Create that carpeted underwater prairie of your dreams with Dwarf Hairgrass!
This species (Eleocharis parvula) grows about 3-4" tall, and spreads laterally through root nodes.
Excellent for sheltering baby shrimp or fry, and for growing excellent bio-films to improve the health of your whole tank.
As most plants, Hairgrass will grow quickly in high-nutrient water, but it isn't strictly necessary for survival. Trim regularly like grass for the neatest look!
Available in multiple formats:
- 1x Pot - Well rooted, between 1-4" tall in rockwool
- 3x, 5x, or 10x Pots - Multi-packs for larger carpeting projects
- 4" Coco Mat - Thick and robust specimen, excellently rooted on biodegradable coco fiber mat for instant carpet. By far the best deal to create an instant carpet!
EMERGENT OR SUBMERGED-GROWN
Growing Suggestions:
- Medium to High light needs
- Low tech, unheated aquarium, 60-80°F
- Fast upright/creeping growth rate
- Root tabs recommended: Yes
- Excellent forage and shelter!
Cassandra's Notes:
We get a lot of questions about separating these sort of plants from the potted rockwool it's in.
Yes, you can absolutely leave the rockwool in your tank! It's pretty inert, and will not harm your tank nor its inhabitants. If you want to keep it potted, you totally can!
That said, if the rockwool is really not doing it for you, but you're worried about disturbing too much of the delicate root system these creepers have built, try this: Use some scissors to snip apart the top of the rockwool where the plant has rooted from the bottom. Snip into a flat circle, resembling a 'mat' of sorts. Now you can place that little mat in the gravel or other substrate, without having torn up too much of the root system!
The coco mat version is the easiest to establish. Just weigh the mat down in contact with your substrate, and watch it spread! I find a helpful sprinkle of small gravel or sand to be super helpful. Lead weights could also be used.
As I like to keep real ecosystems in my aquariums, there’s always a chance of harmless hitchhikers like snails or dwarf shrimp tagging along with your plants!
I personally keep several beneficial snail species in my tanks, including Colorful Ramshorns, Bronze Bladder and Pond Snails, Mini Rams, and Malaysian Trumpet Snails. These snails stay relatively small, help clean the aquarium, and do not eat healthy plants or cause harm. However, if you’d rather avoid any hitchhikers, I highly recommend checking out our blog on how to safely disinfect aquarium plants before adding them to your tank:
How to Bleach Dip Aquarium Plants Safely
All plants are freshly snipped or harvested and packed right before shipment. I take great care in preparing every order and use methods that have consistently produced the best results over many years in the hobby. A lot of love goes into every package, so please don’t leave your plants sitting in a hot mailbox for too long 🙏
Thank you for looking, aqua friends! 💚