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75g aquascape help

2425 Views 10 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  chrisl, 
MatPat
I'm looking for some thoughts on replacing the stargrass in the pic below. I like the contrast in color between the stargrass and the C. spiralis but am not happy with the maintenance. The weekly uprooting is going to wreak havoc on my E. tenellus/E. acicularis foreground.

Other plants in the tank include:

E. stellata
Ludwigia spec. "Cuba"
C. spiralis
C. wendtii
C. lutea
Eichhornia diversifolia
R. wallichii (will probably be removed)
Red Tiger Lotus

I just moved the E. stellata closer to the right front center of the tank and placed some of the E. diversifolia on the Left front center. I was trying to fill the space where the stargrass was but I'm not really happy with this placement. Any suggestions for plants to replace the Stargrass would be greatly appreciated. Any other aquascaping suggestions would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

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R
A mound of hemianthus micrathemoides might fit where the stargrass is.


Roger Miller
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MatPat
Thanks for the help Roger.

I've tried H. micranthemoides in the past and had trouble getting it to grow vertically. Hopefully the C. spiralis above it will cut down on the light enough so the H. micranthemoides will grow up instead of out. It has a nice light green color and should contrast with the spiralis nicely. Thanks.
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T
Are you uprooting the stargrass at each trimming? Stargrass is a plant that can/should be treated like a hedge like Hemianthus micranthemoides. Give it a buzz cut across the top and it quickly recovers within a few days, pushing out even more sideshoots than before. It can get really bushy with this pruning method.

Otherwise, I think your design has potential but needs time to age. I hope the Eusteralis stellata on the right is only in a temporary position.

Carlos
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MatPat
The Stargrass does rebound quickly with each trimming. It grows so fast that maintenance is becoming a chore. It gets trimmed mid-week and I usually uproot it on the weekend and replant the tops. The bottoms get very unsightly since the bushy tops shade it.

The Stellata has already been moved to the right of center, behind and to the left of the Lotus. I don't really like this position much. It just doesn't look right. I may just have too many stems in there.

The pic of the tank was taken about a month ago. The foreground has grown in nicely but needs to be thinned in my opinion. Here is a current shot of it. Any recommendations?

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B
Tonina from Belem might be a good choice. Similar shade of green and the tops look similar to Startgrass. Plus for a stem plant, it grows fairly slow.

It's a great aquascape.
Good Luck,
Ben
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T
The large stems of Eusteralis stellata in the right side of the arrangement seem to make the tank look smaller than it actually is. I would try using more hedge-like plants that branch profusely for such a layout --Rotala sp Green, Hemianthus micranthemoides, Heteranthera zosterifolia, Rotala sp Nanjenshan, Ludwigia arcuata, Ludwigia brevipes, Micranthemum umbrosum.

You need something to cover the bases of the Eichhornia diversifolia, Rotala wallichii, Ludwigia sp Cuba, and Eusteralis stellata. Those mentioned in the previous paragraph can be pruned much, much shorter and kept that way through pruning over the top instead of incessant topping and replanting.

Carlos
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MatPat
Thanks for the tip Carlos. I was much happier with the Stargrass in the tank, I Just didn't like the maintenance. I may just put it back in the tank and try giving it a haircut each week. If I can get by without tossing the lower stems of Stargrass I think I can live with it.

Maybe a bit of H. micranthemoides below the stargrass would help hide the ugly stems of the Stargrass after pruning.

I will try removing the large stems of Stellata and see how it looks. I think I will be pleased with the stargrass back in the tank.
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C
Well Matt?? How's it coming along??

Chris
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MatPat
Thanks for the interest Chris. I re-scaped the tank again and tried to post a pic but for some reason can't. I guess I need to start another thread or something.
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C
Please do Matt, i'd like to see the new scape!

I too redid mine quite a bit. It grew in lushly w/ a couple diff. hygro species so I got rid of them and am trying some crypt undulata and got some E. Stellata to give it a whirl lol

Chris
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