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small leaved stem plant - suggestions please

a1Matt

Member
Joined
10 Mar 2008
Messages
2,489
Location
Bromley
I have hemianthus micranthemoides in my tank already and this is perfect for me as a midground stem. The leaves are small and really compact. As the tank is low tech it only needs trimming once a month to keep it low (no higher than 3" at any point). I am slowly cultivating a dense bushy path with it.

I want to create a second path and am looking for another plant species along the same lines - compact growth, likes being topped and replanted, and the smaller leaves the better. All suggestions welcome!

The low tech aspect of my tank will limit me in some ways; for instance I have found that Rotala rotundifolia does not like these conditions. Then again it may help me in others; maybe glosso would grow straight up and work quite well?!

I am running a gravel substrate with 1wpg T5 with no CO2 or carbon added.

Plants I am considering:
Micranthemum umbrosum
Rotala sp green - will this go the same way as rotala rotundifolia or is it less forgiving of no CO2?
Marsilea hirsuta
Glosso.

Stems I am not considering as I have already:
HC (this is growing incredibly slowly, but it is growing nonetheless and amazingly growing horizontally not upwards! :wideyed: )
downoi
staurogyne
Hemianthus micranthemoides
 
Staurogyne would get my vote mate. Lovely plant that will grow slow or quite fast depending on conditions. I have some in my shrimp tank which I haven't trimmed for over 5 months, yet the patch I moved from there to my 90cm more higher tech tank is growing much faster (still not lightning speed though). It'll stay nice and compact :)

Some say that it needs to be hacked right back when the lower leaves start to go a bit funny, but I've not really noticed this problem (probably not looking close enough :lol:)
 
Couldn't agree more, Staurogyne is a great little plant. Only problem is I have that in the tank already :lol:
EDIT - under CO2 I found the lower leaves stayed good on mine... but I pulled them off and it stimulated really good bushy growth.
 
I like the Glossostigma idea! Could make a nice little bush. Probably look a bit more natural than the way we normally keep it (trimmed low). Amano is using it as a taller plant in the last (?) catalogue (the last one I've got anyway).

Mark
 
There goes 'ol Takashi San copying my ideas again :rolleyes: I will have to have words with him when we are next on the phone :lol:
 
I love Micranthemum umbrosum, and it compliments HM in my opinion.

Dave.
 
Cheers Dave.
Micrathenthemum is top of my list so far. So it is good to hear that it compliments the HM :)
 
small'ish, but not in the same league of smallness as HM. It is incredibly compact though, leaves can be within a mm of each other. It does normally grow straight up but (IME) if you put it in a shaded spot it creeps towards the light, but oddly still remains compact while doing so.
 
Mirophylum Mezianum gets my vote, it's stunning.
 
Dan Crawford said:
Mirophylum Mezianum gets my vote, it's stunning.
ooh ooh ooh! a plant I have never heard of. (EDIT - have found it on google now!)

nry said:
Go on, be a devil, give me a rough size in mm/cm/inches ;)
What a plonker I am, rambling away without actually answering the question :oops: ... up to about 2cm long :)
 
That Myriophillum looks gorgeous.

I am now getting a list of multiple plants I will be looking for (via the wants\swaps section) rather than just one :rolleyes: So far it is Myriophillum Mezianum and Micranthemum Umbrosum...
 
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