Leaf colourgreen, red, pink or purple +1
Native range
- Argentina Northeast
- Argentina Northwest
- Bolivia
- Brazil Northeast
- Brazil North
- Brazil Southeast
- Brazil South
- Brazil West-Central
- Paraguay
- Uruguay
stem plant background midground Dutch street nano tank foreground red accent
The red plant of the hobby: leaves from pink to deep wine, on stems that stay upright without help. It asks for good light to hold that colour, and that is the one thing it will not do without.
- Light
- medium
- Difficulty
- medium
- Height
- 5 – 60 cm
- Temperature
- 4 – 30 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratemedium
CO₂ demandmedium
Tolerates lightmedium – high
pH5 – 7
Carbonate hardness0 – 14 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementbackground, midground +4
Propagationcuttings, division +1
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Narrow pointed leaves in pairs, green-bronze above and pink to purple underneath; in strong light the whole plant turns red. Height varies with the form — the dwarf ones stay 5–10 cm, the tall ones reach half a metre.
Keeping
Moderate to strong light is the main condition: in shade the plant survives but goes green, drops its lower leaves and loses the point of being planted at all. Carbon dioxide and fertiliser make the colour deeper and the growth denser. Water may be soft or hard.
Placement
As a colour accent among green plants — a group of several stems in the middle of the tank, or the dwarf forms along the front edge. One stem on its own reads as a mistake; a group reads as a decision.
Propagation
Cut the top of a stem, strip the lowest leaves and plant it. The cut stem branches and gives new shoots; side shoots can also be pulled off with their own roots.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 841 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.
ButterflyfishJulii CorydorasRed-finned ParotocinclusGastromyzon monticolaEgg-shaped GoldfishFlame TetraGardner's KillifishAfrican TetraHypsolebias picturatusCommon ZaccoLabeo BicolorGambusiaFlying barbGastromyzon scitulusAlbino Zebra DanioGeophagus BrokopondoHomaloptera bilineataRed-tailed RasboraBoraras naevusLampeye KillifishSpotted Raphael CatfishCorydoras melanotaeniaFestivum cichlidPseudomugil paskai
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 CatfishMoonlight 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 AcaraGeophagus altifronsGeophagus winemilleriPearl CichlidRed-spotted CichlidHaplochromis philanderRed ChromideJack Dempsey cichlid
Cultivars
The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.
Other varieties: Alternanthera reineckii 'Grün' ('Green'), Alternanthera reineckii 'rosaefolia minor', Alternanthera reineckii 'Rot' ('Red'), Alternanthera reineckii 'Pink', Alternanthera reineckii Rosaefolia Pink, Alternanthera reineckii Cardinalis, Alternanthera Reineckii Bronze, Alternanthera Reineckii Rosaefolia Mini, Alternanthera Reineckii Green, Alternanthera reineckii 'Burgunderrot', Alternanthera reineckii 'Lila', Alternanthera reineckii 'Purple', Alternanthera reineckii 'Rosa', Alternanthera sp. 'Rosanervig', Alternanthera reineckii 'Red Ruby'