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
1.6–11.8 in
1.6 in (4 cm) to 11.8 in (30 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
1 low light
17 medium light · 10 high light
CO₂
1 no CO₂ needed
20 CO₂ beneficial · 7 CO₂ required
Growth
9 slow growing
16 medium growth · 3 fast growing
Difficulty
11 easy
11 medium · 6 difficult

28 plants

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 round 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, and a fixture that grows stems at the surface may not grow a carpet on the floor. CO2 makes a carpet fast rather than possible; the ones marked easy spread without it and the ones marked difficult list it as required. It is planted as plugs a finger apart, and 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

    Runners fill the gaps within weeks

  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, and the giant hairgrass reaches 11.8 inches (30 cm) for the midground. The common nardoo is a Marsilea marked easy at 4.7 inches (12 cm). The dwarf water clover is the one carpet marked easy for low light with no CO2, 3.1 inches (8 cm) tall. 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, shorter micro sword marked medium at 2.8 inches (7 cm). The Marsilea quadrifolia is the four-leaf clover marked medium at 4.7 inches (12 cm), slow and undemanding. 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 slowly in it, 3.9 inches (10 cm) of 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'

    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
    Giant hairgrass (Eleocharis montevidensis)

    Giant hairgrass

    Eleocharis montevidensis

    11.8 in (30 cm)
  2. 02
    Needle hairgrass (Eleocharis acicularis)

    Needle hairgrass

    Eleocharis acicularis

    7.9 in (20 cm)
  3. 03
    Hygrophila serpyllum (Hygrophila serpyllum)

    Hygrophila serpyllum

    5.9 in (15 cm)
  4. 04
    Common nardoo (Marsilea drummondii)

    Common nardoo

    Marsilea drummondii

    4.7 in (12 cm)

Easiest to grow

FAQ

Common questions

What is the easiest carpeting plant?

The Monte Carlo and the dwarf hairgrass, both marked easy for medium light. The dwarf water clover is the carpet for a low-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, UG, 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 and the Monte Carlo are the fastest here.

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.

Which carpet works in sand?

The Monte Carlo, the Hydrocotyle Japan and the Staurogyne repens root in sand and feed from the water. The hairgrasses and the Marsilea want a root tab under sand or an aquasoil.

Index

All carpeting plants

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