Leaf colourgreen, white markings
Native range
- Thailand
rosette background midground specimen Conservation status: EN
A bulb the size of an onion with long ribbon leaves that reach the surface and drift along it. Undemanding — its only real requirement is room.
- Light
- low–high
- Difficulty
- easy
- Height
- 60 – 200 cm
- Temperature
- 15 – 32 °C
Parameters
Plant typerosette
Growth ratemedium
Tolerates lightlow – high
pH5 – 8
Carbonate hardness2 – 12 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementbackground, midground +1
Propagationseeds, division +1
Grows emersedno
Appearance
Broad green ribbon leaves rise from a large pale bulb in a rosette. In the wild the plant grows in flowing streams with the leaves streaming in the current, and it does the same in an aquarium. An older plant may send up a flower stalk with a fragrant white lily flower above the water.
Keeping
Easy and long-lived, with the usual bulb rule: leave the upper part of the bulb above the substrate, or it rots. It is a heavy root feeder and wants a nutritious substrate. Light can be dim or bright; carbon dioxide is optional. The real limit is space — the leaves are long, and in a small tank they lie across the whole surface.
Placement
The back or middle of a roomy tank, alone. Plant it where the leaves can stream away from the front glass rather than across it.
Propagation
By daughter bulbs beside the main one: separate them once they have their own roots and leaves. Plants that flower can also set seed.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 1007 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 thaianum Topf