Eleocharis vivipara

Eleocharis vivipara. This Eleocharis has a special place among its related species, primarily because of its method of propagation. It does not propagate by runners like Eleocharis parvula or Eleocharis acicularis. Instead, propagation is done by formation of plantlets on the surface of the leaves, in a way similar to propagation of the ferns. New plantlets don't produce roots for a long time, thus giving the impression that the stem of Eleocharis vivipara is divided into several leaves. This feature is of particular value for aquascaping. But later, when roots are already developed and visible, the plant will no longer look nice. Therefore, Eleocharis vivipara requires a special care.

Care for Eleocharis vivipara has its features in terms of trimming and planting. The planting is difficult because the bush of Eleocharis vivipara is often made of dense cluster of its plantlets. You can press this cluster to the substrate, but in this case many of the bushes will remain unrooted. In the future, roots of these unrooted bushes will grow above the substrate becoming more and more visible. It's better, therefore, to separate all the young bushes and plant them in the substrate so that all roots are buried in the substrate.

Leaf of this plant rarely grows by more than 10 cm without formation of a plantlet. In order to keep smooth appearance and decorative effect of the leaves, they have to be combed once in awhile. This can be done with fork. Combing of Eleocharis vivipara removes a lot of plantlets and even more effective than trimming with scissors. Eleocharis vivipara can be used as the background plant in the low tanks and in the large tanks above 40 cm in height.

Eleocharis vivipara is an undemanding plant. It can grow in aquariums without supply of CO2 and fertilizers. But after a while it may turn yellow if no iron fertilizer is added to the aquarium. You should also keep an eye on the pH level. Eleocharis vivipara grows far worse when pH level rises above 7-7.5 or higher.