# Low tech ground covers



## Wasserpest

Glosso, Riccia, HC... they just don't cut it without lots of light, nutrients and CO2. Here are a few that have done fairly well for me under low/medium light conditions.










Dwarf Sagittaria... interesting looking ground cover. Not a real ground hugger, and spreads throughout the tank via runners. Pull the largest ones and keep the shortest ones... Some Christmas moss twigs have found their way between the Sags and start to grow to cute little balls.










Two leaved pearlweed, not sure what the scientific name is. It stays low to the ground initially, then needs a haircut now and then, and one day you need to rip it out and start over. It gives baby shrimps a lot of chances for survival.










Cryptocoryne lucens (aka C. willissii) is for the patient ones, but once it grabs hold it grows to nice big bushes which can be ripped out and plucked apart into many little plantlets (repeat until ground is covered). True low maintenance groundcover!










For larger tanks, Hygrophila difformis can be trimmed to a dense hedge. It is a fast grower, so low tech yes, low maintenance no. The light green looks great as a foreground, combine with darker plants in the background to give tanks an appearance of depth.


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## toofazt

Are these grown in a tank with CO2?


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## RoseHawke

Concensus seems to be Low-Tech = No CO2.


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## mr.dav

wat r some easy plants to take care of


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## Wasserpest

toofazt... They can be grown without CO2. At the time of taking the photos, they are all grown in CO2 enriched tanks. However, they are good candidates for low tech tanks, if you are looking for some.

Rose... I think we covered that in another thread. 

Most plants will grow faster in high-light, CO2 enriched tanks. Let's identify the ones that do well without!


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## RoseHawke

Wasserpest said:


> ". . .
> Most plants will grow faster in high-light, CO2 enriched tanks. Let's identify the ones that do well without!


Exactly .


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## mr.gaboozlebag

mr.dav said:


> wat r some easy plants to take care of


http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/low-tech-forum/29836-best-plants-low-tech.html


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## mr.dav

thanks guys i new it cuz i got lots of stuff like that but ill try to take pic and see if i can post


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## Nbot

this helps...
http://www.aquariumplants.com/Low_Light_Plants_s/25.htm


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## macclellan

I have some dwarf Hygrophilia (I don't know the real name) that is a real winner for low tech foreground. It is growing slow but steady in 36wAHS 9hours on a 20H tank with very light sprinklings of ferts and the occasional unmeasured splash of excel. I am growing it out to fill in the missing spots, I only got a sampler portion to start things off.

Please pardon the Anomalochromis thomasi, he/she really wanted to be in the pictures (and he/she sure is cute enough to be there!).










Here is another photo for context. The hygro is in front of some anubias nana 'petite' and peacock moss reference.


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## hooha

Wasserpest - the two-leaved pearlweed is a variant of Hemianthus micromanthoides.

MacClellan - that looks very similar to Hygrophila sp. "Porto vello" that we've been growing here in Pgh for a while....it is a carpeting Hygrophila species as well.....wonder if it's the same thing.....

great thread!


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## macclellan

*Hooha*, did you mean Puerto Vello or Porto Velho? What you wrote looks like a mix of spanish and portugues (I speak both), so I was wondering if it was one or the other.


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## hooha

You're right, it's the latter....thank god for trilingual people 
Actually if you do a google search for it, you can see there's an article by one of the local club members in a recent TAG issue, and there's a short discussion on it at the AGA website. A couple members here have had the plant for about 9-10 months at least....


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## macclellan

Yeah, that must be it. Tom posted to that AGA forum you mentioned, and I got it from him. Cool, now I know what it is.


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## BigB

I use dwarf sag, on my 75 and as long as i keep larger plants in the back it looks like a carpet even though it is 4-5inchs high:wink: 

Im trying it out in my 10 gal, and it will just make a tall grass field approach.


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## bpimm

I use dwarf hairgrass in low tek tanks with good results, I even have it growing in a vase getting only indirect sunlight.


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## CrazyMidwesterner

I have had no luck growing dwarf saggs. I have no idea what the issue is. The edge of the leaves turn black and the tips transparent. No such problems with my other pants. The black doesn't appear to be algae either. Who knows. I'm trying some pearl grass now I'll let you know how it works.


