# Care for Dwarf hairgrass



## Brian_T23

the other day i purchased a pot of dwarf hairgrass.. when i baught it some of its leaves were yellow brown. but most of them were fine. it looked like the shoots are kind of tall. i removed most of the sponge around the roots. and planted the hairgrass in the center of the 10 gallon tank.

1. How do i trim the hairgrass. do i cut all of the shoots? or do i only cut vertain ones? also will the plant die if i trim too much?

2.is water changes neccisary to keep the hairgrass healthy?

3. i currently have a 15W fluorecent lightbulb over the 10gallon tank which the hairgrass is in. would that be enough lighting for the hairgrass to grow?

4. please provide other info about keeping dwrfhairgrass... links to other sites would be appreciated.


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## Aquaspot

1) Give the hairgrass a good trim. They will grow back faster.

2) Water change is always good for any plants to replenish some of the nutrients in the water.

3) You have what we consider low light. The hairgrass should still do fine but they won't be as nice as those grown in high lights.

4) Hope you find the information on our website about hairgrass helpful. Click here.


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## whitetiger61

i would let the hairgrass acculimate to the substrate first..let the roots take hold..then you can trim it down to the substrate if you want to..it will grow back thicker.


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## John N.

Trimming it after it's established its roots in the substrate will help it shoot our runners faster. Since you have a low amount of light, it won't grow or spread very quickly. Doing waterchanges, and also providing adequate flow throughout the tank will help keep the hairgrass clean, and algae free.

I suggest you increase your lighting to around 30-40 watts for your 10 gallon if you want to accomplish a thick mat of hairgrass in a shorter period of time. I dose excel for CO2, and the hair grass seems to respond well to the added CO2.

-John N.


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## Brian_T23

so ur saying that ill need to get a dual strip light on my 10 gallon.. 15W x2


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## fredyk

also remember that things take time, hairgrass is a rooted, crown plant. 
runners spread out, with individual stalks, along the runner. each stalk becoming a rooted crown that grows many leaves, and naturally that takes time.
to develop a grass-like lawn, just kind of ignore it for awhile if you want a lawn.

Here's a picture of hairgrass, in the foreground, that has been growing many, many months in low light conditions. I like it as an accent.

you see each rooted plant has many stems, just like the blyxa or sword plant, and that takes awhile to grow.


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## John N.

Yup, as Fredy depicted, Hairgrass can be a great accent plant. 

If the goal is to have a lush foreground of it as a centerpiece, then more lighting would help it grow faster. I have some dwarf hairgrass just living in a low light tank (1.25 wpg) tank, with a new running sprout every so often. 
So you can have it live in low light conditions but things will grow ever so slowly, especially if you're starting off with a small amount to initially. 

When planting, spread out your hairgrass in thin patches. This will help it grow more evenly, and also spread easier.

-John N.


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## fredyk

also if it's planted in a big clump, from a potted plant, advice is to break the clump into smaller. and ideally plant individual plants. Each would get the maximum nutrition, grow better.


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## Brian_T23

if i break up the hairgrass into smaller parts wouldent the plant not have enough weight to hold it down. wont it start uprooting?


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## fredyk

try to get small clumps. some of the individual plants will break away and can be planted by themselves. they'll be fine. bury the plants in substrate. don't worry about getting it exact; you can cover the crown with substate. the runners go deep in the substrate so the plant can be planted deep.

it's a tough, durable plant. very enjoyable. also it would be interesting to hear about people's experience with hair algae growing in hair grass.

besides the name {hair grass/hair algae} being somewhat similar, they go together, it seems. 

my strategy is low light and/or a 'dither' plant growing in the hairgrass.

my current fav is elantine triandra growing in/over hair grass. just a thought

any comments appreciated?


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## Brian_T23

i placed the dwarf hairgrass. near some java moss and some other large plants. is there a chance that those plants will suck the nutrition from the dwarf hairgrass??


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## fredyk

no chance. but chances are good that you'll beat hair algae, IMHO


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## Brian_T23

so basic care for dwarf hairgrass is..

frequent water changes.. ( once a week)
Medium to high lighting (at least 30W)
C02- (yeast)
liquid fertilizers.
i have acess to all of those exept for the 30W lighting.
----
another questing how long does it usually take for the hairgrass to start growing roots in the substrate.

which is better a corse substrate or a thin grainy substrate
Fluorite Vs Eco Complete Substrate


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