Im looking for somesort of moss I think. I want something that will cover the bottom of my tank but stay really short and soft. I dont know if its safe or not if someone could tell me if thats a good idea or not, and what plant to use. I want one that will pretty much spread on its own but stay low down like not over an inch and just cover the substrate. also if there are any books on planting aquariums.
substrate covring plant
- Thread starter acidburn470
- Start date
it sounds like java moss is the way youwant to go. also check out riccia fluitans it might be a little trickier to keep it down, but it's a little taller and a bit more grassy looking. as far as books go other than anything by ammano, the two in my library i go to the most are aquarium plants manual by barrons publishing, (this is more like a how to book) and aquarium plants by pablo tepoot (this is more of an encyclopedia of plants) there are a million plant books out there geared toward everybody from elementary school to marine biologists take a look at your lfs and find some that have the info on the level you're looking for. Karen Randall has a great collumn in AFM and i think she's also got a web site. i've learned a lot from her articles. also check out natural aquariums.com(sorry i don't know how to make a link) you can go all sorts of ways with plants in the aquarium from hi tek(and expensive) to lo tek (just lights and fertilizer if you want to). i like keeping heavily planted tanks because it gives me a little leeway to overstock the fish a school of 40 cardinal tetras is way preetier than just a dozzen. i'm trying to keep some plants with my monsters, but it's a new situation for me trial and error. just ask my ammanis senegalis. the bicirs ate that up for some reason. they leave the anubias alone, but the congo tetras are nibbling on that . Ifound out that they need more veggies in thier diet. all in all it's all about the ecosystem you create as forced as it may be. what works for me might not work for others. but a few things to research are fertilizer (both substrate and liquid) lighting, and fish compatability. good luck. 
Does java moss stay rooted in the substrate at all or does it simply float right above it? Do you plant it or attach it to rocks?
you can do all three with Java moss, its really versitle. It will bond to anything porus that it can stick to, and when it doesn't have anything to kling to it will float in a little ball on the top of the water.