# Hydrocotyle tripartita (aka sp. 'Japan') as a 'low tech' groundcover?



## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

Great experiment! Thank you for remembering us low-tech folks and, especially, those low-tech folks just beginning with plants. Demonstrating not only how you plant, but the other factors of lighting, fertilization, etc...

Ill be keeping an eye out for progress.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Good contribution.
My prediction is that it will do fine and the more you trim it the better it will carpet.


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## Mike A. (Jan 6, 2018)

It grows in my low tech tanks but not really all that great. In shallower tanks with more light, it does OK. Healthy and steady if not all that fast growth. Not very well in deeper tanks. It will stay alive but very, very slow growth. Mostly just kind of hanging in there I'd say.

Much better with more light and CO2. I recently added CO2 to a tank where I have some and bumped the lighting up by ~20%. It's probably near doubled in mass within a couple of weeks and much more healthy looking. Definite difference.

Really takes off if it gets out of the water. This started out as just one little strand that got stuck on a big piece of driftwood that I have coming out of the tank.


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

Nice thread, interested to see how it goes!


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## Clappies (Dec 17, 2017)

Sweet, i did the same a few years ago with diy co2 and 3 x 30w led floodlights on a 3ft tank... Roughly 29 gallon. The key is to trim and replant, trim and replant.... And repeat lol. I will add some pics.






























Sent from my VKY-L09 using Tapatalk


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## Proteus01 (Mar 12, 2017)

Good start, good selection of tank, substrate, light, etc. Looking forward to more. 

Looks like I should try to grow this low tech, up outta the water like @Mike A. That emersed growth looks awesome.


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## Matuva (Jun 8, 2015)

Clappies said:


> Sweet, i did the same a few years ago with diy co2 and 3 x 30w led floodlights on a 3ft tank... Roughly 29 gallon. The key is to trim and replant, trim and replant.... And repeat lol. I will add some pics.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What he says °°)


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

It grows like a weed for me, even in low tech. That plant takes over when I have had it.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Hi All,

The last post was when I planted the Hydrocotyle tripartita (aka sp. 'Japan'). Here it is one week later and I see several new leaves emerging however no new runners are evident yet.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Hi All,

Another week has passed, I can now see at least two (and sometimes more) new leaves forming at each node that I planted. Also interesting to note that I did not have any nodes die or fail to put up new leaves.


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## asliceofkate (Nov 3, 2018)

Do you still have this set up? How is it going?


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Hi @asliceofkate,

Yes, it is still growing, although with my low light in this tank ([email protected]) it is getting "leggy" and not spreading like it does in higher light.


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