Leaf colourgreen
stem plant background midground Dutch street nano tank foreground Conservation status: LC
A slow, sturdy stem plant with thick little leaves, at home in wet ground all over the tropics. It grows in dim light and hard water, and it is one of the few beginner plants that never runs away with the tank.
- Light
- low
- Difficulty
- very easy
- Height
- 3 – 10 cm
- Temperature
- 15 – 30 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratemedium
CO₂ demandlow
Tolerates lightmedium – high
pH5 – 9
Carbonate hardness2 – 30 °dKH
Placementbackground, midground +3
Propagationcuttings
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Straight stems with pairs of small oval leaves, thick and slightly succulent, of a fresh light green. The plant looks tidy rather than lush, and it keeps that shape for months.
Keeping
Undemanding: dim light, no carbon dioxide, water from soft to hard — all fine. Growth is moderate, so pruning is a monthly job rather than a weekly one. In bright light with added carbon dioxide it stays low and branches out; in shade it stretches upwards.
Placement
The middle of the tank or the front of a group of taller plants; several stems planted a few centimetres apart make a small bush. Above water in an open tank it flowers with small pale blooms.
Propagation
Cut a stem into pieces and plant them — every piece roots. Pinch out the growing tips and the plant answers with side shoots, which is how a single stem becomes a bush.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 1015 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 BotiaSpined LoachMarbled 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
Cultivars
The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.
Other varieties: Bacopa monnieri Compact White, Bacopa Monnieri Variegatus, Bacopa Monnieri Platinum