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 most widely sold red form of Alternanthera reineckii, also known as 'Alternanthera rosaefolia', 'Rosa' and 'Pink'. The leaf edge is wavy, the underside purple.
- 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 20–40 cm, plant width 10–15 cm. The leaf edge is wavy — in 'Lilacina' it is smooth; the underside of the leaf is purple and gives a strong contrast with green neighbours in the tank.
Keeping
Comparatively easy to grow: it survives in dim light and without CO₂, but will not show its full colour that way. The optimum is medium to strong light and CO₂ 10–40 mg/l; in low light it sheds its lower leaves. Unlike many red plants it likes a rich environment: nitrate from 10 mg/l, phosphate from 0.5 mg/l; in poor water a root fertiliser in the substrate helps a lot. Water from soft to hard, pH is not critical, slightly acidic is best. Temperature 17–25 °C, growth medium.
Placement
3–5 strong shoots give a red accent in the background; plant the stems with a gap between them. Propagation is by tip cuttings: the tip is planted in the substrate, the remaining stump puts out side shoots, and the clump becomes bushier. It is little used in nature-style aquascaping, but in Dutch-style layouts it is the most popular red plant.
Trade names
Also found in the trade as 'Alternanthera rosaefolia', 'Rosa' and 'Pink'.
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