# Carpet Plants List: Low tech and High tech with Pictures!



## Reckon

The following is a list of carpeting plants.

The parameters to achieve CARPETING CHARACTERISTICS are as followed: 
LOW TECH *no CO2 injection* necessary.
HIGH TECH *CO2 injection * necessary.

I will add pictures of my own plants over the next few days. 
I'll also some personal experience and tips for growing and aquascaping with these plants. Community members please contribute by adding pictures of your carpets  
Please communicate your experience with carpets, ex. Excel dosing, fertilizer dosing, lighting parameters, growth rates, maintenance, trimming methods, etc.

LOW TECH CARPETING PLANTS (these will carpet, but without CO2 this will take some time):

Dwarf Saggitaria:

Marsilea Minuta:

Helanthium (Echinodorus) Tenellus:

Cryptocoryne Parva:

Mosses:

HIGH TECH CARPETING PLANTS:

Glossostigma Elatinoides:

Popularly referred to as 'Glosso'. I found this plant to be the easiest to grow and fastest carpeting plant I've kept. I believe it is ideal for a hobbyist who is just starting the high tech planted tank experience. Leaves are bright Granny Smith apple green; 2-3mm in diameter and shaped like tiny golf clubs. Best planted in small bunches of no more than 10 nodes. Only requires some amount of CO2 to do well. Under lower light Glosso can grow to be quite tall and creep slower in such a setting. High light parameters drives Glosso to grow lower and creep quickly along the substrate. According to Tropica Glosso prefers softer water. Written by Reckon.

Elatine Hydropiper:

Commonly referred to as 'Mini Glosso'

Eleocharis Parvula/Acicularis:

Commonly referred to as 'Dwarf Hairgrass or DHG'

Hemianthus Callitrichoides:

Commonly referred to as 'HC'

Hydrocotyle Tripartia:

Also known as Hydrocotyle Japan. Bright green 1cm diameter 'maple leaf' shaped leaves. I don't consider it a true carpeting plant, but rather a compact vine-like creeping plant which will form a dense cover over the substrate especially when using high light, or by trimming taller stems. You can also get it to 'carpet' by pushing the plants closer to the substrate with your hand during tank maintenance. Fairly easy to grow with CO2. Moderate to fast growth. VERY slow growth without CO2 injection. Great for adding different texture and breaking up foreground plants and hardscape. Written by Reckon.

Ranunculus Inundatus:










Riccia Fluitans:

Rotala Mexicana Goias:

Staurogyne Repens:

Staurogyne Porto Velho:










Hygrophila Araguaia:

Micrantherum Umbrosum 'Monte Carlo':

Often referred to as simply 'Monte Carlo.' Also known as 'large pearl grass'. I consider this plant as a bigger version of HC. Slightly brighter green. Leaves are 2-3mm in diameter. Similar growth patterns. In my experience, Monte Carlo tends to take a short pause in growth when moved from one tank to another; this period ranges from 1 to 2 weeks. Best planted in individual nodes upright into the substrate, as Monte Carlo grows, it will fold over and begin to creep developing roots to 'grab' on to the substrate. I trim any errant nodes that don't adhere to the substrate. Trimming these nodes will stimulate the plant to put out creeping runners. Slow to moderate growth. Can be trained to be resistant to Excel dosing. In my experience, supplementing with a glutaraldehyde and higher light can accelerate Monte Carlo's growth. I recommend Monte Carlo for the hobbyist who likes the complex look of HC but wants to avoid the backache of propagating HC. Written by Reckon.










Utricularia Graminifolia:


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## Algae Beater

Don't forget U grammifolia , echinodorus quadricostatus, crypt Parva,


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## Reckon

Algae Beater said:


> Don't forget U grammifolia , echinodorus quadricostatus, crypt Parva,


Thanks, was about to add UG. Any experience with Echinodorus Quadricostatus? Does it need CO2 to carpet?


