Ground cover plants in an aquarium

Beautiful aquarium design is not possible without ground cover plants. You will learn about the names and features of the content of these species in this article.

A well-groomed aquarium with bright fish and exotic algae delights - just do not take your eyes off. Creating a beautiful landscape in a small underwater kingdom is impossible without ground cover plants.

The vegetation is planted with glades and the lawn in the foreground and middle of the aquarium. They cover grottoes, fancy snags, decorative bridges, vessels, chests and ships, creating the main background against which large algae and motley fish stand out.

Any experienced aquarist will tell you that there is no separate species of ground cover plants. All of them belong to different species and families, but have much in common:

• master any space, covering it with a dense beautiful carpet;
• safe for the inhabitants of the aquarium;
• do not pollute water, do not clog the filter;
• have a high cost: there are copies available at a price only to wealthy lovers.

Popular ground covers include:

• Javanese moss (hypnosis moss family);
• lilyopsis (celery family);
• Sitnyag (sedge family);
• Hemianthus cube (Norian family);
• riccia (liver mosses);
• tender echinodorus (family of chastukhovih);
• four-leaf Marsilia (fern class, Marsilian family);
• Glossostigma (Norichnik family).

Keeping and growing conditions should be close to their natural habitat.All integumentary plants that have become "residents" of domestic reservoirs have moved here from New Zealand, Brazil, Thailand, where it is warm and sunny. Some of them are very difficult to care for, and amateur beginners can easily cope with others.

For a comfortable habitat of any ground cover plants, you must:

• maintain the optimum temperature (up to 28 degrees) and the level of illumination with the help of metal halide lamps with a power of 0.5 W per liter of water;
• keep the aquarium clean: thoroughly siphon the “living carpet” and change the water;
• feed the soil with liquid fertilizers;
• saturate water with CO2: a high oxygen concentration is necessary for some specimens.

The plant has 9 varieties. The most common ones are:

• Liliopsis Brazilian;
• Lilyopsis Caroline.

Liliopsis is a refuge for fish and arthropod inhabitants of the aquarium. The plant is like lawn grass subject to all the required conditions, it grows just as smoothly and accurately, and most importantly - it does not require a haircut.

It is combined with any other types of plants; specimens with smooth glossy leaf plates look especially impressive against its background. Plants in small bushes, growing, requires regular thinning, so as not to overgrow with weed algae.

In order for the green meadow to please you for many years, the plant is looked after:

• regularly fed;
• observe the temperature regime from 18 to 28 degrees;
• maintain the necessary average hardness and alkaline composition of water;
• For fast growth, a 12-hour light mode is set.

In water, it is practically no different from Brazilian. He, too, is planted in the foreground and highlighted. The culture is unpretentious to water hardness, prefers slightly alkaline acidity.

Four-leaf Marsilia - a creeping plant no more than 10.5 cm tall with more rounded leaves than that of a Brazilian counterpart. It looks great in aquascapes, growing with a thick carpet at the bottom. Its good to use to create specific areas and lawns.

If you plan to plant other plants, regulate the growth of Marcelia, otherwise it will quickly take up all the free space.

In the aquarium, this plant looks simply magical - a soft stalk covered with small thin light green leaf-needles, moving smoothly in the water, is simply mesmerizing.

Sprawling, moss creates simply fantastic bright green thickets. It is easily attached to any surface and grows without soil on shells, snags, even masters filters and aquarium glass. With its help, you can realize any design idea by wrapping a strong thread to the necessary support.

Javanese moss is completely picky about the conditions. The main thing for the species is clean water, without any debris, otherwise a plant whose pores are quickly clogged will die.

This plant will make a stunningly beautiful landscape even for a novice aquarist. Thalli of the plant grow very quickly, creating picturesque islands floating in the upper layer of water. Air bubbles penetrating between layers of riccia make it lush and airy.

This moss is able to live on any surface, despite the absence of rhizomes, stems and leaves. For riccia to master the necessary surface, it is attached with a fishing line. At the bottom, the plant forms picturesque hills and hills, growing on stones.

The main condition for keeping richia is bright lighting and regular water changes. The culture is not fastidious to other conditions in the aquarium.

The plant creates a natural and attractive look for a home reservoir. Its picturesque greenery not only decorates the aquarium, but also serves as an excellent home for fish.

There are several types of plants.

• The Sitnyag is tiny. The maximum height of the plant is 10 cm. Outwardly, it resembles soft, thick and juicy grass.
• Sitnyag viviparous. The plant is tall - 40 cm in height, suitable for creating a landscape in the background. It resembles small panicles collected from very thin and soft shoots.
• A cotton needle needle. Has thin light green shoots, similar to needles, 15 cm high.
• Sitnyag swamp. It is characterized by straight and thin shoots of a reddish color, its flowers are similar to panicles.

The plant forms a lawn after 1-1.5 months. So that the shoots do not stretch much, they are cut before planting.

More information about ground cover plants in the aquarium is described in the next video.