Leaf colourgreen
Native range
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Manitoba
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New Brunswick
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Ontario
- Pennsylvania
- Québec
- Rhode I.
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Vermont
- Vietnam
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
stem plant background midground Conservation status: LC
Light green toothed leaves on dense compact stems. An undemanding North American plant that changes shape with the light: upright in the shade, creeping in the bright.
- Light
- medium–high
- Difficulty
- easy
- Temperature
- 4 – 28 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth rateslow
Tolerates lightmedium – high
Carbonate hardness0 – 14 °dKH
Placementbackground, midground
Propagationseeds, cuttings, division +1
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Slightly serrated leaves alternating along a sturdy stem. Under strong light the stems stay short and start creeping; in dim light they stand up with wider gaps between the leaves.
Keeping
Easy and slow. It adapts to dim light, needs no carbon dioxide and tolerates cool water. The slow pace means little trimming — useful in a tank that is not tended weekly.
Placement
The middle or back of the tank, in a group. Its dense growth makes a solid green block without overrunning neighbours.
Propagation
By cuttings, and by side shoots that root where they touch the substrate.
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