# Foreground carpet / lawn with Hygrophilla Sp.



## rohansd (Oct 10, 2005)

hi Folks,

I have read in few places about people using Hygrophilla Species (Difformis,Polysperma ) to ceate a foregroud / carpet kind of stuff.
But never got to see any pictures around about how does that look.

Any of the members here have any experience using hygro Sp. to create a carpet to cover the gravel ?

Please share your experiences if any. 
Would be glad if supplemented with pics 

Thanks
Rohan


----------



## Faruk Gençöz (Nov 4, 2005)

I tried once to form a carpet with polysperma. I cut the top 5 cm of the mother plants and planted the tops in to the front gravel so that only the top pair of leaves were above the gravel. Within the first week they started to give the new leaves. Under an intensive light the internodes tend to be shorter and the plant seems to be more bushy. When they grew up to 5 cm I cut one pair of leaves from the top. The new side shoots appeared in the next couple of days and their leaves tended to be a little smaller than the older leaves. Once the new shoots reach 5 to 10 cm it is time to take the photo. The second trimming may not give good results for the carpet appearance. The size of the remaining leaves tend to be very different and the stems tend to be visible after the second trimming. I do not have a pic, sorry.


----------



## rohansd (Oct 10, 2005)

Allright! 
Thanks. Did you have Co2 in your tank ?


----------



## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Here's a photo of H. polysperma in a low-growth mode.










The Hygrophilla don't make a great foreground because of their large leaf size. That might be overlooked in a large tank (the plants above are in a 150-gallon tank), but in most tanks there are better foreground choices. Perhaps they would make a better mid-ground plant.

Getting and keeping Hygrophillas low-growing is a problem. Where I have seen them stay low and spread out they had bright light, open space and no shading. It might not be possible to keep those conditions for very long. I kept the installation above for about 6 weeks. I found it to be high-maintenance and not very attractive.

Roger Miller


----------



## Faruk Gençöz (Nov 4, 2005)

rohansd said:


> Did you have Co2 in your tank ?


Yes I used DIY CO2.

As Roger stated large leaf size might distract the viewer but if the whole front is covered with polysperma in a 100cm tank the scene becomes pretty good.


----------



## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Roger, hadn't heard from you in a while. Glad to see you're still around.


----------



## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Bert,

I'm still here . I skim the posts in this forum daily, but I don't often have much to add.


Roger Miller


----------



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

http://www.aquatic-plants.org/gallery/exoticaquaticsLFS
http://www.aquatic-plants.org/gallery/cube30
http://www.aquatic-plants.org/gallery/album01
http://www.aquatic-plants.org/gallery/arrowana

The polysperma is basically like working with slow flowing clay. About every 4 days you must trim it to contain it. But you can shape it any way you like.

The difformis is the same except that the growth rate is through the roof. Must shape it every 2 to 3 days or else. Also it has the strange habit of just halting growth one sunny day. It's a plant that you can attach to hanging wood branches and it will shoot white roots toward the bottom - very nice looking "hitchhiking" plant.

--Nikolay


----------



## erik Loza (Feb 6, 2006)

niko said:


> http://www.aquatic-plants.org/gallery/exoticaquaticsLFS
> http://www.aquatic-plants.org/gallery/cube30
> http://www.aquatic-plants.org/gallery/album01
> http://www.aquatic-plants.org/gallery/arrowana
> ...


Yes, I find it underrated, too. I must also trim mine twice a week in the big tank but have basically groomed it into a "raft" at the rear margin of the tank. Under intense lighting, the leaves take on a beautiful reddish-orange hue. There is a wood stump in my tank and with this raft of leaves at the surface and the feathery white roots dangling down, it reminds me of a giant tropical Strangler Fig Tree. Thanks for sharing, Nikolay.


----------



## mrbelvedere138 (Jan 18, 2006)

A really neat but extremely rare foreground is Hygrophila sp. "Araguaia". It is rather slow growing, but it is one cool plant.


----------



## rohansd (Oct 10, 2005)

Thanks folks.
I am about to start my 70G tank and was looking for a easy-to-grow foreground cover.I have a cap on the lighting . So i was more keen on Hy. Difformis and Polysperma as they both are doing very good in my 15 g tank
Just that i couldnt visualise them as foreground cover.
The pics were really inspiring.


----------

