Narrow Leaf Chain Sword (Helanthium tenellum) - Potted

The Narrow Leaf Chain Sword (Helanthium tenellum) is the easiest true carpeting plant we carry, and the only one that will carpet without CO2 injection. Each potted plant sends out runners across the substrate, chaining new plantlets together until the foreground fills in with fine grassy blades two to four inches tall. Care level is beginner. Browse the rest of our live freshwater plants to build the scape around it.

Care Guide

• Placement: foreground and low midground. Plant the individual plantlets an inch or two apart rather than as one clump, and it closes the gaps itself.
• Light: moderate to high. This is the single biggest factor. Under low light it grows tall and thin instead of carpeting.
• Substrate: a root feeder. It does best in an active plant substrate, and in inert gravel or sand it wants root tabs pushed in near the crowns.
• CO2: not required, which is what sets it apart from dwarf hairgrass and baby tears. CO2 makes it carpet faster and tighter, but it will fill in without.
• Temperature: 72 to 82°F. Comfortable across the normal community range.
• pH: 6.5 to 7.5.
• Planting: remove the pot and the rock wool before planting. Separate the clump into small portions and bury only the roots, leaving the crown just above the substrate. Burying the crown rots the plant.
• Trimming: trim runners that wander where you do not want them. Cuttings replant directly.

Specifications

Compatibility

Safe with almost any community stock. It pairs naturally with Amazon Sword behind it, since both are root feeders that want the same substrate and fertilising routine.

Watch out for diggers. Anything that roots through the substrate will lift a young carpet before it anchors. Give it a few weeks to establish before adding substrate-sifting fish, and skip it entirely in tanks with large cichlids or goldfish, which uproot and eat soft plants.

Recommended Supplies

• Seachem Flourish Tabs, root tabs for a plant that feeds through its roots
• Liquid plant fertilisers for the water column
• More live plants to build out the midground and background

FAQ

How long does it take to carpet?
Six to ten weeks in moderate light without CO2, faster with it. Plant the portions spaced out rather than in one clump and it fills in much sooner.

Why is mine growing tall instead of spreading?
Not enough light reaching the substrate. Tall growth is the plant stretching toward the surface. Raise the light or move it out from under taller plants.

Do I take it out of the pot?
Yes. Remove the pot and peel away the rock wool from the roots, then split the clump into several small portions and plant them separately. Leave the crown sitting just above the substrate.

Is this the same as dwarf hairgrass?
No. Hairgrass is finer and needs more light and usually CO2. Chain sword has wider blades and is far more forgiving, which is why we point beginners to it first.