# Dwarf Sagittaria - Sagittaria subulata - best foreground carpeting plant for low tech IMO



## SudhirR (Apr 7, 2020)

*Dwarf Sagittaria - Sagittaria subulata - best foreground carpeting plant for low tech IMO*

This is how we started 2+ years ago









Planting into Fluval stratum substrate was moderately difficult. It took a bit of time to latch on.

But once dwarf sag got established and when we switched the lights from an CFL lamp to a proper LED lighting fixture, it just started conquering every square inch of the tank.



















Good substrate, decent lights, some patience and give it time this is the best plant for a carpet in a low tech tank.

My tank gets excel, micros and macros and using root tabs now that the substrate is 2+ years old. This plant definitely likes the root tabs imo.


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## emorneau01 (Sep 18, 2019)

Nice! One of my favorite aquarium plants. So easy to care for and largely undemanding. It really takes off if you have an iron rich substrate. I wouldn't classify this as a foreground carpeting plant, though. The "Dwarf" part of the name is kind of a misnomer. It's starts nice and low, but over time, it will grow tall. Over a couple of years, it eventually dominated every square inch of my substrate and swallowed up all of the low hardscape as it was nearly 6 inches tall. When I eventually tore down the tank, I was pulling it out in tightly woven mats. I did try to trim it once, but it does not respond well to that as the cut blades usually die off resulting in a mess.


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## tiger15 (Apr 9, 2017)

I have dwarf sag in a low tech bowl and it spreads out like weed. Its deep green color and dense growth makes good meadow cover, not a carpet plant though due to the height. It can’t be topped to reduce the height either as no rosette plant can tolerate topping. 

I’m wondering if it can be glued or tied to driftwood or rock to gain height as it makes good looking epiphyte.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Apparently there are different varieties of this species that vary in height. I've had some in a Walstad tank for years, and it rarely gets more than 2" tall. And I agree that it is a great foreground plant for low tech tanks!


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## emorneau01 (Sep 18, 2019)

Michael said:


> Apparently there are different varieties of this species that vary in height. I've had some in a Walstad tank for years, and it rarely gets more than 2" tall. And I agree that it is a great foreground plant for low tech tanks!


Interesting. I'd definitely use it again if I knew it would stay low. I remember everything staying relatively compact as it spread out over the first year and half. As the established plants matured, they just started to take off upwards. I think it was all around 5 to 6 inches when I eventually pulled it all out. There were no sudden parameter changes during that period, so I think it was just the mature form of the plant exhibiting healthy growth.

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