# Foreground plants... questions, my summaries, and advice needed



## Ankit (Dec 9, 2006)

*My Goal* - To setup a nicely planted tank in which I will be growing Crystal Red Shrimp.

*Plan* - I want to start a few plants growing and get the tank to a stabilised form over the next 3-4 weeks at minimum and see how the levels of ammonium, nitrites, nitrates, etc. becomes. If all is good, I will try breeding the CRS.

*Planting* - I'm not sure about what to use as a foreground plant. I do know I want some of the plants similar to this tank: Journal ADA 60cm cube garden (update June 6) - The Planted Tank Forum

I know I'll have some Anacharis in the back, java ferns on a rock or two, and plenty of java moss attached to some other seperate rocks and driftwood.

There are a few foreground plants I'm considering:
*1.* Dwarf Hairgrass - Dwarf Hairgrass - Eleocharis parvula
*2.* HC (Hemianthus callitrichoides) as seen in the above tank example. - PlantGeek.net - Hemianthus callitrichoides
*3.* Fish Tank of December '04 - Page 1 at The Age of Aquariums - Tropical Fish - what's used in this tank? I like it and this is another option, is it what I posted in #1?
*4.* I'm open to other ideas - I want a "grassy" look on one hand, on the other something like HC is nice too. I think the shrimp would prefer an HC, not hairgrass which could be a bit tall for them to enjoy.

The temperature for this tank will be around 72-73F and *not* be using a CO2 system. Do you guys think HC will grow without CO2 being fed into the tank? I wanted to avoid this for my CRS tank simply because it's another point that could mess up... not to mention it's additional money and one more thing I have to monitor, on a breeding tank, that I haven't ever used before.


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## Ankit (Dec 9, 2006)

Also, if someone could tell me what kind of moss they guess is growing in the third/fourth pictures on the rocks, that would be appreciated!


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## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

I use hairgrass in my tank and I love the stuff. I don't think that HC would be all that great off without CO2 supplimentation though. Keep in mind that your "example tanks" are massive, and that those plants are pretty much well-groomed variations of the ones you mentioned. Not even DIY CO2? It'd be a big plus...

I too, am interested in the "moss"


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## Ankit (Dec 9, 2006)

I've found some foreground plant listings here just fyi: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=1630


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## Guest (Dec 18, 2006)

As a side comment: How in the WORLD do you get Dwarf hairgrass to spread?

Is it really that slow of a growing plant? I have stem plants in my tank that I've trimmed back about 4 times for a total of almost 24 inches of vertical growth...

...but I can't get hairgrass to spread? I thought maybe it was just my tank or the hairgrass I have and not a fertilizer issue (wrong section if that's the case!) 

I bought it and it came in two fat clumps that I pulled apart into about 6 smaller chunks and planted about 2 inches apart in the center of my tank. I'm now down to 3 'chunks' that have sent off 1 'runner' each. The others just wasted away, and I had to pull them out.

My tank is 4 months old, planted for 3 full months now.

Seachem products 3x week, 20W aquaglo (unscrewed my 75wVHO).


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## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

My hairgrass grows at a steady pace, I'd say moderately (new runner about every other day). (Edit: I just saw your sig.) What kind of substrate do you use? Hairgrass needs medium to high light, so put back your VHO lamp. I have 72w CF over my 18 gal. for comparison. Also, the 18000K probably isn't going to do much for you plants. I know everything seems daunting at first, but the knowledge you gain from "errors" is invaluable. I'm still learning new things....


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## Guest (Dec 18, 2006)

Dewmazz-

Sounds good, I thought maybe the light + the depth may be an issue after unscrewing my VHO! I've got a new lighting schedule that I wanted to try that should work much better (shorter photoperiods.... C02 would be the thing that is lacking the most with my current sugar/yeast setup).

Hopefully in the next few weeks as I add some more community fish and keep up what I'm doing with ferts things should start moving along with that hairgrass!

Thanks a bunch for the insight,

-Cytrane


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