Purple Ambulia

Limnophila hippuridoides

Narrow leaves in whorls, green above and red-violet underneath — the whole plant turns violet when conditions suit it. Simple to grow and adaptable.

Light: medium
Difficulty: medium
Height: 20 – 30 cm (7.9 – 12 in)
Temperature: 15 – 30 °C (59 – 86 °F)

Leaf colour: green, red, pink or purple
Plant type: stem plant
Growth rate: medium
CO₂ demand: low
Tolerates light: medium – high
pH: 6 – 7
Carbonate hardness: 2 – 12 °dKH
General hardness: 0 – 30 °dGH
Placement: red accent, background +1 red accent, background, midground
Propagation: cuttings
Grows emersed: yes

Appearance

Leaves in whorls along a stem 20–30 cm tall, often with the shoot tips bent outward. Colour runs from green with a violet underside to violet throughout, depending on light. Bruised leaves and stems give off a strong scent.

Keeping

Moderate demands, and undemanding by the standards of coloured plants: medium light, ordinary water, carbon dioxide optional. It sends up strong new shoots from the base, so the way to keep a group looking good is to thin out the oldest longest stems and let the young ones take their place; the cut tops root quickly.

Placement

The middle or back of the tank, in a group, as a violet accent among green neighbours.

Propagation

By cuttings: replant the trimmed tops.

Water conditions match

The water suits 816 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.

Butterflyfish Julii Corydoras Red-finned Parotocinclus Gastromyzon monticola Egg-shaped Goldfish Flame Tetra Gardner's Killifish African Tetra Hypsolebias picturatus Common Zacco Labeo Bicolor Gambusia Flying barb Gastromyzon scitulus Albino Zebra Danio Geophagus Brokopondo Homaloptera bilineata Red-tailed Rasbora Boraras naevus Lampeye Killifish Spotted Raphael Catfish Corydoras melanotaenia Festivum cichlid Pseudomugil paskai

Will eat this plant

These species damage plants, especially when their diet is short of vegetable food.

Bengal Loach Zebra Loach Burmese Border Loach Emperor Botia Marbled Headstander Pellegrin's Leporinus Leporinus striatus False Black Tetra Common Metynnis Mylossoma duriventre Red Whiptail Catfish Moonlight Gourami Melanotaenia parva

Will uproot it

These species dig through the substrate and pull rooted plants out.

Marble Loach Peacock Eel Forktail Loach Guntea Loach Long-nosed Loach Horseface Loach Pearlscale Black Moor Goldfish Shubunkin Painted Pleco Featherfin Synodontis Reddish Mystus Catfish Blue Acara Geophagus altifrons Geophagus winemilleri Pearl Cichlid Red-spotted Cichlid Haplochromis philander Red Chromide Jack Dempsey cichlid

Matching water does not mean the fish will leave the plant alone.

The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.

Other varieties: Limnophila cf. hippuridoides "Mini", Limnophila hippuridoides Topf, Limnophila cf hippuridoides Mini, Limnophila cf hippuridoides Mini Topf, Limnophila hippuridoides in Vitro XL, Limnophila hippuridoides in Vitro

Scientific and other names, conservation status

Limnophila hippuridoides: Philcox
Family: Plantaginaceae

Purple Ambulia

Tank conditions

Care and keeping