Ludwigia repens × arcuata

Ludwigia repens

A natural hybrid of the red ludwigia and Ludwigia arcuata (Ludwigia repens × arcuata), common in Florida; sold as 'narrow-leaf ludwigia' with lance-shaped leaves about 5 cm long and 0.5 cm wide.

Light: medium
Difficulty: easy
Height: 20 – 30 cm (7.9 – 12 in)
Temperature: 4 – 30 °C (39 – 86 °F)

Leaf colour: green, red +1 green, red, bronze or brown
Plant type: stem plant
Growth rate: fast
CO₂ demand: low
Tolerates light: low – high
pH: 5 – 8
Carbonate hardness: 2 – 22 °dKH
General hardness: 0 – 30 °dGH
Placement: background, midground +1 background, midground, red accent
Propagation: cuttings
Grows emersed: yes

Appearance

The leaves are lance-shaped, recalling Ludwigia brevipes: narrower than the rounded leaves of Ludwigia repens but not needle-like as in Ludwigia arcuata — about 5 cm long and 0.5 cm wide. Colour depends on conditions: from olive and bronze to bright red; near the surface in bright light the leaves are dark red, while under moderate light the plant is olive-reddish-brown. It is sometimes stated that under very bright light it becomes more delicate and the tips can die back.

Keeping

It behaves like Ludwigia repens: easy, grows fast, branches well and trims into a bush. Light from weak to strong, CO₂ 10–40 mg/l, temperature 24–28 °C.

Placement

Red accent, background and midground.

Trade names

Sold as 'narrow-leaf ludwigia'.

Water conditions match

The water suits 1008 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.

Swordtail Guppies Cobra Guppy Blood Red Molly Butterflyfish Red Zebra Cichlid Julii Corydoras Red-finned Parotocinclus Gastromyzon monticola Egg-shaped Goldfish Flame Tetra Gardner's Killifish African Tetra Kenyi Cichlid Cuckoo Catfish Golden Swordtail Hypsolebias picturatus Common Zacco Labeo Bicolor Gambusia Flying barb Gastromyzon scitulus Albino Zebra Danio Geophagus Brokopondo Zebra Mbuna

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 Spined Loach Marbled Headstander Pellegrin's Leporinus Leporinus striatus False Black Tetra Common Metynnis Mylossoma duriventre Red Whiptail Catfish Molly sphenops Balloon Molly Lyretail Molly Marble Molly Hi-Fin Platy Hawaii Platy Blue Platy Pintail Platy Black Platy Chocolate Molly 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 Aulonocara maylandi Aulonocara multicolor Aulonocara Orchid Geophagus altifrons Geophagus winemilleri Pearlscale Cichlid Pearl Cichlid Redbelly Cichlid Red-spotted Cichlid Chuco godmanni Haplochromis philander Red Chromide Jack Dempsey cichlid

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

Scientific and other names, conservation status

Other scientific names: Ludwigia natans Elliott, Isnardia intermedia, Isnardia media, Isnardia natans, Isnardia repens, Isnardia repens rotundata, Jussiaea swartziana, Ludwigia clavellina, Ludwigia fluitans, Ludwigia natans, Ludwigia natans rotundata, Ludwigia natans stipitata, Ludwigia natans typica, Ludwigia repens rotundata, Ludwigia repens stipitata
Ludwigia repens: J. R. Forst.
Family: Onagraceae
Conservation status: LC