# Planted Tanks > Plant Talk >  What is your favourite foreground plant?

## bclee

Poll for your favorite foreground plant!

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## michael lai

I have C. Parva and E. Tenellus too but the Parva is growing algae and the tenellus just wouldn't stay at the bottom. sigh  :Sad:

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## |squee|

Glosso!  :Grin: 

Although I might try HC for my 2ft...

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## cutenk

echinodorus tennelus,
because they have different colour depend on Fe

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## bclee

> echinodorus tennelus,
> because they have different colour depend on Fe


The colour of the leaves is more dependent on lighting intensity rather than Fe. 

BC  :Wink:

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## mordrake

love my tenellus cos it's easy and have nice pinkish leaves in my tank  :Smug: 
wanted to try HC but don't think my cories and bristlenose will allow it..

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## coryfav

_Echinodorus tenellus_.  :Smile:  

Tried HC but found it needs quite a bit of attention.  :Embarassed:

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## BPT

My ranking:
1. HC, don't know how well I'm gonna like it, since I just start with it.
2. Eleocharis Parvula, shortest hairgrass.
3. Glosso, used to like it very much, but it took over the tank too fast for me.
4. E. Tennelus, something strange about the speciment I have. It started as foreground plant, but it grew so tall in my 60x30x36cm tank with 110W PL light, so I actually make it as nice background plant  :Smug:

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## Simon

BPT, i think your tenellus is E. quad ;P

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## BPT

Simon, 
You mean E. Quadricostatus ? uhmm.. nope its e. tennelus alright. For comparison I had both in my  4ft tank  . With less WPG, the tennelus there were at normal height. 
I thought with more light in  2ft tank  they won't grow as tall, but this is just the opposite.  :Confused:

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## bclee

> Simon, 
> You mean E. Quadricostatus ? uhmm.. nope its e. tennelus alright. For comparison I had both in my  4ft tank  . With less WPG, the tennelus there were at normal height. 
> I thought with more light in  2ft tank  they won't grow as tall, but this is just the opposite.


You fed steriods to your E. tenellus???  :Surprised:  

What lights (colour temp & wattage) do you have on each of these tanks?

BC

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## Wackytpt

hi

I think Ranalisama is another nice foreground plant

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## BPT

> You fed steriods to your E. tenellus???  
> 
> What lights (colour temp & wattage) do you have on each of these tanks?
> 
> BC


If adding compost(non-menure) is steroids, it would be so cheap & easy  :Grin:  . Thats the difference with the 2ft tank fert substrate. The larger tank has Dennerle deponit-mix only as substrate fertilizer. I add more concentration of column fert & higher CO2 for the 2ft since it has more WPG.

The light colour for both tank are same, Matrix brand with 12000K dymax bulbs. The 4ft(120x50x60) is 4x55W.

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## cutenk

i have some experienced with my tennelus,
it can grow to 25 cm in tall,

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## Garen_koh

Hairgrass and APP is my fav~

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## blueray

So far only try a few and I think APP is much better....only thing that I don't like is that it grow quite fast

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## WiNd08

i like App. n HC... but i prefer hairgrass... i got e tenllus dat aint spreading

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## Goondoo

BBA?  :Blah:   :Blah:   :Blah:

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## Wackytpt

> BBA?


where where is the king of bba?  :Razz:

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## Fei Miao

Hemianthus callitrichoides--just that as much as I tried, I still can't grow them...  :Blah:

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## Justikanz

Can anyone help? What is foreground plant that is in the planted display tank @Sam's at Marine Parade? They grew very thick and looks very nice... I am looking for a (thick) carpetting forground plant that is not very tall/big... just that what they had in that tank...

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## wong1979

They call it gou1 xin1 cao3. A type of utricularia sp. They are selling it like for $20 for a small piece.  :Opps:

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## Justikanz

> They call it gou1 xin1 cao3. A type of utricularia sp. They are selling it like for $20 for a small piece.


I googled for 'utricularia' and found that it is a carnivourous plant and the pics they show dun tally leh... The ones I saw look like the pygmy swords often sold... This pic might be blur...

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## wong1979

I know how it looks like, but indeed it is an utricularia sp. Take a look

 
_Utricularia uliginosa_ (taken from mollucscan.com)

There are many types of species around and probably don't look almost the same. But in its emmersed form, it produces a stalk-like flower stem that seems to be its carnivourous part.

