Leaf colourgreen, red
Native range
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- British Columbia
- Connecticut
- Cuba
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Mexico Northeast
- Mexico Southwest
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New Brunswick
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Rhode I.
- Saskatchewan
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- West Virginia
stem plant background midground Conservation status: LC
A North American watermilfoil with feathery green leaves on a stem that turns red. It has been in the hobby for decades, usually under someone else's name.
- Light
- medium–high
- Difficulty
- medium
- Temperature
- 4 – 27 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratefast
Tolerates lightmedium – high
pH6 – 7
Carbonate hardness4 – 15 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementbackground, midground
Propagationcuttings
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Finely divided green leaves along a stem that runs from green to red. Unlike the parrot's feathers, the leaves are not confined to the upper part of the stem, so the whole plant looks even.
Keeping
Moderate demands: medium to strong light, ordinary feeding, no carbon dioxide required. Growth is fast, so trimming is routine. In nature it grows in shallow water and on the muddy banks of lakes and swamp woods, and it takes cool water without trouble.
Placement
The middle or back of the tank, in a group — several stems together read as one soft mass.
Propagation
By cuttings: replant the trimmed tops.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 794 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 AcaraPearl 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 scabratum, Myriophyllum pinnatum in Vitro