Leaf colourwhite markings
Native range
- Andaman Is.
- Angola
- Bangladesh
- Botswana
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- China South-Central
- China Southeast
- Congo
- DR Congo
- Gabon
- Ghana
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guinea
- Hainan
- India
- Ivory Coast
- Japan
- Jawa
- Korea
- Laos
- Liberia
- Madagascar
- Mali
- Myanmar
- New Guinea
- Nigeria
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan-South Sudan
- Sumatera
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Togo
- Uganda
- Vietnam
- Western Australia
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
stem plant background midground Conservation status: LC
A tall pipewort with white needle-thin leaves and dozens of side shoots, from the waters of Southeast Asia and Australia. One of the plants people build a whole tank around.
- Light
- high
- Difficulty
- difficult
- Temperature
- 20 – 30 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratemedium
Carbonate hardness0 – 7 °dKH
Placementbackground, midground
Propagationcuttings
Grows emersedno
Appearance
Very fine, almost white needle leaves along an upright stem that branches freely as it grows, so a single plant becomes a feathery column.
Keeping
Difficult, and specific about it: an acidic substrate, soft water of about 4 °dH or less, strong light and carbon dioxide are all required. Feeding must stay balanced — nitrate, phosphate, iron and trace elements all present, none allowed to run out. Keepers often set up a separate tank for this plant and its relatives rather than fit it into a general community aquarium.
Placement
The middle or back of the tank, clear of faster neighbours that would shade it.
Propagation
By cuttings of the side shoots.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 1014 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 BotiaMarbled 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: Eriocaulon setaceum in Vitro