Japanese Rush

Acorus gramineus

Stiff grass-like fans of leaves from East Asian wetlands. It is a marsh plant rather than a true aquatic — beautiful in a paludarium, slow and short-lived fully submerged.

Light: low–high
Difficulty: easy
Height: 10 – 50 cm (3.9 – 20 in)
Temperature: 4 – 28 °C (39 – 82 °F)

Leaf colour: green, white markings
Plant type: rosette, rhizome
Growth rate: very slow
Tolerates light: low – high
Carbonate hardness: 0 – 14 °dKH
Placement: semi-emersed +3 semi-emersed, on stone and wood, midground, nano tank
Propagation: division, daughter plants +1 division, daughter plants, rhizome division
Grows emersed: yes

Appearance

Narrow rigid leaves 10–50 cm tall growing in flat fans from a horizontal stem. Plain green or striped cream in the variegated forms.

Keeping

Easy above the waterline and awkward below it. In shallow water or damp ground it grows steadily; kept fully under water it grows very slowly and gradually declines, so it is worth treating as a temporary planting or moving it to a paludarium. It tolerates dim light and cool water well.

Placement

The middle of the tank, on the bank of a paludarium, or tied to wood at the waterline. Small forms suit a nano setup.

Propagation

By dividing the horizontal stem: cut it into pieces, each with its own fan of leaves and roots.

Water conditions match

The water suits 1034 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.

Swordtail Guppies Cobra Guppy Blood Red Molly Butterflyfish Red Zebra Cichlid Julii Corydoras Featherfin Synodontis Red-finned Parotocinclus Gastromyzon monticola Egg-shaped Goldfish Flame Tetra Gardner's Killifish African Tetra Kenyi Cichlid Cuckoo Catfish Golden Swordtail Hypsolebias picturatus Common Zacco Labeo Bicolor Gambusia Flying barb Gastromyzon scitulus Albino Zebra Danio Geophagus Brokopondo

Will eat this plant

These species damage plants, especially when their diet is short of vegetable food.

Bengal Loach Zebra Loach Burmese Border Loach Emperor Botia Spined Loach Marbled Headstander Pellegrin's Leporinus Leporinus striatus False Black Tetra Common Metynnis Mylossoma duriventre Red Whiptail Catfish Molly sphenops Balloon Molly Lyretail Molly Marble Molly Hi-Fin Platy Hawaii Platy Blue Platy Pintail Platy Black Platy Chocolate Molly Moonlight Gourami Melanotaenia parva

Matching water does not mean the fish will leave the plant alone.

The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.

Other varieties: Acorus gramineus 'Pusillus', Acorus gramineus Pusillus, Acorus gramineus Pusillus Topf, Acorus gramineus Variegatus, Acorus gramineus Variegatus Topf, Acorus gramineus Minimus Aureus, Acorus gramineus Minimus Aureus Topf

Scientific and other names, conservation status

Other scientific names: Acorus gramineus var. pusillus, Acorus gramineus gramineus, Acorus gramineus japonica, Acorus gramineus macrospadiceus, Acorus gramineus pusillus, Acorus gramineus flavomarginatus, Acorus gramineus japonicus, Acorus humilis, Acorus macrospadiceus, Acorus pusillus, Acorus tatarinowii flavomarginatus, Acorus xiangyeus, Acorus ziangyeus
Acorus gramineus: Solander
Family: Acoraceae
Conservation status: LC

Japanese Rush

Tank conditions

Care and keeping