 
_Utricularia bifida_ (taken from molluscan.com)

Actually, Singapore can find also. Plenty...but the cleaning up process is very tedious. Called gou xin cao. Wonder if it means "New plant from the longkang"  :Grin:

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## Justikanz

Wonder where else we can buy it... It does look very nice growing compact and the dark green color...  :Smile:  But $20 is really expensive...

Collect it huh... If convenient, dun mind at all...  :Razz:

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## wong1979

You can try tampines mountain biking track, look into the water-logged areas closely. What you will probably dismiss as algae is actually the plant you are looking for. Usually quite messy with all the mud, silt and algae with them.

But then again, probably not the exact sp as the ones sold by fishshop. 

The shop beside NA sells on wire mesh for $15 a piece.

IMO, it needs cool water, lots of light and CO2 for it to thrive. Not forgetting regular fertilisation. A demanding plant.

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## Justikanz

Thanks! I see... But still rather expensive...  :Surprised:  

I think I'll try out APP first... should be able to get some... 

Anyway, a bit out of topic... I saw a lot of interesting moss like plant growing downstairs from my flat... How to collect if they are moss?  :Grin:

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## soltari007

I have monster tellenus too.. I think it depends heavily on light, and how far it is from the substrate level... I have a 50w with 2 ft tank...

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## mitsukake

i like HC its small but nice..
but then i dun think i can grow it..

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## shaman

Where can I buy large amount of glasso?

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## Simon

> Where can I buy large amount of glasso?


its glosso not glasso and the best place i know is from teo aquatic

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## lukeskwr

HC is good and pleasant foreground plant but requires work.....parva is another choice.the spaces between parva lawn can give hiding place to shrimplets and fries....

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## ZeroKhoo

riccia  :Grin:

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## mecedesfish

Brother, can any one help to to grow HC. try it after buying from Teo but less than few day ...... gone.

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## |squee|

Isn't it time to close this poll too =x

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## ranmasatome

Yay!! Hair Grass Won!!!

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## jakey

i give my vote to HC. this plant will grow till very nice. just that alot of care is needed to take care of it.!

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## CT

I vote for e.tenellus.. very nice plant. easy to maintain. and quite nice as it give u a dark red colouration under strong light...

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## vinz

I'm a big fan of Cryptocoryne walkeri as a foreground plant in tall tanks now. Wonderfully slow growing (i.e. less maintenance), tough, adapts to both low light and high light. Plant them dense at the first go and you don't have to wait for them to grow in.

I like Marselia quadrifolia too. Creeps slowly and easy to maintain. But messy to process and plant if you get the emersed form. Again plant densely from the start. Needs good nutrients to thrive, but moderate light requirements.

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## Wackytpt

> I'm a big fan of Cryptocoryne walkeri as a foreground plant in tall tanks now. Wonderfully slow growing (i.e. less maintenance), tough, adapts to both low light and high light. Plant them dense at the first go and you don't have to wait for them to grow in.
> 
> I like Marselia quadrifolia too. Creeps slowly and easy to maintain. But messy to process and plant if you get the emersed form. Again plant densely from the start. Needs good nutrients to thrive, but moderate light requirements.


Vinz, 

I do agree with you that Walkeri are a good foreground plant. Short and red (In a sense).

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## plumboy21

My vote goes to Echinodorus tenellus (tentatively) cos it is bright light green, though it does gets a little messy at times, but nothing compares to riccia which i hv some too  :Exasperated:  I hv some hairgrass but not much results as yet. HC seems nice but hv not got to see the real thing ard my place.

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## sebasting

I didn't know hv so many Foreground plants  :Smile: 
but i like drwft hairglass

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## bclee

> My vote goes to Echinodorus tenellus (tentatively) cos it is bright light green, though it does gets a little messy at times, but nothing compares to riccia which i hv some too  I hv some hairgrass but not much results as yet. HC seems nice but hv not got to see the real thing ard my place.


Most of the time E. tenellus will turn reddish under direct light, not bright light green. Riccia is a pain to maintain. A number experienced hobbyist ultimately give up on riccia.

BC

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## plumboy21

> Most of the time E. tenellus will turn reddish under direct light, not bright light green. Riccia is a pain to maintain. A number experienced hobbyist ultimately give up on riccia.
> 
> BC


A few leaves of my E.tenellus even turns yellow (died) though not in great no.  :Opps:  Reddish? Hm, Have not seem mine turns red yet. The best i can see so far is bubbling like airstones, for once only.  :Embarassed:  Perhaps not enough lights? I hv ard 2 x 36w for a 2ft tank.