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## Robert H

> micromanthoides


Its spelled micranthemoides, in any language!  

Lilaeopsis maurituis is a new lilaeopsis specie to the hobby now available from Florida. It was first discovered by Tropica plants in the country Maurituis, an island off Africa. It grows much faster and under much lower light than other lilaeopsis species. It has a much more narrow leaf and spreads quickly ingto a nice thick, grassy lawn about 3" tall. Oliver Knott has taken a lot of pictures of it. I have it growing in tanks without any C02 and with moderate light. Each plant puts out multiple runners. Like Glossostigma, brighter light will make the plant shorter, but in this case low light does not slow down its growth.


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## Wasserpest

Robert H said:


> Its spelled micranthemoides, in any language!
> 
> ... in the country Maurituis, an island off Africa.


It is spelled Mauritius, unless you renamed it.


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## hooha

Wasserpest said:


> It is spelled Mauritius, unless you renamed it.


lol

I stand corrected myself.....


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## Robert H

hehe.. OK I guess Hooha and I are both lousy spellers. At least mine was closer! :icon_roll Is that all you have to say about it Wasserpet? Its a pretty cool plant. You should try it!  Its as close as we are going to get to have Tropica plants in the USA


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## hamstermann

what about microsword? will they work for low tech, low light?


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## Robert H

The common Micro sword is Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, and I would not call it a low tech plant because it needs pretty bright light to grow at all and grows painstakingly slow even then. Thats why this narrow leaf Micro sword is so much more attractive.


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## hamstermann

Well, on your recommendation I bought 4 baskets of the narrow leaf microsword. Hopefully it does turn into a thick lawn in low light. I haven't had much luck with microsword, glosso, or HC in the tank I've got now, but those are all high light plants.


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## keith00

I planted some Lilaeopsis mauritania in my 6', 200w, low tec, tank a week ago and it is already sending out runners. 

I don't really want it to grow 3" high so can I just trim it to say2"?


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## Nbot

> For larger tanks, Hygrophila difformis can be trimmed to a dense hedge. It is a fast grower, so low tech yes, low maintenance no. The light green looks great as a foreground, combine with darker plants in the background to give tanks an appearance of depth.


Wasser...great idea! You just pluck off the top plume, stick it in the soil next to the others, and let it grow on & on like this? Do the side plumes get "rotten" looking ever from being packed in too tight?


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## SearunSimpson

Man, i have been pushing this on this site for a while now! This is what I do with all my tanks. I bought one bunch about six months ago and now I have 3 10gl, 1 15gl, a 2.5gl, a 5.5gl and one 3.5gl completely carpeted out with hygro. I plant them in groups of 2-3 stalks and then let them grow up. Then I clip those to the desired hight and replant the clippings. With hygro, the more you clip it, the 'new growth' has smaller leaves which I feel is desirable for a carpeting effect. Just clip and plant, clip and plant. Co2 makes this stuff just grow like no tommorrow and will definitely speed up carpeting speed.


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## Ryzilla

Robert H said:


> Its spelled micranthemoides, in any language!
> 
> Lilaeopsis maurituis is a new lilaeopsis specie to the hobby now available from Florida. It was first discovered by Tropica plants in the country Maurituis, an island off Africa. It grows much faster and under much lower light than other lilaeopsis species. It has a much more narrow leaf and spreads quickly ingto a nice thick, grassy lawn about 3" tall. Oliver Knott has taken a lot of pictures of it. I have it growing in tanks without any C02 and with moderate light. Each plant puts out multiple runners. Like Glossostigma, brighter light will make the plant shorter, but in this case low light does not slow down its growth.


Can I have some


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## bereninga

My family is from Mauritius. If I ever had some of this, they'd get a kick out of it knowing that it's from there! It would be like having part of my family ROOTS (sorry, I had to) right in my home!


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## Justintoxicated

that Cryptocoryne lucens (aka C. willissii) looks nice, going to have to find some of that.


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## hamstermann

I bought and planted 4 baskets of Lilaeopsis maurituis. Can this be trimmed to encourage growth and get rid of some algae or would that kill it?


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