# Pilea sp. plants for riparium mid-grounds



## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

I have tried quite a few different kinds of plants in ripariums. Among these have emerged some very useful selections. I have also encountered some that were unsuitable for riparium culture, either because they did not adapt to culture in water under artificial lighting, or because their growth habits and shapes were unsuitable for riparium layouts. Several were just too large to keep in an aquarium display.

One group that has emerged as especially useful riparium elements are some of the small herbaceous plants in Genus _Pilea_. This group is in Family Urticaceae, the nettle family, and is distributed mainly in tropical areas. There are several _Pilea_ species that are used as houseplants or terrarium specimens, so they can be found in stores without too much trouble.

I have found that the most useful way to employ _Pilea_ plants in ripariums is to plant them on trellis rafts and then position them in the layout midground. They are useful for this because they are relatively short-statured and compact, so they fit well well in front of taller riparium background foliage. These plants also have the important advantage of having modest nutrient demands, so they can grow with their roots suspended right in the water and get along well with the nutrients provided by fish waste and modest water column fertilization.

Here is a shot of my new-ish 50-gallon setups that includes a few very nice little _Pilea_ plants and other light emersed stem plants










I have started something like a journal thread for this setup over in Aquarium Photography & Video: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=206583.

Here is a close up that shows the two different _Pilea_ in there.










Each of these is growing on a nano trellis raft, a foam part that can hold the stems erect and with the bases in the water. The picture below shows the larger of these, which I am identifying with the provisional name, _Pilea_ Florida ditch #1. You can probably make a good guess as to how I acquired this plant.










Here is the smaller plant floating right in front of that one in the tank, _Pilea_ Florida ditch #2.


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

This next picture shows a little bit better how the trellis raft holds the plant. This is _Pilea_ 'Silver Tree'.










'Silver Tree' grows faster than any other _Pilea_ that I have tried. ITs starts to get tall and leggy after about six weeks of growth, but it is easy to just crop the top and replant the new cuttings on the raft again.

Here is that plant snapped into place on a hanging planter...










...and here they both are positioned in the tank.


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