# Riccia Carpet?



## SamH (Jul 17, 2009)

Hi there,

I'm needing a very low growing foreground plant, lower than glosso. Since we don't get HC readily over her, I'm going to use riccia.

Is it possible to lay a thin layer of riccia (1cm) straight onto the sand and put a wide mesh net over that, just weighed down on the corners?

Is there a better way to do it?

Thanks!


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## liljmn (Dec 3, 2007)

That would probably work. Or you could stuff some riccia between two mesh, kind of like a sandwich. You would be able to move it easier that way during a rescape. You would also need to continuously trim the riccia becuase it grows fast and will grow higher than glosso.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

The sandwich idea (either between two pieces of mesh, or plastic canvas (also known as plastic needlework canvas)) will work great.


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## demosthenes (Aug 23, 2008)

riccia grows straight up, fairly quickly, and its a huge mess. i would recommend against it. try to buy some HC online, maybe you can get across the borders? or find a dealer in Japan, i'm sure there is one.


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## kcirtappatrick (Mar 16, 2009)

I actually really like riccia carpets. however, i do agree with demosthenes...it would be a pain to trim every week or so. but if you can maintain it, it looks nice.


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## SamH (Jul 17, 2009)

Borders? New Zealand is an island, no borders. Lol. MAF is really strict here too, not allowed much stuff in. I tried to do the sandwhich thing but it wasn't working, so I netted it down to a few long pebbles so it should grow and glosso will fill the gaps between the pebbles.

Thanks!


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## adrianng1996 (Dec 1, 2009)

i am also considering a ricccia carpet...i know it grows like mad with co2,but if there sint any co2 and ferts...will it still grow?


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## SamH (Jul 17, 2009)

Mine grew well with just lights and DIY CO2


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## mumushummus (Sep 16, 2009)

good ideea SamH! I get some riccia and make it a carpet!!!


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## wearsbunnyslippers (Dec 6, 2007)

riccia is a pest in south africa, my tank included...

they are strict... when i went to new zealand a few years back, they asked me if i had been on a farm recently, i said yes, they took my shoes away and brought them back dry cleaned.. 

they let riccia in but not hc? 

guess they trying to avoid a another possum plague...


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## mumushummus (Sep 16, 2009)

so I wil have a pest carpet???? It will spread all over the house, may be some kilims no?


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## topfrog007 (Dec 30, 2007)

Why does it have to be riccia? You could make a carpet out of some different types of mosses, I think there are threads about it already.

Maybe flame moss?


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## Hobbes1911 (Mar 2, 2009)

I would recommend UG, although I understand that that is not the easiest plant to obtain.


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## Church (Sep 14, 2004)

If you do go with a Riccia carpet, make sure you invest in a good brine shrimp net. You will need it to scoop up all the metric tons of Riccia that will float up to the surface and muck your tank up. Oh yeah, also invest in a whole lot of patience. :eek5:

Riccia is beautiful, but it comes at a price...


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## leaf (Jun 27, 2009)

I've found Riccia to be a little more manageable if attached to flat pieces of slate or sandstone. If possible grow the riccia out in a high tech tank and then move it to a low tech tank. You'll get fuller, low tech riccia carpets this way.


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## adrianng1996 (Dec 1, 2009)

im thinking wether t get riccia or a dwarf hairgrass carpet...but DHG are hard to find....but ive heard theyre easy to care for even without co2


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## adrianng1996 (Dec 1, 2009)

oh yea....im also considering makin a riccia wall for my 5.5g...i saw one in the store and it grew really beautiful


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## bigboij (Jul 24, 2009)

what about mini 4 leaf clover the submersed form of it grows less than an inch and for the most part. don't know what kind of availability you have of it there


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## Jeff5614 (Dec 29, 2005)

This is a partial pic of a 55 I had a few years ago with a riccia carpet. I placed the riccia on flat stones and held it down with hair nets. It covered the entire tank and I loved the look of it but trimming it was a royal pain. Little bits would get everywhere and I never could manage to get all the clippings out. I finally got rid of it when I moved to a 75. I've thought off and on of starting one again but the mess from trimming keeps me from it.


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## leaf (Jun 27, 2009)

What a PITA it would be to trim in the tank with all those stems. A gorgeous tank for sure, but there's a price to pay for that kind of beauty. 

Maybe something more like this 








would be better in terms of maintainence. Down_shift posted that pic from his trip to China.


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## neoh (Sep 2, 2009)

how did it turn out for you?


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## urbguy (Sep 24, 2009)

I did the two mesh technique, works well under the mesh, it starts to collect a whole lot of mulm. It's kind of good but man, it's soo hard to maintain. Riccia is great for a few months but when it starts to detach itself from the netting thats when your hair starts to detach from your head as well. It's stated somewhere too in this forum, once you get riccia in your tank and you don't like it anymore, it's a pain to get out because it's so fast growing even without DIY CO2. I was riccia free, or so i thought, for a few weeks; then i found a huge chunk that wedged itself and grew in between a crevis of the drift wood. It's beautiful and all but you need to keep it looking beautiful. So, my thing is, if you get it, good luck cause it's a pain.


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