Leaf colourgreen, red +1
Native range
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Bahamas
- Bermuda
- Brazil South
- Colombia
- Connecticut
- Cuba
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- El Salvador
- Florida
- Georgia
- Guatemala
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Jamaica
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Mexico Gulf
- Mexico Southeast
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- New Brunswick
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Nova Scotia
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Ontario
- Pennsylvania
- Québec
- Rhode I.
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Uruguay
- Vermont
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
stem plant red accent background midground Conservation status: LC
A stem plant with saw-toothed, needle-like leaves that turn copper and red in strong light. It changes shape completely once it settles under water — the leaves you buy are not the leaves you keep.
- Light
- high
- Difficulty
- medium
- Height
- 10 – 30 cm
- Temperature
- 10 – 28 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratemedium
CO₂ demandhigh
Tolerates lightmedium – high
pH5 – 7
Carbonate hardness0 – 18 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementred accent, background +1
Propagationcuttings
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Stems 10–30 cm tall. Grown above water the leaves are broad and toothed; under water they turn long, narrow and finely serrated. Colour runs from golden green to solid red depending on light and iron.
Keeping
Demanding: it needs strong light and added carbon dioxide for the colour and the narrow leaf form. In dim light it stays green and coarse. The change of leaf shape after planting is normal and takes a few weeks.
Placement
The middle and back of the tank, in a group where its texture contrasts with broad-leaved neighbours.
Propagation
Cut the top of a stem and plant it; the old stem branches from the cut.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 835 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: Proserpinaca palustris 'Cuba'