Leaf colourgreen, red, pink or purple +1
Native range
- China Southeast
- Japan
- Korea
- Taiwan
stem plant red accent midground background
Rounded leaves running through gold, orange and pink as the light gets stronger. Unlike other ludwigias its leaves sit singly along the stem, which gives the group a lighter look.
- Light
- medium–high
- Difficulty
- medium
- Height
- 10 – 40 cm
- Temperature
- 10 – 28 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratefast
Tolerates lightmedium – high
Carbonate hardness1 – 7 °dKH
Placementred accent, midground +1
Propagationcuttings
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Oval leaves alternate along an upright stem 10–40 cm tall. Colour is the point: green in a dim tank, gold through orange to pink and red under strong light and iron feeding.
Keeping
Moderate demands: good light and iron are what produce the colour, carbon dioxide speeds growth but is not required. It is one of the easier coloured stem plants, which is why it is worth trying before the fussier reds. Growth is quick and it needs regular trimming.
Placement
The middle or back of the tank, in a dense bunch of ten stems or so — that is what turns it into a spot of colour rather than a few odd leaves.
Propagation
By cuttings: cut the top, strip the lowest leaves and plant it; the old stem branches from the cut.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 1008 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 BotiaSpined LoachMarbled 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: Ludwigia ovalis 'Pink'