Best "Carpet" Plants

[fishenthusiast]

What are the best foreground plants that I could use to form a "carpet" at the foreground of my tank? I have T5 HO lighting. My tank size is 36" by 12" by 16". The lamp has 1 36" 39W 650nm Pink Roseate bulb and 1 36" 39W 6,000°K bulb. I already have Dwarf Hairgrass, but I got it from Petsmart. It was in a gel, so I don't know if it will grow well.

 

[Fibsog]

Java moss is good and could grow in the dark.

 

[Tobykourtney]

Four leaf clover makes a nice carpet and isn't as messy as dhg

 

[fishenthusiast]

Java moss is good and could grow in the dark.

Four leaf clover makes a nice carpet and isn't as messy as dhg

Both of those plants seem very cool, but I plan on putting some Java Moss on some driftwood. I like the Four Leaf Clover, but I would like something that is a little bit smaller in height. Thanks for the input though! I should also say that I have Cory Cats.

 

[Planterjonas]

You could try a dwarf sag carpet. It is a low light plant, grows quickly, and looks fairly nice in carpet form

 

[Jkeating8]

HC, UG, HM, Elatine Hydropiper, Elatine Triandra, etc.

 

[NYgiantsRP]

Without co2 and very high light its tough to get a carpet effect. They will usualy grow taller becuase they want to grow toawrds the light. Not much will stay under 2 inches.

 

[NYgiantsRP]

HC, UG, HM, Elatine Hydropiper, Elatine Triandra, etc.

I was under the impression that all of these need high light and cO2 to grown in dense carpets.

 

[fishenthusiast]

Could I try Glosso (Glossostigma elatinoides) or Cryptocoryne parva?

 

[Mebbid]

I was under the impression that all of these need high light and cO2 to grown in dense carpets.

The op has high light. Co2 is also not necessary, although it will make plants grow faster.

You could probably grow both of those. The glosso can be a bit of a chore to get to grow though.

 

[Fibsog]

Both of those plants seem very cool, but I plan on putting some Java Moss on some driftwood. I like the Four Leaf Clover, but I would like something that is a little bit smaller in height. Thanks for the input though! I should also say that I have Cory Cats.

Pygmy chain grass is great! It can grow in low tech and it spreads!

 

[Jkeating8]

I was under the impression that all of these need high light and cO2 to grown in dense carpets.

I didn't read too deeply into the first post. I was just offering carpet plants. Haha.

 

[FishCr8zy]

Could I try Glosso (Glossostigma elatinoides) or Cryptocoryne parva?

Glosso is easier to grow than most med-high light plants but my experience is it never grows very fast even with high light.

 

[FishCr8zy]

Pygmy chain grass is great! It can grow in low tech and it spreads!

I second this plant and dwarf sag. Both are fast spreading and easy to care for.

 

[Tobykourtney]

Both of those plants seem very cool, but I plan on putting some Java Moss on some driftwood. I like the Four Leaf Clover, but I would like something that is a little bit smaller in height. Thanks for the input though! I should also say that I have Cory Cats.

Sorry little late but four leaf clover is pretty short
That it up front

 

[fishenthusiast]

Sorry little late but four leaf clover is pretty shortView attachment 219190
That it up front

I think I might give this plant a try. I've read that they can get up to a foot in height, but I'm assuming that if I would cut them down, they might spread into a carpet?

 

[Tobykourtney]

It grows really short and spreads quickly with medium-high light. Thats Marsilea quadrifolia in case you were wondering.

 

[flitabout]

I am having really good luck with both the dhg and staurogyne repens. Both of which are from the packets from petsmart. Just make sure you wash the gel off and break the plants up well. This is the most recent one I did. It is the all from 1 packet.

This is my older tank that has both the s. repens and the dhg carpeting.

 

[FishCr8zy]

I am having really good luck with both the dhg and staurogyne repens. Both of which are from the packets from petsmart. Just make sure you wash the gel off and break the plants up well. This is the most recent one I did. It is the all from 1 packet.

This is my older tank that has both the s. repens and the dhg carpeting.

About how many stems were in the Petsmart bag for the staurogyne repens?

 

[fishenthusiast]

Alright, I have narrowed down my top three plant options to Staurogyne repens, Four Leaf Clover, and Crytocoryne parva. This is if the Dwarf Hairgrass fails in my tank, which is a possibility.