Leaf colourgreen
Native range
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Bolivia
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Florida
- Georgia
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Louisiana
- Mexico Central
- Mexico Gulf
- Mexico Northeast
- Mexico Northwest
- Mexico Southeast
- Mexico Southwest
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nicaragua
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Panamá
- Paraguay
- Peru
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Venezuela
stem plant background midground
A small marsh plant from the American south with an upright, neatly symmetrical habit. New to the hobby, and easy — a compact stand-in for the far bigger plants it resembles.
- Light
- medium–high
- Difficulty
- medium
- Temperature
- 18 – 30 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratemedium
Tolerates lightmedium – high
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementbackground, midground
Propagationcuttings
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Paired green leaves on a straight stem, evenly spaced, so the plant looks tidy from every side. Above water it flowers in yellow — it belongs to the daisy family, and a close relative is grown as a herb.
Keeping
Moderate demands, no harder than the usual stem plants: medium to strong light, a nutritious substrate, carbon dioxide optional. Growth under water is unhurried, which makes it easier to shape than the vigorous plants it looks like. Note that shrimp are fond of the soft above-water leaves and will strip a freshly planted specimen.
Placement
The middle or back of the tank, in a group; its regular shape suits the ordered rows of a Dutch-style layout, and its modest size fits tanks where bigger stem plants would take over.
Propagation
By cuttings: cut the top and replant it.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 1015 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.
Swordtail GuppiesCobra GuppyBlood Red MollyButterflyfishRed Zebra CichlidJulii CorydorasRed-finned ParotocinclusGastromyzon monticolaEgg-shaped GoldfishFlame TetraGardner's KillifishAfrican TetraKenyi CichlidCuckoo CatfishGolden SwordtailHypsolebias picturatusCommon ZaccoLabeo BicolorGambusiaFlying barbGastromyzon scitulusAlbino Zebra DanioGeophagus BrokopondoZebra Mbuna
Will eat this plant
These species damage plants, especially when their diet is short of vegetable food.
Bengal LoachZebra LoachBurmese Border LoachEmperor BotiaMarbled HeadstanderPellegrin's LeporinusLeporinus striatusFalse Black TetraCommon MetynnisMylossoma duriventreRed Whiptail CatfishMolly sphenopsBalloon MollyLyretail MollyMarble MollyHi-Fin PlatyHawaii PlatyBlue PlatyPintail PlatyBlack PlatyChocolate MollyMoonlight GouramiMelanotaenia parva
Will uproot it
These species dig through the substrate and pull rooted plants out.
Marble LoachPeacock EelForktail LoachGuntea LoachLong-nosed LoachHorseface LoachPearlscaleBlack Moor GoldfishShubunkinPainted PlecoFeatherfin SynodontisReddish Mystus CatfishBlue AcaraAulonocara maylandiAulonocara multicolorAulonocara OrchidGeophagus altifronsGeophagus winemilleriPearlscale CichlidPearl CichlidRedbelly CichlidRed-spotted CichlidChuco godmanniHaplochromis philanderRed ChromideJack Dempsey cichlid
Cultivars
The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.
Other varieties: Acmella repens in Vitro