Leaf colourgreen, red, pink or purple +2
Native range
- Argentina Northeast
- Bahamas
- Brazil South
- Colombia
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Florida
- Georgia
- Guatemala
- Jamaica
- Louisiana
- Mexico Central
- Mexico Gulf
- Mexico Northeast
- Mexico Northwest
- Mexico Southeast
- Mexico Southwest
- Mississippi
- Paraguay
- Texas
- Venezuela
stem plant background midground
Light green paired leaves on a square stem — a mint, and it smells like one when bruised. Sold for years under the wrong name, and easier to grow than most of what it is mistaken for.
- Light
- medium–high
- Difficulty
- medium
- Temperature
- 10 – 30 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratefast
Tolerates lightmedium – high
pH5 – 7
Carbonate hardness0 – 14 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementbackground, midground
Propagationcuttings
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Rounded light green leaves in pairs along an upright four-sided stem. Long water roots often appear at the joints; they can be trimmed off if they bother you. Above water the plant creeps and flowers in white and lilac.
Keeping
Moderate demands and not fussy about water — it grows in very soft and in medium-hard water alike. Medium light suits it better than very strong light. What it does need is generous feeding: a shortage shows up as deformed leaves. Growth is about three centimetres a week, and once a stem passes roughly 40 cm the tip stops growing, so take cuttings before that.
Placement
The middle or back of the tank, in a group, where its light green stands against dark and red-brown plants. It also does well in a paludarium or on damp soil.
Propagation
By cuttings: cut the top and replant it before the stem gets too long.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 841 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.
ButterflyfishJulii CorydorasRed-finned ParotocinclusGastromyzon monticolaEgg-shaped GoldfishFlame TetraGardner's KillifishAfrican TetraHypsolebias picturatusCommon ZaccoLabeo BicolorGambusiaFlying barbGastromyzon scitulusAlbino Zebra DanioGeophagus BrokopondoHomaloptera bilineataRed-tailed RasboraBoraras naevusLampeye KillifishSpotted Raphael CatfishCorydoras melanotaeniaFestivum cichlidPseudomugil paskai
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 CatfishMoonlight 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 AcaraGeophagus altifronsGeophagus winemilleriPearl CichlidRed-spotted CichlidHaplochromis philanderRed ChromideJack Dempsey cichlid
Cultivars
The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.
Other varieties: Clinopodium brownei Topf