Eleocharis acicularis mini

• This is a Tissue Cultured In-vitro plant, produced in a local laboratory to GUARANTEE them FREE OF:
  • Pests and pesticides
  • Algae
  • Snails
  • So you can enjoy your planted aquarium WITHOUT introducing these into your aquarium via this plant.
• Eleocharis acicularis mini is an easy to grow foreground / ground cover plant that look like a carpet of grass.
• It spread by submerged runners that is about the same depth than the leaf length you see. So if you don’t see new growth initially, don’t stress those runners are being produced deep in your substrate.
• Low demanding plant that can even grow in normal inert substrates like silica sand as long as you use plant growth additive
• Eleocharis acicularis mini have the distinction that is almost as short as E. Parvula

LEAF FORM

Leafs are thin grass like blades that form a thick carpet if they get good conditions. The old leafs take very long to die off so you can have a nice carpet from day 1

CO2 & LIGHTING

The addition of CO2 is not essential for this plant to thrive, but if you add CO2 you can expect a stunning carpet.

Lighting is follow along the same lines.

Adaptation/transition period

All plants need to adapt to their new environment and leaf loss is expected, because the plant need to produce new leaves that can live under the new conditions and need to lose the old leaves. Sometimes to the point that you only have stems left, but don’t despair the plant is not dead, just wait for the new leaves to appear

Tips on how to assist the plant through this period:

• Wash gel off in a jug of aquarium water to prevent chlorine shock
• Separate into small portions (as shown in the video) and plant them half way into the substrate or at least as deep as the original gel in the cup.
• Ensure good water quality
• Use a good quality plant food additive AND use according to manufacturer’s instructions
• Do regular water changes, up to 30% per week if you introduced a lot of plants

ROT & MELTING

This is not normally a problem after the plant adapted to your aquarium. Should you experience rot and or melting ensure the following:

• Check the lighting
• Water temperature is correct & not fluctuating
• You are not overdosing with an additive
• Poor water quality can also lead to melting and rot.
• Anaerobic conditions in the substrate (due to incorrect maintenance) will lead to death of the plants

Please do more research to ensure you understand all the needs of plants in your care, it is just good all around.

Remember our pictures might not represent the final plant colours in your aquarium as all your aquarium conditions will combine to influence the plant in your aquarium. But is a good representation of what you could expect.

Some notes on the normal sized plants, but this is aplicable to mini with the exclusion of hight ;)

Aquarium care: It grows moderately fast and will quickly spread from throwing out runners, covering the bottom of the aquarium with a tick carpet of grass.

Eleocharis acicularis is a great plant for beginners in aquarium scape. Usually, Eleocharis acicularis is placed in the foreground or midground areas of the aquarium. The grass-like appearance can either balance well with against rocks or other carpet foreground plants such as Hemianthus callitrichoides, Glossostigma elatinoides, or Sagittaria subulata. Eleocharis acicularis can also be used as ascents to an aquascape, by strategically placing small patches of the plant among rock crevasses or other plants such as Riccia fluitians. It will make an excellent spawning medium.

Eleocharis acicularis may require cutting or pulling of brownish, dying material or replanting of healthy bunches. However, it seldom gets out of hand and is very easy to control by cutting the wandering stems in the spring before the next growing season begins. Use a pair of good quality aquarium scissors to trim the Eleocharis acicularis to the desired length. Use a soft fish net to remove the clippings from the tank. Make sure to give adequate water flow and clean it by light vacuuming any unnecessary debris that collects onto the grassy leaves. These plants tend to get algae infested or dirty quickly if conditions are not appropriate.

With Eleocharis acicularis is not a big problem keeping it contained once it is established. Just pull out the plants as they spread to undesired areas.

Water: 

pH 6.0-7.2 and mild hardness KH up to 10. It thrive submerged in depths up to 30cm (12 inch) deep and good water flow will keep it looking nice and clean. 

Substrate: 

The rhizome and roots will penetrate approximately 1.2cm (0.5 inch) deep and stretch through fine grain substrates.

Gravel or sand is a good substrate for Eleocharis acicularis. Substrate granulation is an issue: with small grains the roots might not be able to get a good hold and the sand tends to compact, while larger gravel has a tendency to collect pockets of rotting detritus. Ideal size is 2-3mm gravel or 1-2mm corarse sand layered in about 7cm (3 inch) on the bottom of the tank. The bottom one third of the gravel can be supplemented with a fertilizer. 

Light: 

Eleocharis acicularis require medium to high level of light. Provided plenty of light 10-14 hours per day, about 0.5 watt per litre (2 watts per gallon) or more, in the color temperature of 5000 to 7000 Kelvin (day white to cool white light). The brighter light is, the lower this sedge will stay.

Temperature: 

It can be housed in water from 10 to 30°C (50-86°F).

Feeding: 

Give to Eleocharis acicularis high quality liquid and substrate fertilizer. Root tabs should be added to the substrate under the plants and liquid or powdered fertilizers should be added to the water. It will also benefit from CO2 supplementation. If the plants have a deficiency of even one of these factors, their growth will be limited.