# Looking for a good carpeting plant.



## Snake42490 (Mar 24, 2008)

Hey guys i am looking for a good carpeting plant for my 12 gallon tank. It is somewhat low lighting.. i will start off with a 16 watt light and work up as needed.. i can have my wpg anywhere from 1.3 - 2.9.
i would only like to put a plant fert tab down and nothing more... no co2 injection or anything else.. i am still very new to this so something easy that looks great.. I just bought java moss java fern and some anubias nana.

the ones i have looked at so far include

japanese hairgrass http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?liveplantsr&1206889290

Hemianthus Callitrichoides http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?liveplantsr&1206516025

please be honest if you dont think i can keep it then say no.. but i would love to find something fun that would cover the bottom of the aquarium like the ones above that is if they dont work : ( if they do then great!!


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## fishman9809 (Feb 4, 2008)

check out micro swords and chain swords:

chain:

http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=828

Micro:

http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=805


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

FishandTurtleJunkie has some Marsilea Minuta. its pretty cool.

"Much like other Marsilea sp. Slow to acclimate, but will rapidly spread once it is. This is one of the smaller Marsilea, about the size of glosso. Low light tolerant, but will grow faster with higher light and CO2. Nutrient rich substrate a plus. Though classified as a fern, it should be planted in the same manner as glosso. Propagation by runners." copy from plantgeek.net


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## Snake42490 (Mar 24, 2008)

so are the ones i currently have listed not good choices??


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## Snake42490 (Mar 24, 2008)

Ahhh! i love that marsilea minuta... about how tall does it get?? its just like the second plant i posted.. very similar.


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

your first question: ive never tried the hair grass one. as for the Hemianthus Callitrichoides IMHO it takes a while to get it started and the fish seam to like to dig it up before it roots. but looks great when it fills in. im using the dry method to get it going in my nano. robert at aquabotanic has it for pretty cheap to. i believe all his foreground plants are on sale to for a little bit. www.aquabotanicstore.com

he also has marsilea Quadrifolia a larger version of the marsilea sp..

the link to marsilea minuta is http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/sale-trade/48977-f-s-marsilea-minuta-downoi-blyxa.html

the minuta has bigger leaves then the H.C. and is much darker. but does better with low light. in my tank the marsilea gets about a 1/2 inch tall.

side note: the H.C. will do good grown emersed in tank then adding water to cut down on fill in time (dry method).
the marsilea will not be a good candidate for the emersed method. it will grow in emersed form witch is a 4 leaf clover. its submersed form is 1 to 2 lobed plantlets.

i think that the aquabid price of 55 bux is really high unless your in a hurry to get your foreground going. even for a foot and a 1/2 of H.C. id rather save the money and just get a couple of regular pots and grow it out. just my thoughts


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Snake42490 said:


> so are the ones i currently have listed not good choices??


HC and Hairgrass will not survive in the conditions your stated. Stick to mosses or a chainsword for your foreground (carpet) type plants.


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## Snake42490 (Mar 24, 2008)

about how tall does the marsilea minuta get... i think this might be the one for me to get..


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

You can cover small flat stones with Java moss and use them to give a ground cover. Your light intensity is so low, for a 12 gallon tank, that even the marsilea minuta may not work out well. Java moss is able to get along with much less light.


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## Snake42490 (Mar 24, 2008)

2.9 wpg is to low for marsilea minuta?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Snake42490 said:


> 2.9 wpg is to low for marsilea minuta?


No, but 1.6 watts per gallon is. I didn't realize you had multiple lights until I read your other post here. I think you can make either marsilea or glosso work with 2.9 watts per gallon. But, you have to try it to be sure.


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## lauraleellbp (Jan 31, 2008)

FWIW Marselia minuta can be grown as a low light plant, 1.5-2.0 wpg, just takes a long time to fill in.


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## AmberLynn (Mar 30, 2008)

i was assuming that "carpeting plant" refered to a plant that covered the bottom of the tank...
but seeing some of the plants posted here, im getting a little confused..
can someone get me strightened out?
what exactly is a carpeting plant?
Am i right?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

"Carpeting plants" are those that naturally grow low, spread either with runners starting new plants or by growing horizontally along the bottom with each leaf node sending out roots to anchor it. Most of them do best with good lighting - lower lighting sometimes makes them grow vertically, seeking to be closer to the light. I found even Marsilea minuta will try to grow vertically if the light is too low, but it does grow horizontally at a lower light level than most carpeting plants.


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