Leaf colourgreen
Native range
- Argentina Northeast
- Argentina Northwest
- Bolivia
- Brazil Northeast
- Brazil Southeast
- Brazil South
- Brazil West-Central
- Chile Central
- Chile North
- Chile South
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- French Guiana
- Guyana
- Nicaragua
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
stem plant background midground Dutch street surface
Feathery whorls of finely divided leaves on a fast stem — the classic soft green backdrop. It grows quickly and eats up the nutrients that algae would otherwise take.
- Light
- medium–high
- Difficulty
- medium
- Temperature
- 4 – 30 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratevery fast
Tolerates lightmedium – high
pH5 – 7
Carbonate hardness2 – 21 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementbackground, midground +2
Propagationcuttings
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Bright green leaves cut into threads sit in whorls along the stem; in good light they spread out like a fan. A group of stems reads as a soft feathery screen.
Keeping
Moderate demands: it needs decent light and plenty of nutrients, and it grows fast enough to need cutting every couple of weeks. Left untrimmed it reaches the surface and shades everything beneath. In parts of the world it is treated as an invasive weed and its sale is restricted.
Placement
The back and middle of the tank, in a group. It can also be left floating, where its stems make a dense shelter for fry.
Propagation
Cut off the top 10–15 cm, strip the lowest whorls and plant that end; roots follow within days.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 841 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: Myriophyllum aquaticum 'Santa Catarina', Myriophyllum mattogrossense, Myriophyllum Aquaticum 'Roraima', Myriophyllum mattogrossense ''grun''