Plant typestem plant
Native range
- New South Wales
- New Zealand North
- New Zealand South
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
stem plant nano tank foreground carpet
A New Zealand plant with round leaves the size of a match head, and the carpet that made Japanese-style layouts famous. Very bright light is not a wish here but a condition.
- Light
- high
- Difficulty
- difficult
- Height
- 3 – 5 cm
- Temperature
- 4 – 30 °C
Parameters
Growth ratefast
CO₂ demandhigh
Tolerates lightmedium – high
pH4 – 7
Carbonate hardness0 – 14 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementnano tank, foreground +1
Propagationrunners, cuttings +2
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Pairs of small round leaves on creeping stems, 2–3 cm tall. In strong light it hugs the ground; the moment light is short it turns upwards and grows in storeys, which is the usual sign that something is wrong.
Keeping
Demanding: plenty of light, added carbon dioxide and soft water. Anything taller planted in front of it takes its light away and the carpet breaks up. It grows fast, so a thick mat needs thinning or the bottom layer dies off.
Placement
The very front of the tank, on open ground with nothing shading it. Plant small tufts a few centimetres apart — they close the gaps in a few weeks.
Propagation
By creeping stems: they root as they go, and a rooted piece cut away starts a new patch.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 841 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.
ButterflyfishJulii CorydorasRed-finned ParotocinclusGastromyzon monticolaEgg-shaped GoldfishFlame TetraGardner's KillifishAfrican TetraHypsolebias picturatusCommon ZaccoLabeo BicolorGambusiaFlying barbGastromyzon scitulusAlbino Zebra DanioGeophagus BrokopondoHomaloptera bilineataRed-tailed RasboraBoraras naevusLampeye KillifishSpotted Raphael CatfishCorydoras melanotaeniaFestivum cichlidPseudomugil paskai
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 CatfishMoonlight 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 AcaraGeophagus altifronsGeophagus winemilleriPearl CichlidRed-spotted CichlidHaplochromis philanderRed ChromideJack Dempsey cichlid
Cultivars
The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.
Other varieties: Glossostigma elatinoides Compact, Glossostigma Elatinoides Platinum