Plant typerhizome
rhizome background midground
The large member of a genus known for lawns: blades long enough to reach the middle of a tank. Same grass-like look, quite a different role in a layout.
- Light
- medium–high
- Difficulty
- medium
- Height
- 30 – 50 cm
- Temperature
- 4 – 30 °C
Parameters
Growth ratefast
Tolerates lightmedium – high
pH6 – 7
Carbonate hardness2 – 21 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementbackground, midground
Propagationrunners, division +1
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Narrow flat blades 30–50 cm long in tufts joined by creeping runners — where its relatives make a carpet, this one makes a stand of grass.
Keeping
Moderate demands: medium to strong light, a nutritious substrate, no carbon dioxide required. Growth is quick for the genus, and the colony spreads sideways as much as it grows upward, so thinning it is the regular job.
Placement
The middle or back of the tank, where the long blades can lean with the current. Its habit is close to that of a small vallisneria.
Propagation
By runners: separate rooted tufts and replant them.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 816 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