Grass type plants

[Jackson]

Hi ... I am looking at a face lift on my 10G .  I am going to put in some seiryu rocks with UNS Controsoil and topped with maybe some white or just off white Caribsea  . I am looking for a grass the in some way resembles eel grass . I am looking at micro sword  and dwarf hair grass at the moment . Not looking to have a full carpet but some what sparse in the spacing leaving substrate showing in between the grass . So I want it to look like a beach similar to the north east coast line , with eel grass and maybe some slight dune effect . So anyone have suggestions on grass type ? The grass mentioned might grow taller then what I want . I don't want to be cutting it back . I can break up the sword and hair grass into smaller clumps and space them out to resemble clumps of eel grass in the sand .

 

 

Edited June 29, 2023 by Jackson

[Odd Duck]

Look at Sagittaria subulata as a possibility.  It may be a narrower leaf than you want but it would be proportionate to a smaller tank size than the ocean.  😆  It won’t get as tall as most Vallisnerias so it shouldn’t need tip trimming but might tend to grow denser than you want.  Otherwise as far as the “look” of eel grass, Vallisneria would definitely be the way to go and spiralis would probably be the species to go with since it doesn’t get nearly as tall, it has fairly flat leaves (the spiralis refers to the flower stem).  Val tends to space itself out fairly well but will double back and make a dense stand eventually, so you’ll have to tend it at least intermittently.  It does still have potential to get very tall - 20”, so some trimming might be needed.

Another option would be Vallisneria asiatica var. biawensis that may actually be Vallisneria tortifolia or may not be.  It still gets around 15-20” tall but has twisting, spiraling leaves.  Which one you get would depend on the look you want or whichever appeals to you more.

A third option would be Vallisneria nana which is from Australia.  It only gets to about 7” tall if the light is bright enough but it can get much taller in the tank sometimes.  The leaves are significantly narrower so I’m not sure if it would fit the look you want.  I also haven’t ever grown this one so I don’t know how dense it grows.  The pics look more like grass tufts to me than the rather “single strand” look of eel grass.

There are lots of other grassy options in the Sagittarias and Elodias, but I’m not as familiar with those so I’ll let others speak on them and other options they may know.   I’m tagging a few others that I know have gone deep in the plant rabbit hole - @Seattle_Aquarist, @gjcarew, @Mmiller2001, @anewbie, @nabokovfan87.  There are plenty others that can chime in as well that will probably have some good suggestions.

[Jackson]

@Odd Duck WOW ... Lots to look up ... Thank you ... Hopefully I want to keep the grass I get at a few inches max height . Have to keep the rocks in mind as I don't want the grass to obstruct them . Not going to make a center mountain or the yin and yang look . So more thought needed on the placement of them . But cool . I'll look up all those options you gave me .  

[nabokovfan87]

Micro sword is the other common one.

Eleocharis is the common group of plants and comes in a variety of species.

[Odd Duck]

If you want it only a few inches tall then you’re probably going to need to look at the Eleocharis’s, I think.  There are some dwarf Sags, maybe even Echinodorus tenellus but I think that’s going to get denser than you want.  The internodal length on its runners is very short.  The dwarf Sags also have shorter internodal length on their runners.  

Edited June 29, 2023 by Odd Duck

[Lennie]

You can also check blyxa japonica. 

And echinodorus bolivianus. I forgot its more common name

[Jackson]

On 6/29/2023 at 10:35 AM, Odd Duck said:

If you want it only a few inches tall then you’re probably going to need to look at the Eleocharis’s, I think.  There are some dwarf Sags, maybe even Echinodorus tenellus but I think that’s going to get denser than you want.  The internodal length on its runners is very short.  The dwarf Sags also have shorter internodal length on their runners.  

I want it to look like the dunes on  cape cod  . To a person, the eel grass would come up to your knee or so . I want to keep that prospective in mind . Also  I want to keep my nano tank nano . No large plants to start to over whelm it . 

Edited June 29, 2023 by Jackson

[Odd Duck]

On 6/29/2023 at 9:37 AM, Lennie said:

You can also check blyxa japonica. 

And echinodorus bolivianus. I forgot its more common name

See, I forgot about Blyxa completely as I don’t do CO2.  Another name for the E. bolivianus is Helanthium bolivianum ‘Quadricostatus’.  This is why I tagged others.

[Jackson]

I am looking for more open space like this pic , But not as dense or low cover as this . I like the open and simple look of this though . 

[Seattle_Aquarist]

On 6/29/2023 at 6:04 AM, Jackson said:

Hi ... I am looking at a face lift on my 10G .  I am going to put in some seiryu rocks with UNS Controsoil and topped with maybe some white or just off white Caribsea  . I am looking for a grass the in some way resembles eel grass . I am looking at micro sword  and dwarf hair grass at the moment . Not looking to have a full carpet but some what sparse in the spacing leaving substrate showing in between the grass . So I want it to look like a beach similar to the north east coast line , with eel grass and maybe some slight dune effect . So anyone have suggestions on grass type ? The grass mentioned might grow taller then what I want . I don't want to be cutting it back . I can break up the sword and hair grass into smaller clumps and space them out to resemble clumps of eel grass in the sand .