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## bclee

> A few leaves of my E.tenellus even turns yellow (died) though not in great no.  Reddish? Hm, Have not seem mine turns red yet. The best i can see so far is bubbling like airstones, for once only.  Perhaps not enough lights? I hv ard 2 x 36w for a 2ft tank.


I looks like your E. tenellus are still in emersed form. Emergent leaves are lighter green. The plant will slowly shed away the emergent leaves. New submergent leaves are slimmer and will turn reddish brown when exposed to direct light.

You have enough light for your 2-ft tank.

BC

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## plumboy21

Really? I dunno that. Thanks for the info.  :Smile:

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## Dreamwalkz

i like red/green tiger lotus!!

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## brad

tiger lotus as a foreground plant? Did I miss something?

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## Dreamwalkz

> tiger lotus as a foreground plant? Did I miss something?


lol i dun noe but i like putting it at the centre of my tank hahaz  :Laughing:

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## samuelgoh

> tiger lotus as a foreground plant? Did I miss something?


maybe he meant it as a centre-piece or something ?  :Roll Eyes:

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## Justikanz

The Tiger lotus can be 'trained' to stay low with strong lights and VERY good fertilization... Make sure that there are no plants surrounding the plant for competition for the fert and it can stay low for a pretty long time... Also, trim any leaves trying to reach for the surface... But by then, it means that the plant NEEDS to have its leaves reach the surface for food generation liao...

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## Dreamwalkz

so far its been lying so low haha i got 55 watts in a 2 ft tank lol and its seems to be high enough to scare the lotus frm going to high hahaha

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## samuelgoh

hmmmm wat about Ranunculus papulentus ?

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## StanChung

> The Tiger lotus can be 'trained' to stay low with strong lights and VERY good fertilization... Make sure that there are no plants surrounding the plant for competition for the fert and it can stay low for a pretty long time... Also, trim any leaves trying to reach for the surface... But by then, it means that the plant NEEDS to have its leaves reach the surface for food generation liao...


actually poor fertilization makes smaller leaves. hi light is def must to keep it low. try it.

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## Justikanz

I seriously beg to differ... Won't poor fertilization encourages the plant to produce leaves that are bigger and reaches the surface so as to make food?  :Huh?: 

Anyway, I was told to keep the area around the lotus free of other plants as much as possible so as to reduce the competition for food...  :Razz:

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## StanChung

> I seriously beg to differ... Won't poor fertilization encourages the plant to produce leaves that are bigger and reaches the surface so as to make food? 
> 
> Anyway, I was told to keep the area around the lotus free of other plants as much as possible so as to reduce the competition for food...


they produce long roots to search for root feed. not putting any nearby slows them down. no they don't produce bigger leaves till they are older.
water fertilisation can be normal.

never heard of poor fertilization growing big leaves. perhaps you need to reword that.

as i said try it. i have kept more than ten lotus at some time or other...
 :Wink:

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## bulovalover

Hair grass and HC....Unfortunately my hair grass has some unsightly black algae on the tips. :Sad:

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## StanChung

> Hair grass and HC....Unfortunately my hair grass has some unsightly black algae on the tips.


just snip off [left 2inht] and vacuum it out. or it will float and just scoop it up.

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## Kingfisher

APP for me as it grow very well last time. Now trying my hand on HC.

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## whucares

though alot hard work, riccia still rank first for me.

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## fishy_23

APP :Grin:  will be my favourite foreground plant

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## cwtan12

marsilea is my favourite!

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## Ah_ZhaN

Hmm...I am now doing _crypt. parva_ with _dwarf hairgrass_, still find them a bit 'erecting'. Wanna _try Hemianthus callitrichoides_ but no confidence(find them quite easily being uprooted by shrimps and otos). 

Any suggestion on _japanese hairgrass_ to compliment with _c.parva_ ? :Huh?:

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## eric_kclee

Japan Hair Grass is my favorite, it never grow tall like normal hair grass.

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## wjy

I like Japanese hair grass as well.

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## tman

The most popoular foreground plant -Java moss

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## Splendid Warrior

HC and Cryto parva for me.

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## Ibn

The foreground Utricularia is Utricularia graminifolia (formerly known as U. sp. 'Batang Panang'). Beautiful foreground plant and is one of my favorites (grew a mess of it awhile back). From there, it ranks:

2. Hemianthus callichtroides
3. Mosses!
4. Eleocharis parvula
5. Glosso
6. Blyxa japonica

Currently growing a new foreground, Echinodorus tenellus "red".  :Smile:

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## snowc

Hi guys, i'm new to planted tank. Is Echinodorus tenellus suitable for a cory tank? Plan to use it for my foreground while leaving a bare area for my corys to dig. Need advice. Thks

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## tcy81

i like APP most........
when fully grown..... its really nice ......

