Ruffle Sword

Aquarius major

Long thick leaves with strongly waved edges and clear veining — an old favourite for the back of a big tank, and simple enough for a first one.

Light: medium–high
Difficulty: easy
Temperature: 18 – 28 °C (64 – 82 °F)

Leaf colour: green, red
Plant type: rosette
Growth rate: medium
Tolerates light: medium – high
General hardness: 0 – 30 °dGH
Placement: background, midground
Propagation: plantlets on the inflorescence
Grows emersed: yes

Appearance

Broad ribbon leaves with ruffled edges in bright green, growing from a large rosette. The waving surface catches the light and stands out against fine-leaved plants.

Keeping

Easy: a nutritious substrate is what it really wants, light from moderate upward, carbon dioxide optional. It grows large, so pruning old outer leaves is part of routine care.

Placement

The middle or back of a large tank, alone or as a pair. Its bright green works as a foil for red plants.

Propagation

By young plants that form on the flower stalk; separate them once they have their own roots.

Water conditions match

The water suits 1006 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.

Swordtail Guppies Cobra Guppy Blood Red Molly Butterflyfish Red Zebra Cichlid Julii Corydoras Red-finned Parotocinclus Gastromyzon monticola Egg-shaped Goldfish Flame Tetra Gardner's Killifish African Tetra Kenyi Cichlid Cuckoo Catfish Golden Swordtail Hypsolebias picturatus Common Zacco Labeo Bicolor Gambusia Flying barb Gastromyzon scitulus Albino Zebra Danio Geophagus Brokopondo Zebra Mbuna

Will eat this plant

These species damage plants, especially when their diet is short of vegetable food.

Bengal Loach Zebra Loach Burmese Border Loach Emperor Botia Marbled Headstander Pellegrin's Leporinus Leporinus striatus False Black Tetra Common Metynnis Mylossoma duriventre Red Whiptail Catfish Molly sphenops Balloon Molly Lyretail Molly Marble Molly Hi-Fin Platy Hawaii Platy Blue Platy Pintail Platy Black Platy Chocolate Molly Moonlight Gourami Melanotaenia parva

Will uproot it

These species dig through the substrate and pull rooted plants out.

Marble Loach Peacock Eel Forktail Loach Guntea Loach Long-nosed Loach Horseface Loach Pearlscale Black Moor Goldfish Shubunkin Painted Pleco Featherfin Synodontis Reddish Mystus Catfish Blue Acara Aulonocara maylandi Aulonocara multicolor Aulonocara Orchid Geophagus altifrons Geophagus winemilleri Pearlscale Cichlid Pearl Cichlid Redbelly Cichlid Red-spotted Cichlid Chuco godmanni Haplochromis philander Red Chromide Jack Dempsey cichlid

Matching water does not mean the fish will leave the plant alone.

The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.

Other varieties: Echinodorus major, Echinodorus major Topf, Echinodorus Major

Scientific and other names, conservation status

Other scientific names: Echinodorus martii var. major Micheli, Echinodorus major, Echinodorus martii major
Family: Alismataceae

Ruffle Sword

Tank conditions

Care and keeping