Thank you @Odd Duck for the shout-out

Hi Jackson,

I don't know if you can find the species anymore, it used to be very popular about 10 years ago......the Red Pygmy (not Micro) Chain Sword (Helanthium tenellum previously (Echinodorus tenellus tenellus).  It grew well for me in a low tech (no CO2) medium/low light 10 gallon tank, stayed short, and did not grow extremely fast.  Hope this helps! -Roy

10 gallon low tech (Red Pygmy Chain Sword in foreground)

[Jackson]

@Seattle_Aquarist.  There ya go . That would work just right if it stays short ... 😎

[Seattle_Aquarist]

On 6/29/2023 at 8:00 AM, Jackson said:

@Seattle_Aquarist.  There ya go . That would work just right if it stays short ... 😎

The picture above is the plant at full size.

[Jackson]

On 6/29/2023 at 10:37 AM, Lennie said:

You can also check blyxa japonica. 

And echinodorus bolivianus. I forgot its more common name

Looks very good ... Getting tall but the look is there .

[Lennie]

On 6/29/2023 at 5:51 PM, Jackson said:

I am looking for more open space like this pic , But not as dense or low cover as this . I like the open and simple look of this though . 

I can understand why you like this look.  Very cool.

But, I'm not sure how much fish enjoy being in these type of tanks. To grow short good carpet with co2, super high light. Fish is always exposed to high light and has nowhere to hide if they want to, even to take some rest. I personally think these type of look is good for human eye, but not sure if it makes fish happy. 

I can't think of any fish that enjoys being under super high light, without anything around to take cover or hide to feel safe if needed.

[Jackson]

@Lennie Not going for that light in the pic . Looking at one of those hyger lights that are programable . I have and I am considering a taller plant in the back for such a resting place . Most all the time my tetras are in the middle swimming around keeping busy . But the do take cover sometimes . I am looking at getting rid of the rasboras and my leopard frog pleco . And will most likely will pic up a few more of those black neons . So I lose 4 fish on my bio load . 

[Lennie]

On 6/29/2023 at 6:44 PM, Jackson said:

leopard frog pleco

gimme! 😛 

[Jackson]

On 6/29/2023 at 11:46 AM, Lennie said:

gimme! 😛 

You can have it ....😊

[Jackson]

On 6/29/2023 at 10:16 AM, Odd Duck said:

Another option would be Vallisneria asiatica var. biawensis that may actually be Vallisneria tortifolia or may not be.  It still gets around 15-20” tall but has twisting, spiraling leaves.  Which one you get would depend on the look you want or whichever appeals to you more.

 

That looks nice . Couple nice options put out . Some if could be kept in small bunches even though I might have to cut it back, would look good .

Edited June 29, 2023 by Jackson

[Jackson]

On 6/29/2023 at 11:46 AM, Lennie said:

gimme! 😛 

You can have the rasboras too ... 😊. They can ship in the same box ...

[nabokovfan87]

It looks like this is the smallest of the variety.

 

[Lennie]

On 6/29/2023 at 7:38 PM, Jackson said:

You can have the rasboras too ... 😊. They can ship in the same box ...

I'm from Türkiye. Majority of people in this forum are from US. 

I sometimes lose so many opportunities due to living far away 😄 

 

Hope you can find your lil friends a great home. If I was living nearby, I would love to take them 🙂

 

[Jackson]

@Lennie No probs ... That is a bit far .. Most likely take them to petco . Maybe trade the pleco for some ph up .. Any body wants it just shipping cost will do.

[Lennie]

On 6/29/2023 at 9:29 PM, Jackson said:

@Lennie No probs ... That is a bit far .. Most likely take them to petco . Maybe trade the pleco for some ph up .. Any body wants it just shipping cost will do.

If you want to rehome them, make sure to post them to

Home -> General -> Fish Swap - Buy/Sell/Trade.

 

Maybe someone would be interested 🙂 Both fish are nice and usually liked by many hobbyist.

[Jackson]

On 6/29/2023 at 2:32 PM, Lennie said:

If you want to rehome them, make sure to post them to

Home -> General -> Fish Swap - Buy/Sell/Trade.

 

Maybe someone would be interested 🙂 Both fish are nice and usually liked by many hobbyist.

Not worth the hassle .. Getting them to the post office is not a prob . Trying to sell is not worth the trouble as they go for 50/60 bucks ... plus shipping . Get maybe 20 bucks out of it . Maybe ..

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/29/2023 at 11:36 AM, Jackson said:

Not worth the hassle .. Getting them to the post office is not a prob . Trying to sell is not worth the trouble as they go for 50/60 bucks ... plus shipping . Get maybe 20 bucks out of it . Maybe ..

I think Lennie was just trying to explain there is a section for posting if you wish to try to give away, rehome, sell, trade, etc.  This is for fish only on the forums and it's a really awesome resource.  You can post it for local pickup only as well, there's a lot of ways.  Be sure to check it out!  (you're over the 50 posts, and so you should have access)