It's one of the easiest plants for me. I bought some and planted it to see what it would do. Within a week it was doubled in size and now it's been about 2 months and I've propagated it a few times and moved some over to my other tanks. I love this plant. Super easy for me. Low tech. High light.
I just recently got into this plant. I love it. I ordered 2 just to try it, and when I got it, I loved it so much I went back and got 4 more. I agree it's not a super "easy" plant. But it's doing well in my tanks with no CO and mid level lighting. Great video!
What interesting insights. It is definitely a consideration for a smaller tank. I'm using Java Fern Narrow is working out well. I also started with CO2 and then the tank got very lush and now it is only on medium light and no CO2. The shrimp babies are popping like crazy!
Thanks for this! I have this plant in my cart and I was hesitating so this is just in time. Sometimes we need our expectations managed, especially in this day and age! Thank you Joanna
You are the best Joanna. I have low lights in most of my tanks. I use root tabs but many of the plants I had died off. The small Nano tanks don’t have adequate lights for many of the plants I would like. I bought some from aquarium coop and certain ones are Looking good but use the easy planter. Then I find out only certain types of plants do well in the East planters. Hopefully, the ones I have now will thrive. Have a great week
All very good points to think about! Thank you. I see this plant around fairly often, but haven't really given it much thought. They also have some adorable tiny flowers.
@@thesmallscape I've only seen pictures on google - but they look like tiny translucent stars. Assumedly they're growing somewhat emergent- I don't know how easily they would flower in an aquarium
Yeah, here in Mexico, it does well around ponds with full sun but I've never had much success with it submerged under a few inches given its requirement for high lighting.
yes I have seen it. on the mud banks of the river, like glossostigma does. Try potting mix capped with ADA Amazonia. Grows well for me no CO2 and strong light. I use sunlight. Artificial light might give you alot of algae as you need a good amount of light, but I do have some growing in a dim spot. It will only carpet under strong light.
Love watching you Joanna! Was awesome meeting Jason at Aquashella. Everytime I saw ya you were chatting with others. I talked to Jason about me being in Grad school.
I agree with everything you said. I have a low tech 55 with a hygger light. It doesn’t die. Unless the cories uproot it, it just stays where I put it never doing anything. If I ever play with Co2 I wanna try it just to see the difference.
I have been trying to figure out if I have this plant. I got a plant package from Dustin's fish tanks and think I have some. My plants identification skills are not the best.... if they're green and alive, I love them 😂♥️ I just have to call me and say I love your blue betta😍😻 Thank you for this plant species profile💚 you rock Joanna 🙌💪🌿🐟🌿💚
Hi!! Ugh I have 4 weeks of unanswered comments ?!? How am I not seeing these until now. Anyways - I try to improve my plant identification skills one by one. I’m actually shocked most times I can recognize one and name it. 😂
I put a layer of potting mix (I find an expensive premium one is best, not cheap and nasty) capped with ADA Amazonia. About half and half. Grows well without ferts or CO2, but slowly. Carpet takes 6 months or a bit longer. Dwarf Hair grass does the same for me. I have had both down to almost freezing and they still grow. 4 to 32 deg C submersed. Hard water, softer water, does not seem to matter. Mine PH8, GH10, KH7.
@@jmha2428 with this technique for me it is the same. Have yet to find a plant that will not grow in this mix. But in general I find microsword harder. In any other medium I struggle with it. The hardest thing is getting the right potting mix. I tried 3 and 2 failed. ADA Amazonia is highly effective in growing plants but not on its own in my experience. Dwarf hairgrass seems to grow in almost anything. Its an amazing plant.
Great video if we get this in Taiwan I'll definitely buy that one. as soon as I get paid I'm buying some Anubis it looked really good when I went to the stores I think it was freshly shipped in
Thank you for the information about brazilian microsword. I have been trying to make it a carpeting plant in the foreground of my plant that goldfish tank. Supposed to be like grass growing together with dwarf sagittaria.
