Leaf colourgreen
Native range
- Madagascar
rosette background Conservation status: NT
A bulb plant from Madagascar with translucent, wavy light-green leaves — one plant can carry forty of them. In a large tank it works as a centrepiece that needs no company.
- Light
- medium
- Difficulty
- medium
- Height
- 20 – 30 cm
- Temperature
- 18 – 34 °C
Parameters
Plant typerosette
Growth ratefast
CO₂ demandlow
Tolerates lightmedium – high
Carbonate hardness2 – 15 °dKH
Placementbackground
Propagationseeds
Grows emersedno
Appearance
Long, almost transparent leaves with crimped edges grow from a bulb; a mature plant is a rosette up to half a metre wide. Light passes through the leaves, which is what gives it its unusual, airy look.
Keeping
Moderate demands: a nutritious substrate, moderate light, and carbon dioxide if faster growth is wanted; soft and hard water both suit it. Some forms take a rest period — the leaves die back and the bulb sits still for a couple of months, then starts again. That is normal and not a sign of a dying plant.
Placement
As a single plant in the back or middle of a large tank. In a small aquarium it simply has no room.
Propagation
In an aquarium it is grown from seed: the plant sends a flower spike to the surface, and the ripe seeds are sown on the substrate. Bulbs are usually bought rather than divided.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 1016 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