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Hi

I'm considering ordering some glosso (Glossostigma elatinoides) as a carpet / foreground plant for my little planted desktop tank. (note - the scape is changing atm... will post updated pics tomorrow once the water is clear if required)

Just wondering what people's experiences are with this plant... have you tried growing it without an enhanced substrate? I know it likes a high light environment to encourage the carpeting growth habits, and I'm reading that it prefers an enriched substrate... but I want to hear your experiences with this plant.. good and bad... What have you done to create a successful glosso carpet? what hasn't worked so well for you?

I'm thinking atm that the foreground will be mostly glosso, with some hairgrass interspersed. Is this viable? or will one plant out-compete the other for light / space / nutrients etc?

Thanks for your input

G_T

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

All this info was obtained from
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/plantspecies/p/gelatinoides.htm

If I remember correctly it was on my short list at one stage but after reading up on it i decided not to go with it.



Common Name: Glosso
Native to: New Zealand, Australia, and Tasmania
Height: 3/4 to 1.2 inches
Width: 1.2 inches inches, based on leaf growth
Growth Rate: Fast
Placement: Foreground
Lighting Needs: Very high (2.5 - 3.5 watts)
Temperature: 72 to 79 degrees
Hardness: Very soft to medium hard water
Difficulty: Difficult

Glossostigma elatinoides is much in demand in Japanese-inspired aquariums. It is one of the smallest aquarium plants, and thus a good foreground plant. A difficult plant demanding a lot of light. Grows upwards if light is poor. Make sure larger plants do not overshadow it. When planting in the aquarium small clumps (approx. 1/8 pot) should be placed at intervals of a few centimeters to help the plants grow together more quickly. CO2 addition and soft water promote growth significantly.
Glossostigma elatinoides is a medium difficulty stem plant that will thrive in aquariums with adequate lighting and not too hard water. The plant typically grows to a height of only 1.2 inches.The width of each leaf is about 1.2 inches, based on leaf growth.The leaf is petiolate.
In order to achieve strong shoots the substrate should be nutrient rich and light intensity high. Specimens should be planted individually spaced apart and will then grow in. while it may be painstaking to plant them individually, it is well worth the effort. Optimum growth temperature is 72 to 79 degrees, although it can grow in temps from 59 to 79 degrees.
Glossostigma elatinoides requires medium high to high lighting (2.5 - 3.5 watts/gal) to do well. If kept in low-light tanks, this aquarium plant has a tendency to wither away. Separate each stem and plant individually. This will result in better growth and help Glossostigma elatinoides to spread.
Don's Notes: My experience with Glossostigma elatinoides is that it grows better with iron nutrients in the substrate. I have floated little pieces of stem on the surface and had them continue to grow and then planted them in the substrate. Glossostigma elatinoides only requires sufficient fertilizers and an adequate source of the gas CO2 (carbon dioxide), or a good liquid carbon substitute like Excel or Natural Aquarium Vital. It also likes water that is not too hard. The leaves are a beautiful shade of bright green, making it an excellent foreground plant for higher light aquariums. In lower light the plant tends to grow upward as if to reach the light, and eventually withers away.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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I LOVe that grassy stuff down front G_T, is that the hair grass you were referring to? That stuff looks really awesome! I hope I can find some, is it tough to grow?

Hi & thanks for the replies guys.

Keith: That's pretty much the same info I found when looking around.. I can meet the requirement for high light and relatively soft water, as well as the liquid ferts. What I don't have is the enhanced substrate... just plain fine gravel.

Scott: Yep.. that's the dwarf hairgrass in the front. It has been going really well in this tank... sending out runners all over the place. I've not had as much success with it in any of my other tanks though with different gravel grain size and lower light levels.

What I would like to do is thin the hair grass out a fair bit and have the carpet of glosso in about that area, with occasional small clumps of hairgrass growing through it.

I originally thought that the hairgrass would be OK as my foreground / carpet plant.. but I'm looking at it now and thinking that it's growing a bit too tall and thick for what I envisioned. With my rescape I have removed most of the ludwigia, watersprite and moneywort and added a few stems of Rotala wallichi to the back of the tank. I have also added a really nice piece of DW along almost the centre of the tank and I would like to have the glosso / hairgrass in the front of that.

Was going to post some pics today of the new scape now that the water is clear after all the pulling up plants and rescaping.. but you're going to have to wait a bit longer as I forgot to transfer them before I left work for the day.

I'd still love to hear from people that have personal experience with this plant in their aquaria.. what has worked for you? Do I absolutely have to have a plant substrate to grow this plant?

G_T

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

As the article said, it likes a nice source of iron in the substrate. I would put at least a layer of laterite in the gravel, because it would greatly help it. I myself have never had it, but based on my knowledge, i think that laterite mixed or layered would be sufficent enough. It would also do you good to add the daily array of ferts. Maybe if you cant get to some laterite, i would suggest you get some plant tabs. They are neat little things, and they provide a possible source of nutrients. I think its like one every 8sq cms. That should also last you like 6 months, so that might be an option.

Good Luck!

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