You teach me so much about varieties of plants! Thank you! I don’t run CO2 and have Nicrew SkyLED lights. I have similar water parameters as you, so I always value your thoughts. 😊 Never tried the micro sword. It’s nice. I have an Amazon that’s seems to grow slow in my opinion. Always looking for the balance of enough light vs ferts while keeping algae down. 🌱
I’m so glad to hear it, I just love aquatic plants so much, well, all plants (you get it). Also nice to hear from folks with similar water parameters a d their experience, that’s why I love to get plants from the local swaps. Happy Saturday! Oh and I’m sure you’ve noticed but we’re trying out afternoon times for the Saturday video ☺️
@@thesmallscape my finger hit “send” before I finished my reply. 🤪 It’s so late, so it’s happy Sunday to you now! I did notice the different video release times. My vote is 9am. It’s usually before the day gets away from me.😉 But I’ll always find time to watch whenever they release!! 😊
Thank you for the great amount of information on this plant. Made me think twice about getting it. Better the Anubis from the last video for me. Your explanations are very thorough so that we can make a decision for putting in plants in our small tanks.
I have some and love it. I have a small patch/clump in my 5 gallon boarding around a cave type hide. I also have two terra cotta dishes (that usually go under the planters) in my 55 that each are planted with micro sword. I didn't want it to be used as ground cover in either tank. In the 55 I kind of just wanted mini field's/gardens of the grass, for the fish to be able to hide in. It works because they are small, maybe 3 inches, so the grass can spread some and grow tall. Also not grow out of the dish ;-).
I'm quite surprised to hear that dwarf hairgrass is considered a plant that needs higher light/co2 levels. I run a low light no co2 setup and the hairgrass does really well. It's not the fastest grower but faster than epiphytes for sure. Maybe it's because I have Eleocharis acicularis 'mini' instead of the more common parvula? Regardless, great video! Personally I'd totally agree, I've found it nearly impossible to kill micro swords, but getting them to grow prolifically has been quite tricky
I just got some in an order from Wetplants. I got the 10 pack suprise bundle. I have high light and CO2 and trying it in a row along the front. Juat got the CO2 hooked up but it is sending up new green swords after 3 weeks.
Great information on this plant. Haven't heard any of this before. Haven't tried it because I didn't want it to carpet, but I usually have lower light and never use co2. So maybe I'll give it a try, it would be a nice contrast to all my anubius. Thanks! 👍😃🍄
2nd comment. This summer my aquariums have had water changes and feeding. That is it. After this video I looked for my micro swords and most but a few had been covered up with subwassertang. This tank got a severe trimming. Glad I didn't loose it all. Thanks for this video!!!
I also love this plant! I've had a hard time getting a foreground plant to work in my low-medium light tank. But this MS has proven to be successful for me. Like you said, you can't use this as a carpeting plant. I just use as it for accents and to create a sense of scale. Although if the MS is shadowed or doesnt get constant light it won't grow at all and might even shrink or die. Otherwise... enjoy!
What I have found with plant is that when it's planted in aqua soil it will send out runners like crazy. Even in low light and without Co2. It tends to just sit there and not do nothing in gravel and sand. Another thing that drives me crazy is when pulling algea or other plants out if you catch any one they all come up and are hard to get to stay planted again. Beautiful plant but not easy.
Microsword has become my… nemesis - but I keep planting in my tanks because I seem to be (inexplicably) good at growing it and I refuse to throw plants out. 😒 It won’t stay put! It’s like whack-a-mole when first planting it. You get one section planted/secured, and the other end decides to float out, and/or break off. Substrate depth could be 2” or 6”, it’s the same. 🤪😫😒
Thanks for the very good tips of micro sword plant. I just bought it from last week as it looked beautiful and keep learning how to grow it. By the way, I see your different types of snails in tank. I got 3 new assassin snails from fish store and a staff there advised me should not keep mystery snails and assassin snail together, mystery snail will eat live plants also, is that true? I am kind of be interesting in golden mystery snail and really enjoy to see when they do crawling. I am new rookie here in snails and aquarium plants.
