started to notice a few of the leaves melting a couple of weeks ago (probably due to not enough misting and too higher temperatures in the tank) 
Before I fill the tank I will probably cut the tops of the taller stems and use to propgate new areas.

The E. Parvula has, also as predicted, been fairly slow to send out runners, however I noticed that the times where I was misting less and not opening the top as much it seemed to grow faster. Perhaps due to better temperatures and CO2 level in the tank??? I have definately noticed a large amount of growth but not the level I was hoping for. Hopefully it will take off as soon as I flood the tank but we shall see. 

I'll post some pics soon hopefully.

All in all, for anyone who wanted to grow a carpet of E.parvula easily and quickly I would suggest doing it submersed after my experience. *I knew I should have taken on board what I had read about it* haha
But whether they will have a better root structure as a result of being grown emersed I do not know.

I have seen other hobbyists get better results with S.Repens emersed than I have, but submersed doesn't seem to be much more difficult, so it is worth a try.

Thanks
(pics soon)


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