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## Algae Beater

It grows better with it yes


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## nigerian prince

reckon another great post
could you make one mega thread with some of the stuff from the beginners plants and merge it into a post with the low-tech carpet plants
something along the line of "low-tech/beginner plants and carpets"?
and if so could a mod sticky it please


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## Bobsidd

Thanks, Lawson! Another great thread. Also, I have a moss carpet that is super low-tech and starting to look half decent. I could post a photograph if you were interested in adding mosses to your post.

Thanks again,
Rob


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## Reckon

Bobsidd said:


> Thanks, Lawson! Another great thread. Also, I have a moss carpet that is super low-tech and starting to look half decent. I could post a photograph if you were interested in adding mosses to your post.
> 
> Thanks again,
> Rob


Yup. I'm happy to add moss as a carpet. I haven't tried it yet though so a write up and photos would be great. Or you can PM me with the info and I'll credit you at the top post.


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## Reckon

Apparently my rummies seem to like eating the tips off my R. Inundatus. Anyone have a good pic to share?
Community, feel free to submit write ups and pics.


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## Reckon

nigerian prince said:


> reckon another great post
> could you make one mega thread with some of the stuff from the beginners plants and merge it into a post with the low-tech carpet plants
> something along the line of "low-tech/beginner plants and carpets"?
> and if so could a mod sticky it please


Sure. I can do that. I'll get it done after I write up some content first.


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## opt-e

This is a great thread; I will be referring to it often! Thanks, Reckon!


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## Bobsidd

Reckon said:


> Yup. I'm happy to add moss as a carpet. I haven't tried it yet though so a write up and photos would be great. Or you can PM me with the info and I'll credit you at the top post.


Will do. I'll try to get a couple of passable photos and shoot you a PM.


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## Reckon

Had a couple questions over the last week about carpeting plants and CO2. Just thought I'd bump this up for the newer aspiring planted tank hobbyists


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## Bunny

Awesome list!
I just rescaped my 10 gal and ripped up my glosso carpet so don't have a pic, but just wanted to mention that without CO2 my glosso stayed low and sort of "carpeted". It never really reached a full carpet and just kinda crept slowly along the substrate with runners, but it also didn't melt or start growing tall. My lighting is a LED marineland stip of some sort... no model listed on it, but its one of the cheapest LEDs they sell.


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## Reckon

Thanks to Denis who brilliantly and dedicatedly set up to clear containers to grow HC and Monte Carlo side by side:



















Under decent LED lighting the HC is a bit more fluffy, but Monte Carlo is the better creeper.


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## geealexg

You should also include Downoi (pogostemon helferi) as a carpeting plant. I have them currently in a grow out tank and they look like mini ferns. They don't really grow that high also.

Awesome thread by the way! I really appreciate it. Very useful for newbies like me.


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## Bobsidd

Here is a photo of my low tech (no tech, really) moss carpet as it was growing in. Didn't manage to get a shot of it after it had finished growing in and have since redone this tank, but you should get the idea.



I can't remember what moss this was. Maybe Christmas, or something similar. I simply tied the moss to small pieces of slate and let it do its thing.

Cheers,
Rob


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## Reckon

Bobsidd said:


> Here is a photo of my low tech (no tech, really) moss carpet as it was growing in. Didn't manage to get a shot of it after it had finished growing in and have since redone this tank, but you should get the idea.
> 
> I can't remember what moss this was. Maybe Christmas, or something similar. I simply tied the moss to small pieces of slate and let it do its thing.
> 
> Cheers,
> Rob


Thanks for the pic! That's a great idea. The moss carpet almost gives it a terrestrial look rather than aquatic.


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## Philip

downoi and HC carpet


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## turttle

Neat ground cover


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## wslam

I found this thread doing some research on carpeting plants. Very useful! Hopefully we can help update it.


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## Gaia

Thank you for this great thread! Perfect timing as I'm just starting to set up my shrimp tank. 

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk


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## Reckon

I'm not able to edit my original post but Wyvc reminded me that since buces are now more common, these can be used as carpeting plants albeit very slow growers. Mini varieties will probably make better carpets. From my experience buces seem to do very well without CO2.


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