Dwarf hairgrass Mini
Eleocharis parvula 'Mini'
Also known as Eleocharis sp. 'Mini', Eleocharis acicularis 'Mini', Eleocharis pusilla 'Mini'
Care at a glance
- Light
- Medium light
- CO2
- CO₂ beneficial
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Placement
- Foreground
- Type
- Carpeting
- Temperature
- 64–81°F (18–27°C)
- pH
- 5.0–7.0
- Hardness
- 2–12 dGH
- Max height
- 2.4 in (6 cm)
- Spread
- 2 in (5 cm)
- Nutrient uptake
- Root + water column
- Growth region
- Submersed or emersed
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Origin
- Aquarium selection of Eleocharis parvula, distributed into the trade from the US hobby
- Family
- Cyperaceae
Overview
The lowest-maintenance hairgrass carpet. Split a pot or tissue culture cup into small tufts and plant them a few centimeters apart in fine substrate; runners knit them together over a couple of months. Medium light is enough, and CO2 plus a nutrient substrate roughly halves the fill-in time. Because it tops out around 5 cm it never needs the regular mowing a standard hairgrass lawn does; just siphon debris off the carpet so mulm does not settle in and feed algae. Vacuum gently near the crowns, since fresh runners pull loose easily.
In the wild
A trade selection rather than a wild plant. Its parent, Eleocharis parvula, is a small spikerush of shallow fresh and brackish margins across much of the world, rooting in wet sand and mud both above and below the waterline. The Mini form circulates entirely in cultivation: Tropica received its stock from the US hobbyist Thomas Barr rather than a documented collection site, Flowgrow guesses at an origin around Belém in Brazil, and its exact identity within the small hairgrasses is still argued over.
Good to know
A spikerush in the sedge family Cyperaceae, so a grass-like plant rather than a true grass, with leafless photosynthetic stems. The Mini form stays roughly half the height of standard dwarf hairgrass, around 3 to 6 cm, and holds that height without cutting. It is sold under several Latin labels, including Eleocharis sp. 'Mini', acicularis 'Mini' and pusilla 'Mini', all referring to the same trade plant.
Did you know
Tropica credits its stock to Thomas Barr, the US hobbyist behind the estimative index dosing method, who passed the plant to the nursery, so this carpet plant entered the trade through a hobbyist's hands rather than a collection trip.
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