5 Gallon Tank Ground cover

I am about to start a theme betta tank next week and need some help with the ground cover. The tank is going to be reminiscent of a meadow. Something like a cross between this:


and this:


I want the ground cover to look like grass, but not to be too long, as it needs to be proportional to the rest of the plants (cabomba caroliniana in the corners as "trees" and java fern in the middle of the back as "ferns"). I was going to use marimo moss (buy a couple of balls of it, then break them apart so that they'll lay on the substrate, weighted down by granite "boulders," which would be proportionately sized rocks), but someone on another forum said marimo moss doesn't do well like that (although I saw where someone did it in a smaller tank and it looked like it was successful). So, my other choices are micro sword and dwarf hairgrass. I have micro sword in my 55gal and I'm not a huge fan. I can't get it to grow for me at all (it doesn't die and it appears to be healthy and dark green, but it won't grow). I will have to look to see if dwarf hairgrass is available in my area (I haven't seen it before, but I've never actually looked for it, so it's possible I've missed it at Petsmart or Petco). My concern about the micro sword and dwarf hairgrass are that they grow to be 4" tall and I don't think that would look proportionate to the other plants...but I could be wrong. I can't have anything that I have to order since I don't have a checking account and don't have anyone's that I can use (my parents are terrified of ordering stuff online). So, would the moss work, or should I try to find the dwarf hairgrass or micro sword? The tank is basically the AquaTech version of the Eclipse 6, so it has an 8W T5 bulb in it.

 

Hello BassBoneDiva

Here is a link on Japanese Marimo Balls. I have them in two of my tanks and I love them. I've never tried to attach them to any surfaces though. I move them around every few days. They tend to get air bubbles on them from time to time and if the bubbles aren't removed then brown spots appear where the bubble was.


Best of luck. I love your ideas and will be looking forward to updates.
Ken

 

Awesome Idea!!!

I posted this site not long ago, but it might give you some ideas on ground covers...

 

HI Ken! lol

Granted, this is a small bowl, but the concept is the same with the moss (in fact, this is where I got the idea):


That's kind of what I'm looking to do in the 5gal. Or, if I can fnd the dwarf hairgrass, I could do the dwarf hairgrass and just try to keep it trimmed so it doesn't overpower the rest of the 'scape. Then I could attach some marimo moss to the driftwood and "boulders" I plan to have in the tank. Hrm.

 

Dwarf Hairgrass won't work for you under an 8w light anyway so I wouldn't bother with that. Maybe use some craft mesh weighed down with a couple of pebbles with some Java Moss woven through it. The Moss will grow right over & through the mesh giving a grassy sort of look. Just trim it with scissors to the length you want. Fissedens can be used the exact same way. Riccia can be used in the same way but needs to be sandwiched between two pieces of mesh & allowed to grow through & over the mesh. I'm not sure if 8w will be enough to grow Riccia at the bottom of the tank or not but I think it would be ok.

 

Awesome Idea!!!

I posted this site not long ago, but it might give you some ideas on ground covers...

I would LOVE to have HC (or dwarf baby tears) like in that first tank, ryan, but from what I've heard it's kind of difficult to grow (I have a friend in NJ who has some in his 10gal and he said it's a pain unless you have a TON of light)...that and it's next to impossible to find around here.

If I could get the dwarf hairgrass to cover like this, it'd totally be worth it.
https://i1.lelong.com.my/UserImages/Items/0902/25/Aquashop@13.jpg

 

Dwarf Hairgrass won't work for you under an 8w light anyway so I wouldn't bother with that. Maybe use some craft mesh weighed down with a couple of pebbles with some Java Moss woven through it. The Moss will grow right over & through the mesh giving a grassy sort of look. Just trim it with scissors to the length you want. Fissedens can be used the exact same way. Riccia can be used in the same way but needs to be sandwiched between two pieces of mesh & allowed to grow through & over the mesh. I'm not sure if 8w will be enough to grow Riccia at the bottom of the tank or not but I think it would be ok.

I have PLENTY of java (and willow and Taiwan and flame) moss in my 29gal, so I could do the java moss idea. I also have some leftover plastic canvas (craft mesh) from dividing my 10gal. Hmmmmmm...that might work. You don't think the marimo moss would work, though?

Okay! I googled "java moss carpet" and am convinced that this is the way to go, especially after seeing this pic:
https://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/9/9/7/5/3/2/webimg/314330443_o.jpg
That's pretty much exactly what I want for the carpet (sans the obvious squares of moss). The piece of plastic canvas I have is large enough that I can cut it to fit and trim/shape it as needed.

Thanks, Nutter!

 

did you check out all the other cool entries? (down the bottom of the page Next Entry)

here's one specifically titled Meadow


ooh ooh ooh, what about this

 

did you check out all the other cool entries? (down the bottom of the page Next Entry)

here's one specifically titled Meadow

lol! Yeah, I'm actually going through them right now. And my favorite by far was the one titled "Hobbit's Weed." What an adorable and creative tank!

 

Some nice tanks in ther. Maybe these will provide som inspiration for you. The last pic with the over hanging "trees" is a good cover of Moss over wood or rock. I don't remember which. Gives a good idea of what a Moss lawn would look like though.

 

Yep, I love it...... how awesome! ok so I maybe I need 3 new tanks, lol ( MTS kicking in bad)

 

Boy, those pics put my tanks to shame. lol
I love the java moss/craft sheet idea.