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Re: Carpet Plants



I think it depends what type of "carpet" you want to achieve... a thin mat
or a thick shag?  Or perhaps a top-swimming fishes' carpet of 'forest'?

I've got dwarf sag on top of my flourite.  I like it... it gives depth to
the tank, although it doesn't provide a thick carpet look, at least not with
my patience level (when it gets thick, I tend to pull it up and give it away
or bring in a couple of bucks at an auction).  I've seen beautiful carpets
of micranthemum micranthemoides and glossostigma.

This week, though, my husband and I visited John Mangan's tanks (he was
passing on the archives of PVAS' Delta Tale to us) and I was astonished to
see his thick, beautiful carpets... of CRYPTS.  Sure, it's a good five or
six inches tall... but if you've got the patience, even in low light it can
make a beautiful, albeit quite thick 'carpet'.

I've got a new section of my tank, with a 'carpet' of heteranthera
zosterifolia.  I'd heard that it was fragile, but it seems to tolerate
frequent trimming well.  YMMV, but I can get it to grow tall, or I can clip
it low... it's when I try to clip it at mid-level that it turns black.

Alysoun McLaughlin
Wheaton, Maryland