Leaf colourgreen
Native range
- Cameroon
rosette background midground specimen
Very narrow, tightly curled dark green leaves growing out of a bulb — like green ribbons twisted along their whole length. Undemanding, and fish do not eat it.
- Light
- low
- Difficulty
- easy
- Height
- 40 – 120 cm
- Temperature
- 12 – 30 °C
Parameters
Plant typerosette
Growth rateslow
CO₂ demandlow
Tolerates lightmedium – high
pH5 – 8
Carbonate hardness2 – 12 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementbackground, midground +1
Propagationdivision, daughter plants
Grows emersedno
Appearance
Leaves a few millimetres wide, curled into a spiral and long enough to reach the surface and lie along it. Deep green, and unusually firm to the touch.
Keeping
Easy: dim light is enough, carbon dioxide is optional and growth is slow. There is one rule shared by all bulb plants — do not bury the bulb completely, or it rots. Root feeding helps. Herbivorous fish leave the tough leaves alone, so it survives in tanks where softer plants do not. It also tolerates slightly brackish water.
Placement
The middle or back of the tank, alone or as a pair — the curling leaves are what you look at, and a crowd of them turns into a tangle.
Propagation
A settled plant grows daughter bulbs beside the main one; separate them once they have their own leaves.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 1008 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: Crinum calamistratum Topf