Leaf colourgreen, red, pink or purple
Native range
- Bangladesh
- China Southeast
- India
- Laos
- Malaya
- Myanmar
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Vietnam
stem plant red accent background midground nano tank
Needle-fine leaves in soft whorls, with tips that turn pink and crimson under strong light. One of the prettiest plants in the hobby, and one that only shows it in a well-lit tank.
- Light
- high
- Difficulty
- difficult
- Height
- 10 – 30 cm
- Temperature
- 15 – 30 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratefast
CO₂ demandhigh
Tolerates lightmedium – high
pH5 – 7
Carbonate hardness0 – 12 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementred accent, background +2
Propagationcuttings
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Thin stems 10–30 cm tall carrying whorls of needle-like leaves; the growing tips run from olive to pink and deep red. A single stem looks like a wisp — the effect comes from a dense group.
Keeping
Demanding: strong light, added carbon dioxide and soft, slightly acidic water. Where any of that is missing the plant goes green, the lower leaves fall and the stem stands bare. It grows fast, so pruning is regular.
Placement
The middle and back of the tank in a dense group; it takes trimming well, so it also fits a small tank.
Propagation
Cut the tops and replant them in the same group. The remaining stems branch and thicken the stand.
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 wallichii Bangladesh