Leaf colourpink or purple
Native range
- Afghanistan
- Assam
- Bangladesh
- Cambodia
- China North-Central
- China South-Central
- China Southeast
- East Himalaya
- India
- Iran
- Japan
- Jawa
- Korea
- Laos
- Lesser Sunda Is.
- Malaya
- Myanmar
- Nansei-shoto
- Nepal
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Sri Lanka
- Sulawesi
- Sumatera
- Tadzhikistan
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Uzbekistan
- Vietnam
- West Himalaya
stem plant midground nano tank Dutch street foreground Conservation status: LC
A compact stem plant with small leaves that answer bright light with pink tips. It suits a nano tank and forgives more than most rotalas.
- Light
- medium
- Difficulty
- medium
- Height
- 5 – 20 cm
- Temperature
- 18 – 30 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratemedium
CO₂ demandmedium
pH5 – 7
Carbonate hardness0 – 14 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementmidground, nano tank +2
Propagationcuttings
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Thin stems 5–20 cm tall with small leaves in pairs. Under strong light the growing tips turn pink and the plant stays compact; in dim light the leaves grow larger and the stem stretches.
Keeping
Moderate demands: it wants decent light and answers well to added carbon dioxide, but it is not a plant that dies without them. Trim it often — cutting is what makes the group dense instead of leggy.
Placement
The middle of the tank or the front of a large one; a dense group can be trimmed into a low bush. Its size suits a nano tank.
Propagation
Cut a stem and replant it into the same group — that is how a thin bunch turns into a thick one. Every cutting roots.
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: Rotala indica 'Bonsai', Rotala Indica Green