Whorly Rotala

Rotala wallichii

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 (3.9 – 12 in)
Temperature: 15 – 30 °C (59 – 86 °F)

Leaf colour: green, red, pink or purple
Plant type: stem plant
Growth rate: fast
CO₂ demand: high
Tolerates light: medium – high
pH: 5 – 7
Carbonate hardness: 0 – 12 °dKH
General hardness: 0 – 30 °dGH
Placement: red accent, background +2 red accent, background, midground, nano tank
Propagation: cuttings
Grows emersed: yes

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.

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.

The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.

Other varieties: Rotala wallichii Bangladesh

Scientific and other names, conservation status

Other scientific names: Ammannia wallichii, Hydrolythrum wallichii
Rotala wallichii: (Hook. f.) Koehne
Family: Lythraceae

Whorly Rotala

Tank conditions

Care and keeping