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## Puffer

Hi Guys, it would be very nice and appreciated if these foreground plants come with pics. I don't know what some of these plants look like i.e. APP?? :Smile:

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## kemp

check out the photo gallery brother! or else do a search, you'll also be able to find pictures of them

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## garythay

HC is my favorite foreground plant

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## Corleone

Moss! Any MOSS!

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## besh

Japonica + niu mao + ai zhen zhu

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## byleo

I like HC. It makes my small tank look BIG! The HC i bought looks like it ain't doing so well, but it came with a back-up plan! There's some glosso stuck in it, so it the HC die, the glosso takes over! Yay! Win-win situation!

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## r36613

Hairgrass is the best.

 :Grin:

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## kaym

Any one who tried Elatine triandra (APP), know how long it takes for the plant to fill up the foreground if planted within 2-3 cm apart? Just started on it. Was thinking of glosso but decided to try APP as i think it grows lower and more compact.

My tank is non-C02 but dosed with ferts and seachem excel. Temp maintained at 28 degrees.

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## oni_XL

I voted Hairgrass, looking at them swaying softly in the foreground, so dreamy!

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## Nevada

Glosso, HC and App for sure!!!  :Smile:

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## kietgnoel

Mosses for me.

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## denniswko

Hemianthus callitrichoides  :Jump for joy:

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## prec

Hemianthus callitrichoides and Japanese hairgrass!  :Grin:

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## sharrychrist

*Hi, this post is very informative; however I would like some specific information. If someone can help me then please send me a private message. Best Regards,*

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## chaosdiablo

All types of mosses....

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## steep70

Glosso for me..trying to grow now . very happy it is crawling and not growing upwards :Grin:

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## White Rhino

mosses  :Smile:   :Smile:   :Smile:

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## smk

utricularia sp....nice thick carpet ..  :Smile: 

mk :Blah:

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## dwgi32

HC and japanese hair grass for me.

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## o2bubble

E.tellenus. After 3 rounds hairgrass type trimming and lowering my mh and adding more fert, they grew much shorter around 5 cm.

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## crayonboi

Hairgrass and glosso for me..  :Grin:

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## EvolutionZ

sometimes must see what tank size..
as well as what scape suits what foreground..
if for 4ft tank > and jungle feeling will be E.tenellus for me.
if for 3ft< iwagumi scape.. HC or glosso
if its like river feeling scape then chendol plant or hairgrass/jap hairgrass will be nicer
my 2 cents,

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## raymond

I would opt for eriocaulon cinerum as foreground plant. I am currently working on a project of purely a Eriocaulon tank. Hopes it will work out fine for me.

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## bryan

> *Hi, this post is very informative; however I would like some specific information. If someone can help me then please send me a private message. Best Regards,*



Does this look like a SPAM robot?

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## torque6

i voted hairgrass japan variant, with its curvy leafs, looks good in my iwagumi setup, but its an extremely slow starter and requires co2 injection.

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## Reforma

Hemianthus callitrichoides for me 

did not managed to creep but now with constant lower temp it's moving now  :Smile: 
( with same tank & parameters )

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## o2bubble

Just switch to glosso and jap HG. Amazed when my glosso stayed very low and creeping fast with MH light (300w) compared to when I was just T5 (320w). Love the look of glosso mixed with jap HG  :Smile:

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## cyclops

I still like Japanese hairgrass. With sufficicient light will give the grassland kind of effect.

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## Dr. Tankenstein

I like pygmy vallisneria, easy to keep, doesn't require much light, spreads like crazy. Just trim it with scissors to keep it low.

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## Panut

Got to be Jap HG man.

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## bubberls

Really eager to see someone post their HG pics for a look!!!
HC is still the best but they do take a long while to form a lawn.

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## Verminator

I voted other, due to the fact they didnt include Eleocharis Parvula. I know its classed as Hairgrass, but its a great species and should be separate  :Grin: 

I gave in with HC due to it going brown and my fish constantly uprooting it. 10 pots consequently binned! *sigh*

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## dnsfpl

trying HC now, hopefully it grows well

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## schwantz

I have no idea what is the name of this foreground plant but it grows very easily and quickly too. Can anyone ID this plant?

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## KoiSG

> I have no idea what is the name of this foreground plant but it grows very easily and quickly too. Can anyone ID this plant?


APP (Elatine Triandra)

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## Scorpion86

Where can i buy hemianthus callitrichoides in singapore??any idea anyone??

