TankBud

Carpeting aquarium plants

Carpeting plants spread low across the substrate to form a green foreground. Most want good light and many do better with CO2. Each profile lists the light, CO2 and growth rate to expect.

At a glance

Height
1.6–7.9 in
1.6 in (4 cm) to 7.9 in (20 cm); half the list stays at 3 in (7.5 cm) or under
Temperature
64–82°F
18–28°C, most of the list
Light
19 medium light
9 high light
CO₂
1 no CO₂ needed
22 CO₂ beneficial · 5 CO₂ required
Growth
5 slow growing
18 medium growth · 5 fast growing
Difficulty
11 easy
11 medium · 6 difficult

25 plants and 4 varieties

Start here

The carpets to start with

The Monte Carlo is the carpet most tanks succeed with, marked easy at 2 inches (5 cm) for medium light with CO2 beneficial. The dwarf hairgrass is a fine grass at 3.9 inches (10 cm), the same rating, and it spreads faster with CO2. The Staurogyne repens grows in low bushes at 3.9 inches (10 cm), marked easy. The Hydrocotyle Japan is a fast carpet of small three-lobed leaves that roots as it creeps. The Marsilea hirsuta is a clover carpet marked easy that fills slowly and never needs much. The pygmy chain sword is a rosette that spreads by runners at 3.9 inches (10 cm), marked easy.

The rule

What a carpet needs

A carpet grows at the substrate, so the light has to reach it. Every carpet here lists medium or high light. A fixture that grows stems at the surface may not grow a carpet on the floor. CO2 makes most carpets fast rather than possible, and the ones marked easy spread without it. Most of the ones marked difficult list it as required, and so does the Hydrocotyle mini, marked medium. A carpet is planted as plugs a finger apart. It is trimmed like a lawn, because a carpet that grows on top of itself lifts off the substrate as a mat.

  1. 01

    Light at the floor

    Every carpet here lists medium or high light

  2. 02

    CO2 makes it fast

    The easy carpets spread without it

  3. 03

    Plugs a finger apart

    The gaps fill in over weeks to months

  4. 04

    Trim like a lawn

    Or the mat lifts off the substrate

Easy

The easy carpets

The needle hairgrass is the taller hairgrass at 7.9 inches (20 cm), marked easy. The dwarf hairgrass Mini is the shortest at 2.4 inches (6 cm), also marked easy. The common nardoo is a Marsilea marked easy at 4.7 inches (12 cm). The dwarf water clover is marked easy for medium light at 2 inches (5 cm), the one carpet here that lists no CO2. The Hygrophila serpyllum is a low creeper marked medium at 5.9 inches (15 cm). The micro sword is a fine grass marked medium at 2.4 inches (6 cm) that fills in slowly.

Medium

The medium carpets

The Mauritius micro sword is a finer micro sword marked medium at 2.8 inches (7 cm). The Marsilea quadrifolia is a clover carpet marked medium at 4.7 inches (12 cm), more demanding than the Marsilea hirsuta. It wants medium light and a nutrient substrate or root tabs, since it feeds mainly through its roots. It is marked invasive, so put its trimmings in the trash, never outdoors. The Pogostemon helferi grows in crinkled rosettes at 3.1 inches (8 cm), marked medium for high light. The Hydrocotyle mini is a fast carpet of tiny round leaves at 2 inches (5 cm), marked medium, and the one on this row that lists CO2 as required.

Experts

The demanding carpets

The dwarf baby tears lists high light and CO2 as required, 2 inches (5 cm) tall and marked difficult, and it melts without both. The glosso is the classic aquascaping carpet at 1.6 inches (4 cm) that grows upward the moment the light drops. The UG is a bladderwort at 1.6 inches (4 cm) for soft water in a mature tank. The waterwort is a nano carpet at 2 inches (5 cm) that needs steady CO2 to keep going. The whorled pennywort grows fast out of water and at a moderate pace in it. It reaches 3.9 inches (10 cm), with round leaves that need bright light to stay compact.

By the numbers

Smallest

  1. 01
    Glosso (Glossostigma elatinoides)

    Glosso

    Glossostigma elatinoides

    1.6 in (4 cm)
  2. 02
    Platinum glosso (Glossostigma elatinoides 'Platinum')

    Platinum glosso

    Glossostigma elatinoides 'Platinum'

    1.6 in (4 cm)
  3. 03
    UG (Utricularia graminifolia)

    UG

    Utricularia graminifolia

    1.6 in (4 cm)
  4. 04
    Dwarf baby tears (Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba')

    Dwarf baby tears

    Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba'

    2 in (5 cm)

Tallest

  1. 01
    Needle hairgrass (Eleocharis acicularis)

    Needle hairgrass

    Eleocharis acicularis

    7.9 in (20 cm)
  2. 02
    Hygrophila serpyllum (Hygrophila serpyllum)

    Hygrophila serpyllum

    5.9 in (15 cm)
  3. 03
    Common nardoo (Marsilea drummondii)

    Common nardoo

    Marsilea drummondii

    4.7 in (12 cm)
  4. 04
    Marsilea quadrifolia (Marsilea quadrifolia)

    Marsilea quadrifolia

    4.7 in (12 cm)

Easiest to grow

FAQ

Common questions

What is the easiest carpeting plant?

The Monte Carlo and the dwarf hairgrass are among the carpets marked easy for medium light. The dwarf water clover is the easy carpet for a medium-light tank without CO2.

Can I grow a carpet without CO2?

Yes, slowly. The carpets marked easy spread without it under medium light. The dwarf baby tears, glosso, platinum glosso, waterwort and Hydrocotyle mini list CO2 as required.

How long does a carpet take to fill in?

Six to twelve weeks from plugs under medium light with CO2, and longer without. The Hydrocotyle Japan, Hydrocotyle mini and glosso are the fastest here, and the last two list CO2 as required.

Why is my carpet growing upward instead of across?

Not enough light at the substrate. The glosso and the dwarf baby tears do this first; raise the light or move the plants out of the shade of taller ones.

How do I trim a carpet?

Cut it back to half height with curved scissors every few weeks, then vacuum or net the clippings. Trimming keeps it low and stops the mat lifting. Avoid heavy trimming on the UG. The slow Marsilea carpets need little trimming.

Which carpet works in sand?

The Monte Carlo, the Hydrocotyle Japan and the Staurogyne repens root in sand. The Monte Carlo and Staurogyne repens still do better with root tabs or a nutrient-rich substrate. The hairgrasses and the Marsilea want a root tab under sand or an aquasoil.

Index

All carpeting plants

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