# Hydrocotyle tripartita 'Japan' carpet



## MountainPool

How well does Hydro 'japan' grow in low tech tanks?

I have medium lighting, and aquatic compost under fine gravel in my fourfooter, would hydro come under the stem plants or carpet plants category in medium light? Will it root feed and take advantage of the dirt?

Pics of how people are using this in their scapes would be helpful!


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## cephelix

i have it in both my low and high tech tanks and i must say, they carpet well. just have to keep trimming to make sure the bottom leaves don't die off. i find it unmanageable as a carpet in a high tech tank. it grows too fast and basically covers everything without constant trimming. in my low tech, i plant it in a corner and waiting to see how it turns out. seems more manageable. any shoots that grow too tall i just trim and replant.

it feeds from root and water column equally well from my experience but others more knowledgeable might chime in.

i don't have pics but i've seen some people tie it to driftwood/rock, without the roots ever touching the substrate.


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## AnotherHobby

In my high tech tank with CO2, ferts, and about 80 PAR it grows like a weed. It can double in volume in about 2 weeks. I'd say it's probably not great as a "carpet" plant because it's sort of bushy (maybe "fluffy" is a better word) and viney and likes to grow up. It roots pretty good once it get's going, but it's not compact. Perhaps aggressive trimming could keep it low. It makes a great bush or hedge though.

In my low tech tank with zero supplements and about 25 PAR it says alive. I can move it from my high tech tank, and it'll stay alive and not die, but it won't spread and generally doesn't really show any noticeable new growth, even over several months.

Those are just my observations with the two environments I've put it in.

Here is a pic of it growing in my high tech tank just to show you the structure I trim it to:


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## MountainPool

Beautiful tank, AH! Read your journal for this one a while ago, egg crate driftwood, right? Good build! Shame about the killer mold early on O_O put me off yogurt-method moss propagation, that's for sure.

I'm estimating my PAR at about 25, so it's good to know it survives at that. Low maintinence/slow growth is just fine. I'm considering running the tank with DIY CO2 and dosing NPK+Micros for a few months to get things grown in, then weaning the tank off the majority to slow growth down again. Sounds like hydrocotyle would do pretty well under these conditions?


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## junglefowl

My hydro. Japan survives in any condition...any tech tanks...and look good in every scapes...you can train the plant for carpet or go along driftwood/stones.


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## mattcham

AnotherHobby said:


> Here is a pic of it growing in my high tech tank just to show you the structure I trim it to:


What are those red plants in the center? Are they AR mini?


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## AnotherHobby

Yes


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## Fissure

That would look awesome on my driftwood!


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## exv152

I find hydrocotyle sp. japan to be a very elegant easy to grow plant, but can be quite aggressive choking out other plants if left alone. In lower light it tends to grow up towards the light with bigger leaves, and in higher light setups it grows low to the substrate with smaller/compact leaves.


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## AnotherHobby

exv152 said:


> I find hydrocotyle sp. japan to be a very elegant easy to grow plant, but can be quite aggressive choking out other plants if left alone.


I completely agree. It's a very fast growing plant that needs weekly trimming. You'll have to hunt down the runners that shoot out into other plant groups.


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## MountainPool

Would you recommend cornering it amongst rock hard scape to help keep it contained? 
I don't fancy having to dig it out of the creeping jenny every week, but I do like the sound of vigorous growth to soak up the 20ppm nitrates in my tap water!


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## AnotherHobby

It'll grow in any direction it can and doesn't require substrate. The nice thing is it doesn't root badly along the way, and it very easy to trim. The vines are pretty strong so you can tug them back between plants pretty easily.


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## exv152

Even if you corner it with stones, as mentioned, it will grow in any direction with or without substrate, and it is good for soaking up extra nutrients. But be sure to have a good pair of scissors handy. Pulling the running alone without cutting them can cause a mess. I find it's better to trim them and pull them out with tweezers to not undo the rest of the carpet.


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