# Using Elatine triandra as a carpet plant



## BriFran9 (Sep 5, 2006)

I wanna start a carpet plant in my 10G tank and I was wondering if anyone has ever used Elatine triandra as a carpet or has just ever had Elatine triandra in their tank, please give me any suggestions or tips on weather its a good plant to use as a carpet

Here's a picture of the plant


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## xcooperx (Jun 24, 2006)

i use it as a carpet plant on my 29 gallon tank, check my journal. I love this plant than Glosso, Its more less maintenance


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## Aquadise (Jul 26, 2006)

Agree with cooper, it doesnt go out of control like glosso and definitely easier.


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

BriFran, this plant will do perfectly as a carpet plant. If you don't keep up on macro fertilization though, the plant is going to suffer. When the runners get really long, you can snip them up into about one inch long pieces, and strategically place them. With some time, you'll have a dense carpet in whichever area you do that to. Keep in mind that if you don't start off with a lot (5x5 might be a good starting amount), it might take a while before you get the carpet you're looking for, since the plant's growth rate is more moderate than fast. Hm... actually I can't say the plant's growth rate is moderate for sure... I didn't really pay attention to it, and come to think of it it spread very quickly in my 20 gallon.. Oh well.

The only thing that bothers me about this plant is that planting without tweezers might be a real pain. There are roots at every node and it's very difficult to get all of them into the substrate at once, even with tweezers. Once they're in though, it's smooth sailing from there.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

I use it as a carpet. Not hard to grow, lower maint than glosso, and imo, looks better. Stems are fragile, so planting must be done carefully. Also, don't let your nitrates bottom out, or you'll kill it.


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## ringram (Jan 10, 2005)

I have it as the foreground plant in my 20H. I used it a while ago as foreground in the same tank in conjunction with glosso and HM and found that the glosso was constantly trying to take over, so I eventually removed it. I just added e. trianda again about a month ago and it was slowly disappearing and I found out that the SAEs I had were eating (or at least picking at it and killing it), so they were gone. What I like about this plant is that it grows pretty slow and when it gets too thick, you can just trim it back like a bush. One thing that can be tricky, besides its desire for a good supply of macros, is that it doesn't root very deep, so it can pull out easily. In my tank, debris and poop tend to settle underneath it and if I try to vacuum it up, the plant will sometimes try to pull out.


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## Gonzofish (Mar 26, 2005)

BriFran9,

That's my Elatine triandra picture you're using. In the tank pictured I used it as a middle ground plant. IME the plant gets very bushy and will choke itself out if not pruned diligently.


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## krisw (Jan 31, 2005)

*Different Experience...*

I'm finding it interesting that you all find this plant to be a moderate grower, slower than glosso, as I've had the opposite experience with it in my 75G. I originally planted ET as a carpet plant on a "hill" that I created in the tank. After a few weeks, the ET had filled in nicely, and looked spectacular. Then everything went wrong. It grow out of control into a huge poofy ball. Eventually, it started shading itself out, and pieces started floating up and around the tank. I'd say that it might be one of the fastest growers I've experienced. I attribute this growth to excess nitrates that I believe I was dosing at the time. So to note, I also had glosso in the the same tank at the same time. The glosso grew well, but not near the rate as the ET.

My tank parameters are 75G, 220W CPF light, CO2, soilmaster substrate, and more/less dosing EI.


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

Make sure you can live with the plant-- it breaks its seed pods in the water, and they can sprout and start sending out elatine even after the main plants have long been removed. heh heh


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## Musket (Jun 7, 2006)

Bert H said:


> I use it as a carpet. Not hard to grow, lower maint than glosso, and imo, looks better. Stems are fragile, so planting must be done carefully. Also, don't let your nitrates bottom out, or you'll kill it.


I might be getting some of this plant soon, so let me get this straight... you want to keep some nitrates in the tank for the plant to grow??? What level? This will be in a stocked tank.
Will in grow in gravel or only substrate like eco-complete?
It appears to be snail and shrimp friendly. Anyone with experience in this area?
What about Goldfish? I want to put some low growing plant in the foreground of my goldfish tank (eco complete substrate). I tried glosso but they ate it or uprooted it looking for food before it took root. (Expensive experiment)Any suggestions on how to make this work? Would I need to make a carpet in another tank and then move the carpet?

Can anyone recommend a type of tweezer or other planting tool? Pix might help. There used to be a store at Gibralter Trade Center that sold all kinds of tweezers and scissors and such (I used to work with an embroiderer and we went there several times to restock) I could try there if I knew what to look for.
Thanks!


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## krisw (Jan 31, 2005)

> Will in grow in gravel or only substrate like eco-complete?


You can probably get it to grow in gravel, but it'll definitely appreciate a substrate like ecocomplete. Only way to know is to try.



> What about Goldfish?


No way this will ever work. You'd be best keeping it in another tank, or moving the goldfish. ET is even more fragile than glosso, and you saw how your glosso ended up.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

Hm, might have to try this for my 10 gallon. =)


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

Musket said:


> What about Goldfish? I want to put some low growing plant in the foreground of my goldfish tank (eco complete substrate).


Muri da!! (Impossible!!) Well, most likely anyway. muri muri . . . (muri means futile)

Maybe a moss foreground might survive??


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## Musket (Jun 7, 2006)

these goldfish when in a smaller tank, ATE java moss i was trying to root to a rock. After they got their big house, the moss finally started attaching.
Could i grow a carpet of it in another tank and move it to the goldfish tank? Stake it down with some plastic mesh till it rooted?
Would downi work?


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## Hurriken (Oct 15, 2006)

I have some of this in a ten gallon with Fluorite, 3W per G. I am dosing excel M,W,F and flourish everyday. I have a DIY CO2. After a received the large clump of ET I had to leave it floating a few days before I could plant it. After I planted it most of it turned to mush and died. I saved about 5 sprigs. They are growing but look a bit yellow and are very slow. (I am also going through the same thing with P. Helferi). I read up on Macros and bought some Mono potassium Phosphate and Potassium Nitrate from Greg Watson. Its a powder. I am very confused about how to dose so I decided to add 1/8 of a teaspoon of each M,W,F. I mix it with some tank water and pour it in. I run the lights ten hours a day. I've only dosed the Macros twice so of course I see no difference yet. Any advice?


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## dhavoc (Mar 17, 2006)

give it time, once it finds conditions to its liking it takes off like a weed. mine doesnt grow as a carpet so much as a shrub/bush. it can really take over though once it takes off so watch it. I started with a stowaway 1/2cm piece that somehow rooted in a holding bucket that has AS in it. Once i placed it in a high light/EI tank with pressurized CO2 it has become a weed of sorts. it doesnt travel well from what i have heard, and it tends to melt after shipping.


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

I agree that it melts after shipping. I received some that was very crisp and healthy looking upon arrival, so I assumed it had travelled well. Right after planting it, it seemed to melt away, all but a few sprigs. Those that survived are hugging the substrate, and looking good. I don't dare replant them for fear of losing them, too. I'm just waiting it out until they start to grow actively, then I'll get back in there to move them around.
-Jane


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Steven_Chong said:


> Make sure you can live with the plant-- it breaks its seed pods in the water, and they can sprout and start sending out elatine even after the main plants have long been removed. heh heh


Oh, how true that is. I've had it show up in 3 different tanks now and I only had it in one and removed it from that one...or so I thought.


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Oh, and another thought. I also got some with a group of plants I had to delay planting. Although I had ferts in the water, the Elatine orientalis (same as E. triandra?) did not survive being kept w/o planting immediately.
-Jane


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