Leaf colourgreen
Native range
- Argentina Northeast
- Bolivia
- Brazil Southeast
- Brazil South
- Uruguay
stem plant background
A fast green stem plant from South America, sold in bunches almost everywhere. It grows in a new tank from the first week and takes up so much nourishment that algae are left with little.
- Light
- low
- Difficulty
- very easy
- Height
- 20 – 30 cm
- Temperature
- 4 – 30 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratevery fast
CO₂ demandlow
Tolerates lightmedium – high
pH5 – 9
Carbonate hardness2 – 20 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementbackground
Propagationfragmentation, cuttings
Grows emersedno
Appearance
Upright stems 20–30 cm tall, thickly set with short bright-green leaves in whorls of four or five. From a distance a bunch of stems looks like a soft green hedge.
Keeping
One of the easiest plants there is: cool or warm water, soft or hard, dim light or bright — it grows in all of them, without carbon dioxide. In poor light it does not stop but goes pale and thin. It grows fast enough that it needs cutting back regularly.
Placement
Along the back wall or in the corners, planted in small groups a couple of centimetres apart. It can also be left floating, and then it works as a nitrate sponge and a hiding place for fry. In some countries it is treated as an invasive weed and its sale is restricted — worth a check before buying.
Propagation
Cut off the top 10–15 cm of a stem, strip the leaves from the lowest two centimetres and push that end into the substrate. Roots appear within days. The old stem branches out from the cut and gives new shoots.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 1015 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: Egeria densa