Leaf colourgreen
Native range
- Bolivia
- Brazil Northeast
- Brazil North
- Brazil Southeast
- Brazil West-Central
- Colombia
- French Guiana
- Guyana
- Peru
- Suriname
- Venezuela
stem plant background midground
Fan-shaped whorls of finely cut leaves — the classic feathery plant of old aquariums. It is the least demanding of its family, but light is still what it lives on.
- Light
- medium
- Difficulty
- difficult
- Height
- 20 – 30 cm
- Temperature
- 20 – 30 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratemedium
CO₂ demandlow
Tolerates lightmedium – high
Carbonate hardness0 – 7 °dKH
Placementbackground, midground
Propagationcuttings
Grows emersedno
Appearance
Each whorl opens like a small green fan; the stems reach 20–30 cm in an aquarium and stand upright. A group of stems looks like a soft feathery screen.
Keeping
The one real condition is light: in a dim tank the lower parts shed their leaves and the stem goes bare, and no fertiliser fixes that. Carbon dioxide is not required. It dislikes being moved and takes a while to settle after replanting.
Placement
The back and middle of the tank, always in a group — single stems look sparse. Give it open water: crowded against a wall it loses its shape.
Propagation
Cut the top of a stem and plant it, stripping the lowest whorls. Cuttings root within a week; the old stem branches from the cut.
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