Mine didn't really grow for a month or 2 after planting until in about 2 weeks it exploded in growth and started sending runners everywhere and the growth is fast now and I only have medium light no co2
I think the plant you have is lilliopsus braziliense. sorry about the spelling... however I bought it from pond shop rather than lfs. and got a massive mat of it for 5 bucks. I just had to wash the pond soil of it. but it was worth it because it covers over a 1/4 of my 20 gallon floor. for 5 bucks wow
oh nice , basically a EASIER version of the dwarf hairgrass eh ? well what I do in most of my tanks is I have these transparent plastic cups and I cut half of the cup from the top which leaves me with a small cup . So I fill it up with ADA Amazonia soil and place it at the back of my tanks where the cup can't be seen , behind some driftwood . And obviously it gets the job done for me , it grows the plants good , in fact I got some Hygrophila Stricta last week and it has grown the stems so beautifully , got the stems when they were around 5 to 6 inches and within a week I can see that the stems are getting upto 6 to 9 inches . Well now that I have watched this vid , time to do the same with the micro sword . Hope it grows good , have asked my LFS to get the Micro sword in stock for me .
I had this plant absolutely take over a 20-long tank and choke out the other plants. Planted in eco-complete under a Finnex Planted+, it was doing okay until I added CO2 to help some other plants, and it just went berserk. Runners everywhere. Question: the light on a Fluval Spec V is pretty strong. Do you think the plant would go nuts with that?
Hi Kristen - I think I forgot to mention it but micro swords are not actually swords. I would only trim if you have lots of light and co2 and it’s able to send out lots of runners. Now - with regular sword plants - if you need to trim, try to do so as close to the base as possible. ☺️
Would like to have more success with Micro Sword, but it usually dies off after a couple of months. I wish it was more indestructible like Anubias and Java Fern 🌱
@thesmallscape I have an idea for a Dollar Tree food ring, but I cant make it work. Shower curtain rings? I got some and the food flows out of them cause they arent attached to anything. Also will only float up and down when touched. I tried a suction cup with a hook but that didnt work. Any ideas?
Oh gosh, good luck with that! I’ve worked on food rings before and generally don’t work for me. I’ve only heard of a circle of airline tubing being successful. ☺️
@@thesmallscape I just knew I had a good idea.🤯 Lol. Lucky they were just $1. Oh, well back to the drawing board. May just have to break down and order from Amazon.
Hi Joanna You were mentioning high lighting and CO2 Have you ever tried setting up 2 identical Nanno Aquariums 1 with and 1 without to see how much benefit you can gain with CO2? I can say like you this is a great plant. Sorry to say my efforts have failed, probably due to light being too low. Thank you
@@thesmallscape wont make tank cloudy?grow algae? 😅 cz im pretty new to this and i kinda regret buying my substrate hahaha, i use rocky ish gravel. Carib sea. Thank you for your response tho
![Tee Grizzley - Robbery 8 [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/34_vkNV6wrU/mqdefault.jpg)
It's one of the easiest plants for me. I bought some and planted it to see what it would do. Within a week it was doubled in size and now it's been about 2 months and I've propagated it a few times and moved some over to my other tanks. I love this plant. Super easy for me. Low tech. High light.
Woohoo!! What a great story! 🌱☺️🌿
Weird. I’ve had it for about about 2 months too, almost no growth at all
I just recently got into this plant. I love it. I ordered 2 just to try it, and when I got it, I loved it so much I went back and got 4 more. I agree it's not a super "easy" plant. But it's doing well in my tanks with no CO and mid level lighting. Great video!
I also love this plant! I’m even going to be making a video on this soon! 😄
Good to know about trimming because some plants will carpet with regular trimming. Good info.
What interesting insights. It is definitely a consideration for a smaller tank. I'm using Java Fern Narrow is working out well. I also started with CO2 and then the tank got very lush and now it is only on medium light and no CO2. The shrimp babies are popping like crazy!
Oh ya...co2 changes everything ...someday .. lots of fun with the shrimp babies!!
Thanks for this! I have this plant in my cart and I was hesitating so this is just in time. Sometimes we need our expectations managed, especially in this day and age! Thank you Joanna
You’re welcome - still a really great plant! ☺️
You are the best Joanna. I have low lights in most of my tanks. I use root tabs but many of the plants I had died off. The small Nano tanks don’t have adequate lights for many of the plants I would like. I bought some from aquarium coop and certain ones are Looking good but use the easy planter. Then I find out only certain types of plants do well in the East planters. Hopefully, the ones I have now will thrive. Have a great week
It’s just like gardening - trial and error. I’ve had my share of losses for unknown reasons. 🌱Good planting 🌿 vibes being sent your way, Bonnie!
All very good points to think about! Thank you.
I see this plant around fairly often, but haven't really given it much thought.
