Leaf colourgreen, red +1
Native range
- Andaman Is.
- Cambodia
- Laos
- Malaya
- Myanmar
- Thailand
- Vietnam
rosette background midground Conservation status: LC
A bulb plant with long wine-red leaves that shimmer as the light moves. One of the most striking centrepieces in the hobby, and one that dislikes being disturbed.
- Light
- medium–high
- Difficulty
- medium
- Temperature
- 18 – 30 °C
Parameters
Plant typerosette
Growth ratemedium
Tolerates lightmedium – high
Carbonate hardness2 – 20 °dKH
Placementbackground, midground
Propagationseeds, division +1
Grows emersedno
Appearance
Narrow wavy leaves on long stalks rise from a bulb in a loose rosette; colour runs from bronze-olive to deep maroon, deeper the brighter the light. In a big tank a single plant becomes a focal point on its own.
Keeping
Moderate demands and one firm rule: do not move it. It wants a nutritious substrate, moderate to strong light and clean water; carbon dioxide deepens the colour. After a while it may go dormant — the leaves die back and the bulb rests for a few weeks before starting again.
Placement
The middle or back of a large tank, alone. Its leaves are wide and shade the plants beneath.
Propagation
It flowers under water and sets seed by itself; the seedlings appear around the parent. Daughter bulbs form on an established plant and can be separated once they have their own leaves.
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