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## Blue Whale

hc.
Yishun Aqua Star Trading sells in a packet. Across Khoo Teck Puah
C328 one shop sells in a packet, another one sells in block form or driftwood tied form or one packet. Like market selling vegetable, quite interesting. I just went down this week to both places.

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## phuakokhong

> I have no idea what is the name of this foreground plant but it grows very easily and quickly too. Can anyone ID this plant?


can advice how is the maintainance like? Do you have to trim it often? How thick will it grow? My glosso tank has been very high maintainance, every 2 weeks a small trimming, every 4 weeks will be a major trimming.

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## o2bubble

I'm thinking of switching to HC as glosso is too high maintenance, every 2 weeks have to trim or it will grow very tall.

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## NDC

I like APP because of its color and it is easy to grow  :Razz:

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## Desewer

APP loves N. you'll have to dose N if you aren't already. i tried app about 6 years ago and was happy with the result.

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## ScorpionX86

hc the nicest..try planting some in my tank,didnt grow quite well though hais

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## Blue Whale

Don't feel set back, I managed to grow 1 small little pot of hc at the moment, it isn't spreading but it is surviving. =) after about 3 tries I think....heh heh.

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## Koi_XX

Hairgrass... Utricularia Graminifolia (this mine  :Smug: ):



But all the foreground plant have his captivation...

See you.

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## Koi_XX

> I have no idea what is the name of this foreground plant but it grows very easily and quickly too. Can anyone ID this plant?


Elatine Triandra...  :Crying: 

I'm crazy to get this plant... for more information, show my post: http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=64988

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## will

Hairgrass is easier

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## cannon129

Staurogyne sp

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## eager

My favourite is HC followed by hairgrass.
Know that glosso can produce a nice thick carpet; but mine doesn't.
Do we plant close to each other and only a small bud. Have seen a pro done that.

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## duck

I am trying to find app. Anyone know which LFS is selling this plant? Thank you.

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## kennyseah17

i just started with hairgrass... I have electric co2 , 4 t5 light , 2 ft tank.. ada soil.. but i have no fert...

can someone recommend me any fert to use?

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## wongkk

Currently planting hairgrass as my carpet.... HC failed me once..

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## nononame

Fissidens Splachnobryoides

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## leonard6july

HC, but it keeps dying on me.

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## flowerflower

Currently, planting HC now. Growth is slow but steady. do have a problem of ADA soil with hair algae covering them.

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## widjajas

jap HG for me

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## WRT54GS

Any bro here that can help me where I can get/buy <Hemianthus callitrichoides>. Best location near east, north area.


Thank you.

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## DYLAN

> Any bro here that can help me where I can get/buy <Hemianthus callitrichoides>. Best location near east, north area.
> 
> 
> Thank you.


Pet Mart, Serangoon North (You might want to call and place an order first)
Seaview -Depends on stock availability

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## WRT54GS

> Pet Mart, Serangoon North (You might want to call and place an order first)
> Seaview -Depends on stock availability


Thank you, DYLAN

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## gid

i will vote for jap HG. It grows very slowly, but needs almost no maintenance at all.

I love glosso, but its just such a mess to groom.

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## ragn4rok

elatine hydropiper will be very interesting :-)

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## ralliart12

> elatine hydropiper will be very interesting :-)


This is the so-called "_mini_-glosso"?

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## ragn4rok

Yes bro... :-) the leaves are actually a bit bigger than Hemianthus cuba, but it's true that they look like a miniature glosso.

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## Chris Wong

Nice plants bro

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## Chris Wong

nice plant

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## ganet

hairgrass, easy and when grow a lot will be nice.

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## jt1

Urticularia Graminifolia or chendol plant for me. Love it very much.

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## edijutsu

Urticularia Graminifolia really does look good!

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## DewaldC

Cryptocoryne "pigmea" also seems to be a good alternative to parva. :Cool:

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## peiho

hairgrass, but hard to carpet. need a few months.

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## angus

my dwarf hair grass does not really grow, yet my Echinodorus tenellus is striving, growing quite tall (5-8 cm) with nice ivory colour. This is after 1 month in the same tank. What can be wrong?
I notice that hair grass is the most popular foreground plant here, not sure why. Is it because of colour, ease of growth or beauty? 
I thought Riccia would be a popular foreground plant too? 
Thinking of replacing my dwarf hair grass with Riccia...

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## armageddon

how about 

Staurogyne repens?

looks good.

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## nasty12

my choice is mini fissiden as fore ground! really beautiful!

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