# best lowlight grass



## jetajockey (Aug 23, 2010)

Just looking for opinions of what the best lowlight 'grass' is? Running 1-2wpg, no co2/ferts, using ecocomplete or other plant substrate.

Looking for something like dwarf hairgrass but with lower requirements. Something that will spread along the substrate and eventually cover the tank bottom. 

thanks!


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## Chrisinator (Jun 5, 2008)

Pygmy Chain Sword or Microsword could work.


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## awight (Aug 21, 2010)

Dwarf hair grass can work. I had success in a 10 gallon, 2wpg, natural sand substrate from the lake, and no CO2. Those are about the poorest conditions you can have and still successfully keep hair grass alive. But, the growth was extremely slow. I set up a DIY CO2 system and dosed Flourish Excel and things got much much better. So spend the 10 bucks and set up a DIY CO2 system. Micro Sword may work better but if you're looking for a good carpet plant you'll need to increase lighting and CO2. If you aren't set on grass try glosso.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Lilaeopsis mauritiana


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## TeamTeal (Mar 31, 2010)

lauraleellbp said:


> Lilaeopsis mauritiana


does that stuff fill in full?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I'd call that pretty full. That's the top view. It's been in there since I think February.









I prefer Lilaeopsis to Eleocharis since Lilaeopsis doesn't need to be mowed.


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## TeamTeal (Mar 31, 2010)

hehe, thanks for the pics!
that stuff looks good


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## jetajockey (Aug 23, 2010)

thanks for the replies. That is a nice looking grass, I'll have to try to source some!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I got mine from www.sweetaquatics.com


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## jetajockey (Aug 23, 2010)

thanks for the insanely fast response , i'll look there now


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## awight (Aug 21, 2010)

wow sweetaquatics has really great prices. Good post. Nice carpet lauraleellbp. My hairgrass here is exploding since being planted 13days ago. jetajockey do you have a pic of your tank?


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## jetajockey (Aug 23, 2010)

I don't have one of this specific tank, but I'm working with a basically bare 40g breeder, all it has in it at the moment is playsand. I'm only planting in one of these tanks at the moment, the bottom left hand one. 

I'm mainly doing it to see if I can get a breeding population of CPDs to sustain themselves and increase in #'s on their own.

I know the light distribution isn't the best, I'm considering running two 4' lights staggered to cover both tanks more evenly, but we'll see.


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## Guns286 (Sep 17, 2009)

lauraleellbp said:


> I got mine from www.sweetaquatics.com


 Hey Laura, how large is the area that you planted this in and how much of it did you start off with? Does it spread like dwarf hair grass?


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## fishyjoe24 (Dec 10, 2009)

that's brazil micro sword, it will grow a little faster then micro sword. yes it spread it will look like a front yard lawn. aquariumplants has a 12x12 mat for around 40.00


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Guns286 said:


> Hey Laura, how large is the area that you planted this in and how much of it did you start off with? Does it spread like dwarf hair grass?


I'd guess it's about 12" x 24" in my 29gal. And I started off with 6 pots (I got 3 more after this photo)









And Lilaeopsis mauritiana and Lilaeopsis brasiliensis are 2 different species. I tried L. brasiliensis several times in this tank before this, and never could get it to take. IME L. mauritiana does much better under low light w/out CO2 than L. brasiliensis.


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## beedee (Jul 1, 2010)

nice job awight, im jealous of that growth! my dhg has been in my tank for about a month and looks almost the same as your first pic. what is the key to your success? 

i have a 10g with fluorite substrate, 2 14w cfl 5000k lights on for 8 hours a day, and dose pfertz "N" twice a week. i also have a few Osmocote Plus Root Caps buried in there.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I think hairgrass usually does best with CO2.


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