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
A small-leaved form of Alternanthera reineckii. It was long considered the hobby's 'original' form of the species, but today it has been almost pushed out of the trade by the brighter 'Lilacina' and 'Rosaefolia'.
- 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
Height 10–30 cm. Underwater leaves are about 2 cm long and 1 cm wide. In moderate light the leaves stay mostly green, in strong light they turn red. It differs from the similar 'Mini' by a lighter colour underwater: 'Mini' is noticeably darker, a brownish red.
Keeping
Comparatively demanding and light-hungry: in dim light the lower leaves die off. Light medium to strong, CO₂ 10–40 mg/l, temperature 17–25 °C.
Placement
Its low height and small leaves suit it to the foreground and midground, and to a nano aquarium. Straight, symmetrical shoots make good streets in a Dutch-style layout.
Trade names
Imported from South America around 1963 under the trade name 'Telanthera osiris', it was for a long time the common aquarium form of Alternanthera reineckii; today it is rare in the trade.
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