Plant typestem plant
Native range
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Mexico Northeast
- Mexico Southwest
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Ontario
- Pennsylvania
- Québec
- Rhode I.
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
stem plant semi-emersed midground foreground Conservation status: LC
A North American marsh plant with heart-shaped leaves that has been grown in aquariums since the days of the Dutch layouts. Under water it stays much smaller and neater than on land.
- Light
- high
- Difficulty
- medium
- Temperature
- 4 – 27 °C
Parameters
Growth rateslow
pH6 – 8
Carbonate hardness5 – 15 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementsemi-emersed, midground +1
Propagationrunners, cuttings
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Heart-shaped leaves set alternately on upright stems. The submerged form is compact and low; the same plant grown above water becomes tall and coarse and flowers on a long drooping spike, which is where the name comes from.
Keeping
Moderate demands and slow growth. Strong light and carbon dioxide give the biggest leaves and the fastest growth; feeding through the water helps. It also takes cool water and is often sold as a pond plant, which is worth knowing when it is hard to find in an aquarium shop.
Placement
The front or middle of the tank, in a group, and on the bank of a paludarium.
Propagation
By runners under the substrate, and by cuttings of the upright stems.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 955 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 OrchidPearlscale 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: Saururus cernuus Topf