🌿 Micranthemum tweediei 'Monte Carlo' Vitro Culture® – Lush, Fast-Growing Carpet for Vibrant Aquascapes
Enhance your aquarium with the lush, fast-growing beauty of Micranthemum tweediei 'Monte Carlo', one of the most popular modern carpeting plants in the aquascaping world. Commonly known as Monte Carlo, MC, or New Large Pearl Grass, this versatile species forms a dense, bright green carpet that brings a natural meadow-like feel to both small and large planted tanks.
A favorite for Iwagumi layouts, Dutch aquascapes, and nature-style aquariums, Monte Carlo offers a perfect balance of easy growth and high visual impact. Compared to more demanding carpets like Hemianthus callitrichoides (HC), Monte Carlo is much easier to manage, making it an excellent choice for aquarists of all skill levels.
Now available in Vitro Culture® 4-inch bag, this offering is lab-grown under sterile conditions to ensure a pest-free, algae-free start—perfect for sensitive tanks, shrimp aquariums, and pristine aquascapes.
🌿 Key Features:
-
Scientific Name: Micranthemum tweediei 'Monte Carlo'
-
Common Names: Monte Carlo, MC, New Large Pearl Grass
-
Origin: South America (Argentina)
-
Leaf Characteristics: Small, round to oval bright green leaves on creeping stems
-
Growth Rate: Moderate to fast; forms dense carpet under good conditions
-
Light Demand: Medium to high; promotes compact, low growth
-
CO₂ Requirement: Not required but greatly improves density and speed of carpet formation
-
Water Parameters: Adaptable; pH 6.0–7.5
-
Temperature: 20–28°C (68–82°F)
🧪 Vitro Culture® Advantages:
-
Sterile lab-grown in enriched gel medium
-
Free from pests, algae, and pathogens
-
Safe for shrimp tanks and sensitive species—no hitchhikers
-
Sustainably propagated—no wild collection required
🎨 Aquascaping Benefits:
-
Creates dense, lush green carpet in foreground
-
Ideal for Iwagumi, Nature, and Dutch style aquascapes
-
Pairs beautifully with hardscape, mosses, and background plants
-
Perfect for nano tanks and large display tanks alike
-
Provides grazing area and shelter for shrimp and microfauna
🌱 Propagation & Growth:
-
Propagation: Easily propagated by cutting and replanting creeping stems
-
Nutrient Substrate: Required — thrives with enriched root zone
-
Can Be Grown Emersed: Yes — excellent for paludariums, terrariums, and Wabi-Kusa setups
📦 What You’ll Receive:
- Select your preferred pack size: 1 BAG, 10 BAGS, or 20 BAGS of our lab-grown Vitro Culture®.
- Each sealed 4-inch bag provides approximately 2–3 small clump plantlets, ready to transform your aquascape.
🔒 Disclaimer:
Pictures shown are for reference only. Actual plant size, shape, and color may vary depending on growing conditions. This Vitro Culture® bag is sealed for freshness—please follow proper sterilization and acclimation procedures upon opening.
⚠️ State Restrictions Notice ♻️ Be a Responsible Aquatic Plants Owner:
Please never release Micranthemum—or any aquatic plant or animal—into local waterways. Responsible disposal helps protect native ecosystems.
Shipping Policy
At Aquarium Plants Factory, we carefully package and ship all orders to ensure plants and livestock arrive healthy and ready to thrive.
Order Processing Time
Most orders are processed within 1–2 business days after payment is received.
Orders placed on weekends or holidays will be processed on the next business day.
Orders containing out-of-stock, pre-order, or backorder items may require additional handling time.
Once your order ships, tracking information will be sent to your email.
Shipping Schedule
Live Plants
Live plant orders ship Monday through Saturday when using United States Postal Service (USPS).
Most plant-only orders ship within 1–3 business days, excluding products that are out of stock, pre-order, or backorder.
Estimated USPS delivery time is 2–5 business days, depending on your location.
UPS Express Shipping
We offer the following UPS expedited shipping options:
UPS 2-Day Air®
Estimated delivery: 2 business days
Please note that UPS 2-Day Air® is not a guaranteed service in the event of carrier delays, weather disruptions, or operational issues.
UPS Next Day Air®
Estimated delivery: 1 business day
This service is guaranteed by UPS according to their service guarantee policies.
UPS expedited orders ship Monday through Wednesday only to ensure packages arrive within the same week and avoid weekend delays.
Please note that orders require 1–2 business days of handling time before shipment.
To help ensure same-week delivery, please place UPS orders on or before Tuesday at 6:00 AM Pacific Time (PT).
Live Animals Shipping
Live animal orders ship Monday through Wednesday only.
