Leaf colourgreen, red +1
Native range
- Philippines
rosette cichlid-proof background midground specimen Conservation status: EN
One of the tallest water trumpets: long embossed leaves, dark green above and burgundy underneath. Tough enough for a tank with large fish, and happy in hard alkaline water.
- Light
- low
- Difficulty
- easy
- Height
- 20 – 30 cm
- Temperature
- 15 – 28 °C
Parameters
Plant typerosette
Growth rateslow
CO₂ demandlow
Tolerates lightlow – high
pH6 – 8
Carbonate hardness7 – 21 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementcichlid-proof, background +2
Propagationrunners, rhizome division +2
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Narrow leaves 20–30 cm tall with a deeply hammered surface on a strong rosette. Under good light the upper side goes dark green to bronze and the underside turns wine red.
Keeping
Easy and slow. Dim light is enough, carbon dioxide optional; hard, alkaline water suits it better than most plants, which is unusual and useful. The leaves are firm and the rosette is strongly rooted, so it holds up in tanks where softer plants get shredded. It comes from rivers that dry out seasonally — a plant that melts back after a sharp change is not dead, and regrows from the rhizome.
Placement
The middle or back of a roomy tank, alone or in a small group, including tanks with big digging fish.
Propagation
By long runners: young plants appear at some distance from the parent and are separated once rooted.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 976 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: Cryptocoryne usteriana Topf, Cryptocoryne usteriana in Vitro