They also have some adorable tiny flowers.
I have never seen the flowers!!!
@@thesmallscape I've only seen pictures on google - but they look like tiny translucent stars. Assumedly they're growing somewhat emergent- I don't know how easily they would flower in an aquarium
Yeah, here in Mexico, it does well around ponds with full sun but I've never had much success with it submerged under a few inches given its requirement for high lighting.
If it’s grown above water and then submerged, it might melt the old leaves and grow new ones. Some people thing they’re dying when they do that.
yes I have seen it. on the mud banks of the river, like glossostigma does. Try potting mix capped with ADA Amazonia. Grows well for me no CO2 and strong light. I use sunlight. Artificial light might give you alot of algae as you need a good amount of light, but I do have some growing in a dim spot. It will only carpet under strong light.
Love watching you Joanna! Was awesome meeting Jason at Aquashella. Everytime I saw ya you were chatting with others. I talked to Jason about me being in Grad school.
That’s too bad I missed you - next time! ☺️
I agree with everything you said. I have a low tech 55 with a hygger light. It doesn’t die. Unless the cories uproot it, it just stays where I put it never doing anything. If I ever play with Co2 I wanna try it just to see the difference.
I have been trying to figure out if I have this plant. I got a plant package from Dustin's fish tanks and think I have some. My plants identification skills are not the best....
if they're green and alive, I love them 😂♥️
I just have to call me and say I love your blue betta😍😻
Thank you for this plant species profile💚 you rock Joanna 🙌💪🌿🐟🌿💚
Hi!! Ugh I have 4 weeks of unanswered comments ?!? How am I not seeing these until now. Anyways - I try to improve my plant identification skills one by one. I’m actually shocked most times I can recognize one and name it. 😂
@@thesmallscape 🌿💪😁
I put a layer of potting mix (I find an expensive premium one is best, not cheap and nasty) capped with ADA Amazonia. About half and half. Grows well without ferts or CO2, but slowly. Carpet takes 6 months or a bit longer. Dwarf Hair grass does the same for me. I have had both down to almost freezing and they still grow. 4 to 32 deg C submersed. Hard water, softer water, does not seem to matter. Mine PH8, GH10, KH7.
Which one did you find easier to carpet in the 6months, microsword or dwarf hairgrass?
@@jmha2428 with this technique for me it is the same. Have yet to find a plant that will not grow in this mix. But in general I find microsword harder. In any other medium I struggle with it. The hardest thing is getting the right potting mix. I tried 3 and 2 failed. ADA Amazonia is highly effective in growing plants but not on its own in my experience. Dwarf hairgrass seems to grow in almost anything. Its an amazing plant.
Great video if we get this in Taiwan I'll definitely buy that one. as soon as I get paid I'm buying some Anubis it looked really good when I went to the stores I think it was freshly shipped in
Thank you for the information about brazilian microsword. I have been trying to make it a carpeting plant in the foreground of my plant that goldfish tank. Supposed to be like grass growing together with dwarf sagittaria.
You teach me so much about varieties of plants! Thank you! I don’t run CO2 and have Nicrew SkyLED lights. I have similar water parameters as you, so I always value your thoughts. 😊 Never tried the micro sword. It’s nice. I have an Amazon that’s seems to grow slow in my opinion. Always looking for the balance of enough light vs ferts while keeping algae down. 🌱
I’m so glad to hear it, I just love aquatic plants so much, well, all plants (you get it). Also nice to hear from folks with similar water parameters a d their experience, that’s why I love to get plants from the local swaps. Happy Saturday! Oh and I’m sure you’ve noticed but we’re trying out afternoon times for the Saturday video ☺️
@@thesmallscape yep, I get you!!
@@thesmallscape my finger hit “send” before I finished my reply. 🤪 It’s so late, so it’s happy Sunday to you now! I did notice the different video release times. My vote is 9am. It’s usually before the day gets away from me.😉 But I’ll always find time to watch whenever they release!! 😊
Thank you for the great amount of information on this plant. Made me think twice about getting it. Better the Anubis from the last video for me. Your explanations are very thorough so that we can make a decision for putting in plants in our small tanks.