This schedule ensures animals arrive within the same week and do not remain in transit over the weekend.
Handling time for live animal orders typically ranges from 1–5 business days, depending on:
-
Weather conditions
-
Livestock health
-
Shipping destination
Tracking information will be emailed once the order has been shipped.
Free Shipping
We offer Free Shipping on eligible orders over $150 within the contiguous United States.
Estimated delivery time for free shipping orders is 2–5 business days.
If your order contains both live plants and live animals, the shipment may be combined and the appropriate shipping rate will be shown at checkout.
Free Shipping is not available for customers located in:
-
Alaska
-
Hawaii
-
Puerto Rico
-
Guam
-
U.S. Virgin Islands
Customers in these locations must select Expedited or Express shipping options at checkout.
Delivery Time Estimates
Delivery times shown at checkout are estimates provided by the shipping carrier.
While we work hard to ship orders quickly, delivery times may vary due to factors outside of our control, including:
-
Weather conditions
-
Carrier delays
-
High shipping volumes
-
Transportation disruptions
Aquarium Plants Factory is not responsible for shipping delays caused by the carrier.
Delayed or Lost Packages
Occasionally, shipments may take longer than expected.
A package is considered lost only after 15 business days (approximately 3 weeks) from the ship date.
If a package is confirmed lost by the carrier, we may offer a 50/50 replacement, meaning:
-
Aquarium Plants Factory covers 50% of the replacement cost
-
The customer covers 50% plus shipping
Address Accuracy
Customers are responsible for providing a complete and accurate shipping address when placing an order.
Please ensure that your address is correct when using payment methods such as:
-
Credit / Debit Card
-
PayPal
-
Apple Pay
-
Google Pay
-
Amazon Pay
-
Shopify Pay
-
AliPay
Orders returned due to:
-
Incorrect address
-
Refused delivery
-
Failed delivery attempts
may not be eligible for a refund.
Order Cancellations
If you need to cancel an order, please contact us as soon as possible.
Orders can only be canceled before they have been shipped.
Once an order has been shipped, it can no longer be canceled.
Returns
Due to the sensitive nature of live goods, all sales are final.
We do not accept returns or exchanges for:
-
Live plants
-
Live animals
For any shipping questions, please contact us before placing your order.
Aquarium Plants Factory
https://www.AquariumPlantsFactory.com
WHAT WE GUARANTEE
24 Hours Live Arrival Guarantee* - In a rare case of live stocks dead on arrival, we must be notified within 24 hours by the same day of delivery. Please take clear photos of the damaged product and send it to us within 24 hours. Live Arrival Guarantee will be void after 24 hours of delivery. All replacements are considered final and we will not replace the replacement.
- Picture requirements: Take at least 2 clear photos of damaged product in their original, unopened & sealed transparent packing and send photos and orders information to our email within 24 hours: aquariumplantsfactory@gmail.com
- Please do not take picture of damaged plants, or animals in your aquarium. Once they have been introduced to your aquarium's ecosystem. It is no longer covered by our guarantee.
Please be aware that our Live Arrival Guarantee is subject to certain conditions. Specifically, the guarantee will not be applicable in cases where the package is marked as 'invalid address', 'undeliverable' or is 'returned to sender.' This includes situations such as a vacant delivery address, a missing apartment number, or any other issues that prevent the postal service from delivering your package.
It is crucial to provide accurate and complete shipping information to ensure the successful delivery of your order and the applicability of the Live Arrival Guarantee.
Please keep in mind that Live Arrival Guarantee only guarantees that live stocks will be alive upon arrival. We cannot guarantee that you will continue to have success with them. Many factors, including the aquarium environment, water quality, nutrient, temperature, lighting, filter, and CO2 system, can contribute to the failure to grow live plants and live animals.
WHAT WE CAN'T GUARANTEE
Even though our plants are very clean, but we can't guarantee they will be 100% pest-free because we cannot be responsible for your aquarium. Please use it at your own risk. We recommended all customers rinse the plants with clean water and quarantine them before use.
However, plants in tissue culture will be 100% free from pests, algae and never have been contacting with any aquarium.
- Due to the nature of the product. We don't guarantee our plants will be pests free. ( snails, algae, hitchhikers )
- We don't guarantee our plants will be free of pesticides. We use homemade, organic pesticides in our greenhouse to control pests. We do not use pesticides that contain copper. Copper is toxic to invertebrates such as aquatic snails, crabs, shrimps, etc
- We don't guarantee your aquarium success or are responsible for your aquarium inhabitant including but not limited to fish, shrimp, snail, turtle, etc. So please quarantine all plants when use!
- Unless specific, we don't guarantee aquatic plants will be grow emerged or submerge.
