Leaf colourgreen, red
Native range
- Austria
- Baltic States
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Central European Russia
- Czechia-Slovakia
- Denmark
- France
- Germany
- Great Britain
- Hungary
- Italy
- NW. Balkan Pen.
- Netherlands
- Northwest European Russia
- Poland
- Romania
- South European Russia
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Türkiye
- Ukraine
stem plant midground Conservation status: LC
Soft, feathery light green leaves in fans along curving stems — a fluffy-looking plant that grows in cool water and dim light. Its brightness makes red neighbours look redder.
- Light
- low
- Difficulty
- medium
- Height
- 10 – 20 cm
- Temperature
- 4 – 28 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratefast
CO₂ demandlow
Tolerates lightmedium – high
pH5 – 7
Carbonate hardness2 – 14 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementmidground
Propagationcuttings
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Finely divided leaves arranged in fans along an upright stem 10–20 cm tall. The colour is a striking pale green. Grown above water it flowers with small lavender blooms held over the surface.
Keeping
Moderate demands and no fuss: dim light is enough, carbon dioxide is optional, and cool water suits it. Light decides the shape — bright light keeps it low and bushy, dim light makes it stretch and thin. Cutting the long shoots is what keeps growth coming from the base.
Placement
The middle of the tank, in a group. Its width makes it a good link between low foreground plants and tall ones at the back.
Propagation
By cuttings: cut a shoot and plant it; the old stem branches and the group thickens.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 835 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: Hottonia palustris Topf, Hottonia palustris 1 2 GROW