Carpet-like plants for medium light??

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jtd1216

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Feb 14, 2006
Messages
72
Location
Greenville, RI
I was doing some research on plants that have a carpet-like effect.. All that i have found do best in high light. I assume this is because they are so far from the surface. My tank is a 20g high with about 2.4 wpg. I really like the look of glosso too. Any plant i guess would do. Can anyone help me with this?? :oops:
 
I believe Marselia sp. will thrive in moderate light and so will Elatine tiandra.You could always go with a moss foregroud or something light that.
 
Unfortunately most plants that are used as carpets must have high light or they tend to grow upwards istead of forming a carpet. I think that the marsilea minuta is your best bet for a look similar to glosso, if you can find it. I have yet to locate a source for it that I would trust enough to order from. The other marsilea sp. should work too but will have slightly larger leaves.
 
I am going to try clover when I can find it. I don't care if my lighting makes it grow up a little, will make for cool effect if it grows 2 inches high and leaves a stem forest undergrowth. Might be really enjoyed by my corys and oother bottom dwellers.
 
fish_4_all said:
I am going to try clover when I can find it. I don't care if my lighting makes it grow up a little, will make for cool effect if it grows 2 inches high and leaves a stem forest undergrowth. Might be really enjoyed by my corys and oother bottom dwellers.

what is the update to your medium light carpet?
 
I can't grow anything for a carpet with my lighting/substrate. Tried clover, HC and I think micro swords and they all petered out and died. I can grow HC semifloating but that is about it. I guess I could try riccia and some others floating but I doubt I will be able to grow any carpet plant until I get a better substrate.
 
The standard aquarium epoxy coated gravel mixed about 50:50 with smaller river run gravel. I need to get all the LFS gravel out and put in nothing but the smaller river run gravel in for a small bed for the plants. I think it would help me keep MTS alive as all the ones I have gotten have died within a week or two.

I think Echinodorus Tenellis is about the only thing I could grow well for a ground cover but I have crypt Lucens growing really well now so I think that will make a nice carpet with large enough spaces for the cories to swim in and out of.
 
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