Thanks so much, Tom ☺️
I have some and love it. I have a small patch/clump in my 5 gallon boarding around a cave type hide. I also have two terra cotta dishes (that usually go under the planters) in my 55 that each are planted with micro sword. I didn't want it to be used as ground cover in either tank. In the 55 I kind of just wanted mini field's/gardens of the grass, for the fish to be able to hide in. It works because they are small, maybe 3 inches, so the grass can spread some and grow tall. Also not grow out of the dish ;-).
Nice. I like how you’re using it, that’s fun! Pots and such are so versatile 😊
I'm quite surprised to hear that dwarf hairgrass is considered a plant that needs higher light/co2 levels. I run a low light no co2 setup and the hairgrass does really well. It's not the fastest grower but faster than epiphytes for sure. Maybe it's because I have Eleocharis acicularis 'mini' instead of the more common parvula? Regardless, great video! Personally I'd totally agree, I've found it nearly impossible to kill micro swords, but getting them to grow prolifically has been quite tricky
I just got some in an order from Wetplants. I got the 10 pack suprise bundle. I have high light and CO2 and trying it in a row along the front. Juat got the CO2 hooked up but it is sending up new green swords after 3 weeks.
Great information on this plant. Haven't heard any of this before. Haven't tried it because I didn't want it to carpet, but I usually have lower light and never use co2. So maybe I'll give it a try, it would be a nice contrast to all my anubius. Thanks! 👍😃🍄
Oh wow you got a beautiful betta and it looks like he's in a community tank
2nd comment. This summer my aquariums have had water changes and feeding. That is it. After this video I looked for my micro swords and most but a few had been covered up with subwassertang. This tank got a severe trimming. Glad I didn't loose it all. Thanks for this video!!!
Wheeeee-yew! Yay!!
I also love this plant! I've had a hard time getting a foreground plant to work in my low-medium light tank. But this MS has proven to be successful for me. Like you said, you can't use this as a carpeting plant. I just use as it for accents and to create a sense of scale. Although if the MS is shadowed or doesnt get constant light it won't grow at all and might even shrink or die. Otherwise... enjoy!
This is a very good video! I also love this plant! I’m even going to be making a video on this soon! 😄
Thank you! I'm currently attempting it as a background plant. Hoping it will get taller (under medium light)
Best of luck!☺️
Just got back from surgeon who worked on my ankle and leg,great news he is going to let me get around on crutches now 🥳long time coming.
Oh, that’s great to hear John! I wish you luck and a smooth road to recovery 🙏
@@thesmallscape thank you!
What I have found with plant is that when it's planted in aqua soil it will send out runners like crazy. Even in low light and without Co2. It tends to just sit there and not do nothing in gravel and sand. Another thing that drives me crazy is when pulling algea or other plants out if you catch any one they all come up and are hard to get to stay planted again. Beautiful plant but not easy.
Lol - ya!! Super fun to see the little sprouts floating on the top of the tank! NOT. 🤭😃
Microsword has become my… nemesis - but I keep planting in my tanks because I seem to be (inexplicably) good at growing it and I refuse to throw plants out. 😒
It won’t stay put! It’s like whack-a-mole when first planting it. You get one section planted/secured, and the other end decides to float out, and/or break off. Substrate depth could be 2” or 6”, it’s the same. 🤪😫😒
Oh you are right! It can be a real stinker. I hope to one day have an easy hack to help it stay put 🤞
Thanks for the very good tips of micro sword plant. I just bought it from last week as it looked beautiful and keep learning how to grow it. By the way, I see your different types of snails in tank. I got 3 new assassin snails from fish store and a staff there advised me should not keep mystery snails and assassin snail together, mystery snail will eat live plants also, is that true? I am kind of be interesting in golden mystery snail and really enjoy to see when they do crawling. I am new rookie here in snails and aquarium plants.
Wow nice beautiful plants.
