Rotala macrandra 'Butterfly'

Rotala macrandra

A small form of the giant red rotala, also known as 'Mini Type V'; the trade also carries the similar name 'Mini Butterfly', but whether these are the same plant has not been established.

Light: high
Difficulty: difficult
Height: 20 – 30 cm (7.9 – 12 in)
Temperature: 18 – 30 °C (64 – 86 °F)

Leaf colour: green, red, pink or purple
Plant type: stem plant
Growth rate: fast
CO₂ demand: high
Tolerates light: medium – high
pH: 4 – 7
Carbonate hardness: 0 – 12 °dKH
General hardness: 0 – 30 °dGH
Placement: red accent, background +4 red accent, background, midground, Dutch street, nano tank, foreground
Propagation: cuttings
Grows emersed: yes

Appearance

A small form with leaves ranging from oval to round; the plant resembles a miniature Ludwigia arcuata. Its colour is described as ranging from purplish crimson to wine red — the colour depends heavily on conditions.

Keeping

Difficult: the main challenge is holding on to the deep colour — under unsuitable conditions the shoots revert to the green form of the ordinary macrandra. Light medium to strong.

Trade names

Also known as 'Mini Type V'. The trade also carries the similar name 'Mini Butterfly'.

Water conditions match

The water suits 841 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.

Butterflyfish Julii Corydoras Red-finned Parotocinclus Gastromyzon monticola Egg-shaped Goldfish Flame Tetra Gardner's Killifish African Tetra Hypsolebias picturatus Common Zacco Labeo Bicolor Gambusia Flying barb Gastromyzon scitulus Albino Zebra Danio Geophagus Brokopondo Homaloptera bilineata Red-tailed Rasbora Boraras naevus Lampeye Killifish Spotted Raphael Catfish Corydoras melanotaenia Festivum cichlid Pseudomugil paskai

Will eat this plant

These species damage plants, especially when their diet is short of vegetable food.

Bengal Loach Zebra Loach Burmese Border Loach Emperor Botia Marbled Headstander Pellegrin's Leporinus Leporinus striatus False Black Tetra Common Metynnis Mylossoma duriventre Red Whiptail Catfish Moonlight Gourami Melanotaenia parva

Will uproot it

These species dig through the substrate and pull rooted plants out.

Marble Loach Peacock Eel Forktail Loach Guntea Loach Long-nosed Loach Horseface Loach Pearlscale Black Moor Goldfish Shubunkin Painted Pleco Featherfin Synodontis Reddish Mystus Catfish Blue Acara Geophagus altifrons Geophagus winemilleri Pearl Cichlid Red-spotted Cichlid Haplochromis philander Red Chromide Jack Dempsey cichlid

Matching water does not mean the fish will leave the plant alone.

Scientific and other names, conservation status

Other scientific names: Rotala rotundifolia macrandra
Rotala macrandra: Koehne
Family: Lythraceae
Conservation status: LC