[buddha_red]

I am sort of confused. I keep seeing pictures of peoples tanks with Hair grass in it, and its a short carpet grass, But i have read it grows to be 6 inches. Are there two different kinds?

Or are they cutting it short before planting it?

 

[Error]

There are a lot of species of hairgrass...some of which are shorter than others. Eleocharis parvula seems to be the smallest.

 

[buddha_red]

i looked on aquabid.com and either they labled it wrong or that is the dwarf grass that grows 6 inches.

I have heard of some only growing 1 1/2 inches. could this just be a case of trimming it and it growing moderately or slowly?

Eleocharis parvula keeps comming up as 6 inch grass, suppose i could trim it before planting then trim it as it grows to suit whatever im going for.

 

[glenhead]

FWIW, the E. parvula in my tank tops out at about three inches (or a bit under) so far. It's been in the tank for about two months, and is about 19" from my 2wpg fixtures. Fresh from the pots it was about 1.5 inches. Also, it is really slow to spread, at least so far in my tank (substrate related? (normal aquarium gravel)) so if you're looking for a quick carpet you may want to buy a lot.

Glen

 

[jsenske]

You will find great confusion in the naming of the smaller hairgrass species. I can't tell you how many times I bought/wanted E. acicularis and gat parvulus or some other sub-species. Most suppliers seem to be unsure themselves sometimes.

 

[Robbb]

The best place to get 'real' acicularis is at Lowes (havn't tried Home Depot). Unfortunately, they only sell it during warmer months when they offer their pond plants. It's labeled as needle spike rush. It is definitely much taller that the potted plants sold in fish stores. Eleocharis vivipara is the tallest hairgrass i've seen (also as seen in many of Amano's tanks as a background plant). I agree that many times the eleocharis acicularis sold in fish stores is really eleocharis parvula.

 

[Simpte 27]

Your lfs sell plants?!?!?!?! Thats a radical concept here. We get the occasional, bba infested, snail infested onion plants, lily bulbs, and java fern. Thats on a good week!

 

[trenac]

The only Hairgrass I have seen in my LFS's are Dwarf Hairgrass, Pygmy Hairgrass and Gaint Hairgrass. The DH grows to 3-4", PH not sure and GH grows to 20+".


Simpte... Sorry to here that you don't have at least 1 good LFS to buy plants from, I thought Dayton was a big city.

 

[Robert Hudson]

parvula or parvulus is shorter than acicularis. E. acicularis is very common in the USA because that is what Florida Aquatic Nurseries sells as dwarf hairgrass potted. I thought you guys bought from them Jeff! Parvula has to be imported. Parvula is the one most sought after and the hardest to find because it is imported and is the shortest variety. It is unlikely you would find parvula in pet stores unless they import. Vivipara is a horrible plant because the hair like leaves branch out all over the place growing into a thick spider like tangled WEB. Giant hairgrass is the tallest, Eleocharis montevidensis, which gets as tall as 2 feet and the leaves are about as big around as straw.

 

[buddha_red]

if i could find it i would surely buy some. cant locate it for sale anywhere.
thanks for the good info though i appreciate it.

 

[Robert Hudson]

I have parvula, acicularis, and montevidensis available.

 

[turtlehead]

is Eleocharis acicularis like Eleocharis vivapara in thickness? Eleocharis vivapara feels like hair, is Eleocharis acicularis a little thicker?

 

[lowcoaster]

All of the E. parvula I have ever gotten in was 2.5-3 inches tall max. I get mine from Singapore.

 

[turtlehead]

I mean do they all feel like hair? or are the strands thicker

 

[Capt.]

They are about the thickness of hair, possibly slightly thicker. I too have some of this 6" hairgrass. It was sold to me by a fellow hobbyist as acicularis. My true dwarf hairgrass (parvula) stays very short, around 2".