Mine didn't really grow for a month or 2 after planting until in about 2 weeks it exploded in growth and started sending runners everywhere and the growth is fast now and I only have medium light no co2
I think the plant you have is lilliopsus braziliense. sorry about the spelling... however I bought it from pond shop rather than lfs. and got a massive mat of it for 5 bucks. I just had to wash the pond soil of it. but it was worth it because it covers over a 1/4 of my 20 gallon floor. for 5 bucks wow
Yes, Craig! You’ve got it. That is it’s proper name. Good for you on the score!! 🙂🌿
Idk, I'm in love with S. Reppins at the moment
oh nice , basically a EASIER version of the dwarf hairgrass eh ? well what I do in most of my tanks is I have these transparent plastic cups and I cut half of the cup from the top which leaves me with a small cup . So I fill it up with ADA Amazonia soil and place it at the back of my tanks where the cup can't be seen , behind some driftwood . And obviously it gets the job done for me , it grows the plants good , in fact I got some Hygrophila Stricta last week and it has grown the stems so beautifully , got the stems when they were around 5 to 6 inches and within a week I can see that the stems are getting upto 6 to 9 inches . Well now that I have watched this vid , time to do the same with the micro sword . Hope it grows good , have asked my LFS to get the Micro sword in stock for me .
Not sure about this plant yet. I think I'll get my other plants going first, and then try this one.
Ok, sounds like a plan! 😃🌿🌿🌿
Great video. I have very good lighting, but I run it at around 40% without co2. As a result I have killed this plant many times.
I love this plant! I’m going to be making a video on this soon! 😄
My dwarf hairgrass isn't doing well so I'm trying to find alternatives lol
Sorry to hear that. I really like micro sword as an alternative ☺️
Is there any carpeting plant that will carpet in low light and non CO2 tank?
Is there a plant that will give you a carpeting look with medium light and no co2?
How is it compared to dwarf sag?
I had this plant absolutely take over a 20-long tank and choke out the other plants. Planted in eco-complete under a Finnex Planted+, it was doing okay until I added CO2 to help some other plants, and it just went berserk. Runners everywhere. Question: the light on a Fluval Spec V is pretty strong. Do you think the plant would go nuts with that?
I have a 75g no Co2.. could I leave the plants in the pots they come in and just bury them in the gravel?
Should we not cut any type of swards? I think my husband cuts his and that explains a lot.
Hi Kristen - I think I forgot to mention it but micro swords are not actually swords. I would only trim if you have lots of light and co2 and it’s able to send out lots of runners. Now - with regular sword plants - if you need to trim, try to do so as close to the base as possible. ☺️
I have been hesitant about trying this one. It is a cool plant but I don't run co2 and I have medium lighting.
I also love this plant! I’m going to be making a video on this soon! 😄
great info
Hi Dave! ☺️
I like the look of micros word but it grows so slow. Pygmy chain sword may be a better option.
It certainly does grow slow. ☺️
Would like to have more success with Micro Sword, but it usually dies off after a couple of months. I wish it was more indestructible like Anubias and Java Fern 🌱
Isn’t that just a bummer. Atleast your Java fern behaves for you. 💁🏻♀️
Truth!
Lol. 🌱😃🌿
@thesmallscape I have an idea for a Dollar Tree food ring, but I cant make it work. Shower curtain rings? I got some and the food flows out of them cause they arent attached to anything. Also will only float up and down when touched. I tried a suction cup with a hook but that didnt work. Any ideas?
Oh gosh, good luck with that! I’ve worked on food rings before and generally don’t work for me. I’ve only heard of a circle of airline tubing being successful. ☺️
@@thesmallscape I just knew I had a good idea.🤯 Lol. Lucky they were just $1. Oh, well back to the drawing board. May just have to break down and order from Amazon.
Hi Joanna
You were mentioning high lighting and CO2
Have you ever tried setting up 2 identical Nanno Aquariums
1 with and 1 without to see how much benefit you can gain with CO2?
I can say like you this is a great plant. Sorry to say my efforts have failed, probably due to light being too low.
Thank you
Ms lady may I ask, what kind of substrate you’re using?
Almost always Topfin black sand from petsmart ☺️
@@thesmallscape wont make tank cloudy?grow algae? 😅 cz im pretty new to this and i kinda regret buying my substrate hahaha, i use rocky ish gravel. Carib sea.
Thank you for your response tho
Hey what is the name of those snails at 2:02
Hi! Magenta mystery snails 🐌 ☺️
Will mystery snails nibble on this plant? Thx :)
Great question - not in my experience but they do a great job uprooting it. 🤭😃
@@thesmallscape lol, thanks 😊
Good Morning.
☺️
Hey
I tried twice, failed both times. So, I'm going with something else like it.
Good luck! Crypt parva is a great little guy too. ☺️