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Riccia or Java Moss




 Steve,

 >> Yeah, but that's good because you don't want the lawn to be so fast
growing that it takes over or chokes out the other plants. <<

 Most of the best "lawn" type plants need quite a bit of light.  This limits
them to a large extent to the open areas in the front of the tank.  I haven't
seen and signs of any of the common "lawn" plants choking out other plants.

 >> We have to think about what plant LIKE to grow together too and I
understand swords and esp. Crypts prefer their own kinds. <<

 I have not found this piece of folk lore to hold true in any of the tanks I
have.  I grow Crypts and Swords with all kinds of other plants.

 >> What I found with Java moss, it was too much work to keep it out of the
other plants and I let it get out of control. <<

 Well, that is a problem.<g>  All fast growing plants need to be kept in hand.
The only annoying problem I have with the Java Moss is that it does want to
creep down into the Lillaeopsis.  Even so, it is a minor annoyance.  I just
weed it out when I do my weekly maintenance on the tank. That keeps ahead of
it.

 >>Do you find you have to trim it? and how often? I don't think you could
just pull parts off by hand; it's too tough and would loose it's shape and
anchorage. <<

 I _do_ just pull excess off by hand.  The anchored strands are very tough,
and stay put.  The further it grows from the base, the easier it is to pull
off.  I just run my fingers through it, and removes any that pulls away.  It's
these loose strands that will start to move into other plants anyway.

  E-mail from: Karen Randall, 13-May-1995