Please review your state's regulations on restricted plants, as we are committed to not shipping plants that are restricted in your area. Do not release any plants into the wild or waterways, as this can harm local ecosystems by introducing invasive species.
Your cooperation in protecting the environment is appreciated. For continuously updated information, refer to the USDA State Noxious Weed list here.
Thank you for your responsible commitment to environmental preservation.
T
Monte Carlos arrived on time and in perfect condition. Pictured is the planted aquarium day the plants arrived.
G
They got to my house in great condition and looking good .
K
Ordered Monte Carlo and S. Repens. They arrived pretty quickly this week and they were healthy. I'm glad I found APF on Google. Waiting to see how they do in my aquarium.
R
They came looking fantastic and so far haven't melted in my aquarium. 🙂
K
These plants arrived a gorgeous green and were packaged securely in thermal bubble wrap, and arrived early! They are healthy and there are no dead spots at all, and it's been a few days since I bought them, and no browning has occurred. I will definitely buy from this shop again!
D
I got 10 monte carlo and 5 dwarf hair grass tissue cultures and used DSM on my 90p! Very happy with my purchase and can't wait for my carpet to grow! #ADA #CUBE GARDEN
A
Will defiantly buy again, perfect to add as leaves on a bonsai tree!!!!
E
Grabbed two of these , kept one intact & broke up the other since when soaking it loosed a little bit more than the first, but actually turned out well so I’m happy !!! Extra excited about how much they have opened up and have started growning upward I’m short time
M
These plants look so green it's amazing. I ordered around 20 and so happy I did. I dont think I needed as many for a dry start method but I wouldnt change a thing. The Montecarlo portions are more then I was hoping for and beautiful. Made planting extremely easy and peaceful. I will order again once I'm ready to flood my tanks maybe try some red plants this time and cant wait as everything I ordered was literally perfect. Buy with absolute confidence and look forward to recieving greatness. I appreciate a company that puts this much into all aspects of customer service and it shows from the packaging to the beautiful plants. Thank you very much.
B
Arrived healthy, will pecked and look great in the aquarium
J
The plants arrived very healthy. They have adjusted and begun to grow.
S
All plants were packaged well anf in good condition.
S
I LOVE Monte Carlo, and my last shipment came in pristine condition. I used this as the "leaf" portion of a "bonsai tree" in my newest tank, and this looks great. I've had zero leaf melt, and the plants are vibrant and doing well. Will bit be my last order from APF!!
K
The montecarlo arrived looking pretty great . I had to order the vitro version, I don't think they had potted at the time. One week later, they are just about completely melted. Sad. But I suppose this is typical during cycling a new tank. Im giving a high rating because they arrived nicely packaged and very healthy looking.
S
I've ordered several plants. All of them arrived quickly & in good condition. Each plant quickly adapted to my aquarium, all are still thriving. It's wonderful to find a company I can rely on.🙂
R
Excellent
T
Arrived healthy and happy...no melting looks great in my nano
p
Arrived healthy and as described
C
My single portion was so generous that I put good amounts into 4 separate tanks to see how it does in different lighting and substrate conditions). I still had a little left over to test on a 5th tank. The APF folks went above and beyond in every area. They helped me to navigate ordering around a major storm and that I would be out of town for a 2 day window. It worked out perfectly except that my shrimp had not had supplementary feeding while I was gone and swarmed the Monte Carlo (really all the plants I ordered) as soon as it was planted. They kept digging it up from everywhere it wasn't glued. I spent several days replanting it repeatedly. I only lost a significant amount in one tank that had shrimp AND nerite snails (and still some survived). Lesson learned feed everyone well before planting. It's really thriving at 2 weeks now and has numerous small offshoots coming out.
c
These plants are so cute and add so much to my aquarium.
L
Super pleased with the quality of my Monte Carlo tissue cultures! I will buy from APF again
E
APF never disappoints. Arrived well packed and healthy. Wouldn't buy anywhere else.
H
I have over ten years of aquascaping experience. While I have had great success with potted Monte Carlo I did not have much luck with this tissue culture. It slowly turned to brown mush in my aquascape. It looked plenty healthy upon arrival. It might be due to the fact that I use soil based substrate without co2. I believe that tissue culture plants acclimate more successfully in high tech tanks.
D
Shipping was fast and the plants all arrived in great health! This will now be my go to source for plants. Can’t wait to see how they grow!
C
I planted my 10 cups of Monte Carlo about 2 weeks before this review and I've experienced very little melt back (less than I'm used to with new aquarium plants) and I already see it rooting in and plenty of new growth! Very happy with my plants from APF!
D
Arrived in perfect condition! You will not be disappointed in these plants!
Recommended for You
Frequently Asked Questions
- Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
!
