Leaf colourgreen, red
Native range
- Assam
- Bangladesh
- China South-Central
- China Southeast
stem plant background midground red accent Conservation status: LC
A fast stem plant from South and East Asia, and the usual first choice for anyone who wants red in the aquarium. The round leaves of its name belong to the marsh form; under water the leaves are narrow and turn from green to orange and crimson as the light gets stronger.
- Light
- medium–high
- Difficulty
- easy
- Height
- 20 – 80 cm
- Temperature
- 4 – 32 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratefast
Tolerates lightmedium – high
pH4 – 8
Carbonate hardness0 – 21 °dKH
General hardness2 – 30 °dGH
Placementbackground, midground +1
Propagationcuttings
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Slender stems grow 20 to 80 cm tall with leaves a few centimetres long. Colour is the point of this plant and it is set almost entirely by light: in a dim tank the whole bush stays plain green.
Keeping
Undemanding by the standards of red stem plants — it grows in a wide range of water and will do without added carbon dioxide, though the colour then stays muted. It readily throws side shoots and thickens, which is both its charm and its problem: the bush shades its own lower leaves and needs pruning every few weeks.
Placement
A background hedge or a midground accent. Planted in a line it makes the red street of a Dutch-style layout; a single group works as a spot of colour against green.
Propagation
Cut a stem, strip the lowest leaves and push the cutting into the substrate. The parent stem branches at the cut, so trimming both propagates the plant and makes it bushier.
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
Cultivars
The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.
Other varieties: Rotala rotundifolia 'Blood Red', Rotala rotundifolia 'H'ra', Rotala rotundifolia Gia Lai HRa, Rotala rotundifolia Orange Juice, Rotala rotundifolia Periya, Rotala rotundifolia Shimoga, Rotala rotundifolia Pink, Rotala rotundifolia Laos, Rotala rotundifolia Singapore Blood Red, Rotala rotundifolia Hong Kong, Rotala rotundifolia Myanmar, Rotala Rotundifolia Manipurensis, Rotala Rotundifolia Red, Rotala Rotundifolia PLATINUM, Rotala sp. 'Pink', Rotala sp. 'Colorata', Rotala sp. 'Green'