Tculture Staurogyne Repens in Pot

Description

Synonyms
Ebermaiera repens Nees

Complete botanical name

Staurogyne répens (Nees) Kuntze

Family
Acanthaceae

Genus
Staurogyne

Difficulty
easy

Usage
Midground, Nano tanks, Foreground, group, Foreground, ground cover

Aquascaping
well-branched, bushy

Growth
medium

pH value
5 – 7

Temperature tolerance
20 – 30°C

Carbonate hardness
0 – 10°dKH

General hardness
0 – 30°dGH

Propagation
Runners, Cuttings, Splitting, cutting off daughter plants

Can grow emersed?
yes

Source
Flowgrow

Staurogyne Repens: An Easy Carpet for SG Tanks

Staurogyne repens is our go-to recommendation when someone wants a leafy carpet without the fuss of HC or hairgrass. This pot version gives you a healthy clump you snip into small portions, each with a few leaves and a bit of root, then tweezer across the foreground a couple of centimetres apart. It branches sideways into a low bushy mat rather than sending runners, so trimming the tops keeps it dense and flat.

It tolerates a wide range, which suits Singapore conditions well: our soft, slightly acidic tap water is ideal once dechlorinated, and ambient 27-29C sits inside its comfort band, so most tanks run it heaterless. CO2 and decent light speed things up and tighten the carpet, but it will still creep along in lower-tech setups, making it forgiving for first-time aquascapers in compact nano and HDB-sized tanks.

See our Staurogyne repens care guide and propagation and trimming guide, plus our walkthrough on planting carpet plants. Browse more foreground plants for the front of your scape.