# Trying emmersed - dwarf hargrass, ricca, HC



## mpagri (Dec 7, 2007)

I have just up a 10g tank that i am going to try and grow out emmersed for awhile. heres the current setup:

10g tank
65w cfl lighting
eco complete

saran wrap with a few holes in it to keep humidity up

So the dwarf hairgrass is definitely dieing, but it started off not very healthy to begin with. the ricca is actually pretty much submersed as it is at the front of the tank and the substrate slopes up to the back so the water level at the front is higher. but it also has not shown much growth but i dont think its dieing yet so thats good. the hg has been in for 10 days the ricca for less than one week. 

have people had much luck either of these emmersed i know most of the posts are all HC. how long does riccia usually take to start growing once tied to the rocks? 

i'll post pictures once the hc gets here and i have it in the tank.


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## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

I've never used eco-complete, so I can't comment on how successful you will be with that. I know a guy who breeds and sells SA dart frogs. He sets up terrariums with a coconut fiber substrate and grows in thick mats of Riccia emersed in most of them using shoplights. I asked him what his secret was and he said, "If there are frogs in the terrarium, the Riccia grows. Without frogs, it turns brown and dies." I don't know how helpful that is for you, but I've tried the same setup without the frogs, but I had a misting system on a timer that pumped water taken from a fertilized planted tank. The Riccia grew very, very, very slowly.

With the other plants, start with emersed form if possible. If not possible, you need to take the submersed plants thru a transformation stage by slowly lowering the water level. It's not always possible to pull a plant out of water and expect it to grow out of water just like that. It needs transformation. This may even take trimming and replanting new growth and discarding the old.


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