Leaf colourgreen
Native range
- Bangladesh
- India
- Myanmar
- Sri Lanka
rosette background midground Conservation status: LC
A bulb plant from the still waters of India and Sri Lanka: long wavy leaves rise to the surface and lie on it. It flowers readily, which few aquarium plants do.
- Light
- medium–high
- Difficulty
- medium
- Temperature
- 20 – 31 °C
Parameters
Plant typerosette
Growth ratefast
Tolerates lightmedium – high
Carbonate hardness2 – 14 °dKH
Placementbackground, midground
Propagationseeds
Grows emersedno
Appearance
Long green leaves with a wavy edge on thin stalks. The upper leaves reach the surface and spread across it, so the plant is best seen from above as well as from the front.
Keeping
Moderate demands: good light, a nutritious substrate, steady conditions. Bury the bulb only halfway, or it rots. Sudden changes in water make the leaves melt, so change water in small regular amounts rather than in one go. Rest periods with dying leaves are part of its cycle.
Placement
The middle or back of a roomy tank. Remember the surface leaves shade whatever is planted beneath.
Propagation
By seed: the plant flowers above the water and the ripe seeds are sown on the substrate.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 1014 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 SwordtailHypsolebias picturatusCommon ZaccoLabeo BicolorGambusiaFlying barbGastromyzon scitulusAlbino Zebra DanioGeophagus BrokopondoZebra Mbuna
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 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 OrchidGeophagus altifronsGeophagus winemilleriPearlscale CichlidPearl CichlidRedbelly CichlidRed-spotted CichlidChuco godmanniHaplochromis philanderRed ChromideJack Dempsey cichlid