Carpeted aquarium?

[ScorpiosWife]

I just added fry to my 10g fry tank yesterday & there's nothing in else in it. Just water, the fry, a heater, an aerator & a filter. No substrate.

I want some kind of carpeting plant for the bottom without having to use any type of substrate, so that they have somewhere to hide out. I realize this doesn't happen overnight. I was doing some research and found that I can use a plastic grid of some type and attach plants or moss to it with fishing line.

I'm envisioning shag carpet, to give you an idea of what I'm trying to do, lol. Can yall please throw me some recommendations of plant variations that don't require much care and grow quickly in regular aquarium light? So far I'm looking at Xmas Moss, Java Moss, Willow Moss and Drarf Hairgrass.

Also, I'm sure some of you have carpeted the bottom of your tanks as well. What was your experience and do you have any advice for me? I have decided that I want to build the grid to have feet so that it's not lying directly on the bottom. Too much debris can get trapped under it and cause issues, so I want to build something I can remove easily for cleaning.

I don't want to get something that has to have some other type of chemical treatment, co2, etc. seeing as how this is going in the fry tank & I don't know what the hell I'm doing anyway. Trying to keep it basic but functional for the babies.

Oh, and this is WAY out of my league, but I thought this was a super cool tank... hehe.

[ScorpiosWife]

*crickets*

[armthehomeless]

You won't really be able to get any mosses to grow quickly without CO2. Java, Xmas, and flame are all good choices... and it is certainly doable.

[armthehomeless]

You'll need to sandwich the moss between a mesh grid and let it slowly grow out.

[ScorpiosWife]

Thanks. I decided to do some more research and found quite a few how-to's this afternoon. Looks like it's gonna cost a couple hundred bucks, including the moss. Perhaps I shall start with a square, lol.

[Totenkampf]

DHG would not grow this way. I found out that Willow Moss really prefers cool water and doesnt like excel at all. I have never tried this technique, but it seems that Fissidens fontinalis is a good choice.

[armthehomeless]

It shouldn't cost nearly that much... what make your estimate so high? I did a back wall in Java moss about six years ago for $20 or less.

Willow moss and fissidens are great plants too. I really like the fissidens idea.

[Totenkampf]

yeah i love the way willow looks but am having no luck with it in tropical aquaria. it will end up as a red devil crab nesting site lol. i bet that flame moss would look sharp since it grows upwards. the challenge would be to keep it really free of mulm so that hair algae doesnt start. i lost my flame moss that way. if you sandwiched something like mineral moss between the mesh plates then you might have luck with rooted plants like DHG or microsword. i have never heard of anyone doing it but it might be worth a shot. riccia might work between bare plates if you keep it trimmed short.

[ScorpiosWife]

At $3.95 for a 2"x2" square of Xmas moss, the math came out to $197.50 to cover the floor of a 10g completely. 20" long x 10" wide = 200 sq. inches / 4 sq. inches of moss = 50 2"x2" squares. I've never been good at math, so it might be wrong, lol.

Thanks for the info on all the above! Mulm is debris, poop? Is there a more common name for fissidens? I tried to research fissidens fontinalis but it appears that they are 2 different things?

Tank is a constant 76 degrees so I'm assuming Willow Moss is out as well.

[Totenkampf]

lol, yeah its actually fissdens fontanus...i combined two different names. common called fissidens sometimes phoenix moss.

http://www.bobstropicalplants.com/shop/en/moss/332-fissidens-fontanus.html

i bought mine from hiepSTA here on the box

[ScorpiosWife]

Thanks again. I got some decisions to make! I like that flame moss you mentioned, as well. Guess I'll experiment. Trial and error FTW, hooray!

[armthehomeless]

At $3.95 for a 2"x2" square of Xmas moss, the math came out to $197.50 to cover the floor of a 10g completely. 20" long x 10" wide = 200 sq. inches / 4 sq. inches of moss = 50 2"x2" squares. I've never been good at math, so it might be wrong, lol.

The moss should be stretched out and thin before you put it between the mesh. If it is thick, some won't get light and will die. I don't know how thick those squares are, but you should be able to at least double the size. A baseball size of moss should fill the mesh in a 10g.

Ask for moss on the box. Its cheaper.

Fissidens can be collected semi-locally.

[ScorpiosWife]

Thanks for the insight & suggestions. I will ask!

[davemonkey]

The moss should be stretched out and thin before you put it between the mesh. If it is thick, some won't get light and will die. I don't know how thick those squares are, but you should be able to at least double the size. A baseball size of moss should fill the mesh in a 10g.

Ask for moss on the box. Its cheaper.

Fissidens can be collected semi-locally.

Yes, that! You can often find moss for sale on the forums by the "sandwhich bag". That would be all you need...and then let it thicken and spread for you over time. After awhile, you'll be the one selling moss by the bag.

[Fancyfish]

This sounds like a great idea. I've been trying to come up with a way to provide some of my livebearer fry with cover and stuffing the tank with plants works but doesn't give the adults room to swim.

What if you put a large air diffuser under the grid. Would that keep debris off the plants?