Sagittaria subulata 'Pusilla'

Sagittaria subulata

A dwarf form of Sagittaria subulata that, under equal conditions, stays lower than the ordinary species; under the same name 'Pusilla' or var. pusilla, however, ordinary, non-dwarfing plants are often sold as well.

Light: low
Difficulty: easy
Height: 5 – 30 cm (2 – 12 in)
Temperature: 4 – 30 °C (39 – 86 °F)

Leaf colour: green, white markings
Plant type: rosette
Growth rate: medium
CO₂ demand: medium
Tolerates light: low – high
pH: 5 – 8
Carbonate hardness: 2 – 30 °dKH
Placement: background, midground +3 background, midground, nano tank, foreground, carpet
Propagation: runners
Grows emersed: yes

Appearance

Plants labelled 'Sagittaria pusilla' or 'S. subulata var. pusilla' are indeed sometimes smaller than ordinary Sagittaria subulata, although the height of the species' forms depends strongly on conditions; the true dwarf form is, it seems, rare in cultivation. Plants indistinguishable from ordinary Sagittaria subulata and growing taller than 30 cm are also often sold under the same name. With plentiful CO₂ and feeding, the dwarf form reached about 15 cm, and in most cases it stays even lower.

Keeping

Easy: growth medium, light from dim to strong, CO₂ 5–40 mg/l, temperature 18–28 °C. Propagated by runners.

Placement

Midground, nano aquarium, foreground in a group and as a carpet.

Water conditions match

The water suits 1009 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.

Swordtail Guppies Cobra Guppy Blood Red Molly Butterflyfish Red Zebra Cichlid Julii Corydoras Red-finned Parotocinclus Gastromyzon monticola Egg-shaped Goldfish Flame Tetra Gardner's Killifish African Tetra Kenyi Cichlid Cuckoo Catfish Golden Swordtail Hypsolebias picturatus Common Zacco Labeo Bicolor Gambusia Flying barb Gastromyzon scitulus Albino Zebra Danio Geophagus Brokopondo Zebra Mbuna

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 Spined Loach Marbled Headstander Pellegrin's Leporinus Leporinus striatus False Black Tetra Common Metynnis Mylossoma duriventre Red Whiptail Catfish Molly sphenops Balloon Molly Lyretail Molly Marble Molly Hi-Fin Platy Hawaii Platy Blue Platy Pintail Platy Black Platy Chocolate Molly 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 Aulonocara maylandi Aulonocara multicolor Aulonocara Orchid Geophagus altifrons Geophagus winemilleri Pearlscale Cichlid Pearl Cichlid Redbelly Cichlid Red-spotted Cichlid Chuco godmanni 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: Alisma subulatum L., Sagittaria pusilla Nuttall, Alisma subulatum, Damasonium subulatum, Echinodorus subulatus, Sagittaria lorata, Sagittaria loricata, Sagittaria natans lorata, Sagittaria natans pusilla, Sagittaria pusilla, Sagittaria subulata lorata, Sagittaria subulata pusilla, Sagittaria subulata subulata, Sagittaria subulata typica
Sagittaria subulata: (L.) Buchenau
Family: Alismataceae