Leaf colourgreen, red, pink or purple
Native range
- Bolivia
- Brazil Northeast
- Brazil North
- Brazil Southeast
- Brazil West-Central
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Ecuador
- Guyana
- Honduras
- Panamá
- Peru
- Suriname
- Trinidad-Tobago
- Venezuela
stem plant red accent background midground
Feathery whorls of needle-thin leaves in crimson and wine red — like small red pines standing in the substrate. The most beautiful cabomba and the hardest one to keep.
- Light
- medium–high
- Difficulty
- difficult
- Temperature
- 20 – 35 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratefast
Tolerates lightmedium – high
Carbonate hardness0 – 7 °dKH
Placementred accent, background +1
Propagationcuttings, division +1
Grows emersedno
Appearance
The leaves are cut into fine threads and set in whorls around the stem; colour runs from olive-pink to deep red, deeper the brighter the light. A tall stem plant that reaches the surface in a mid-sized tank.
Keeping
Difficult, and it does not forgive shortcuts: it needs strong light, carbon dioxide and steady feeding, otherwise the lower whorls fall apart and the stem goes bare. Soft, slightly acidic water suits it. It grows fast, so it also needs regular trimming — this is a plant for someone who tends the tank weekly.
Placement
The middle or back of the tank, in a group of several stems: a single stem looks thin. Its red stands out sharply against green neighbours, which is the usual reason for planting it.
Propagation
By cuttings: cut the top 10–15 cm and plant it; the old stem branches below the cut. The brittle stems break easily, so handle them by the base.
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
Cultivars
The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.
Other varieties: Cabomba piauhyensis, Cabomba furcata piauhyensis, Cabomba furcata piauhyensis Topf, Cabomba Piauhyensis Red