Leaf colourgreen
Native range
- Bangladesh
- China South-Central
- China Southeast
- East Himalaya
- India
- Japan
- Korea
- Malaya
- Myanmar
- Nansei-shoto
- Nepal
- Sri Lanka
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Vietnam
stem plant midground nano tank foreground Conservation status: LC
Very fine needle-shaped leaves in pairs along thin stems. It can be cut low into a carpet or left to grow into a soft cloud of green at the back — rare, and not as delicate to keep as it looks.
- Light
- high
- Difficulty
- medium
- Temperature
- 20 – 30 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
pH5 – 7
Carbonate hardness0 – 14 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementmidground, nano tank +1
Propagationcuttings
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Narrow leaves a few millimetres long in opposite pairs on slim stems. At a glance it is close to pearlweed and mayaca; the paired leaves are what tell it apart.
Keeping
Moderate demands with one clear requirement: strong light. In the shade the stems stretch and the group thins out. Carbon dioxide is not required, though it makes the growth denser. Trimming decides the shape — cut it often for a low carpet, leave it for a rounded bush.
Placement
The front of the tank as a fine carpet, or the middle and back as a soft hedge. Its size suits a nano tank.
Propagation
By cuttings: replant the trimmed tops.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 839 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: Microcarpaea minima in Vitro, Microcarpaea Minima Merrill