Leaf colourgreen
alga midground foreground
A green velvet ball that is not a plant at all but a colony of algae, rolled into shape by the waves of cold northern lakes. The one alga in the hobby that is kept on purpose.
- Light
- low
- Difficulty
- easy
- Height
- 3 – 10 cm
- Temperature
- 4 – 28 °C
Parameters
Plant typealga
Growth ratevery slow
CO₂ demandlow
Tolerates lightlow – high
pH6 – 8
Carbonate hardness2 – 18 °dKH
General hardness9 – 30 °dGH
Placementmidground, foreground
Propagationdivision, daughter plants
Grows emersedno
Appearance
A dense sphere 3–10 cm across, soft and velvety, of an even deep green. It grows extremely slowly — a few millimetres a year.
Keeping
Simple, with one condition: cool water. It comes from northern lakes, and in a warm tropical tank it slowly falls apart. Bright light is unnecessary and even harmful. Turn the ball over now and then, or the side lying on the substrate goes pale and the shape is lost.
Placement
On the substrate in the front or middle of the tank, where the sphere is visible. Shrimp pick over it constantly, which is why shrimp keepers buy it.
Propagation
Divide it: cut or pull the ball into pieces and roll each piece gently in your hands; over months every piece rounds itself off again. A piece tied to a stone or a root spreads into a green mat instead.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 856 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 SwordtailCommon ZaccoLabeo BicolorGambusiaFlying barbGastromyzon scitulusAlbino Zebra DanioGeophagus BrokopondoZebra MbunaHomaloptera bilineata
Will eat this plant
These species damage plants, especially when their diet is short of vegetable food.
Bengal LoachZebra LoachBurmese Border LoachSpined LoachMarbled 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 OrchidPearlscale CichlidPearl CichlidRedbelly CichlidRed-spotted CichlidChuco godmanniHaplochromis philanderRed ChromideJack Dempsey cichlid