Leaf colourgreen
Native range
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Manitoba
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Brunswick
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Nova Scotia
- Ohio
- Ontario
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Québec
- Rhode I.
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
rosette Conservation status: LC
Long ribbon leaves that rise from the bottom and lie along the surface, the classic green backdrop of a big aquarium. It spreads by runners and fills a back wall on its own, without carbon dioxide or special care.
- Light
- low
- Difficulty
- easy
- Height
- 10 – 100 cm
- Temperature
- 20 – 28 °C
Parameters
Plant typerosette
Growth ratefast
CO₂ demandlow
pH6 – 8.5
General hardness4 – 18 °dGH
Propagationrunners
Grows emersedno
Appearance
Narrow ribbon-like leaves about a centimetre wide grow straight from a rosette at the bottom. Height depends on the tank: from 10 cm in a shallow one to a metre in a deep one, where the leaves reach the surface and float along it.
Keeping
Hardy and forgiving of dim light. It feeds mostly through the roots, so it wants a nutritious substrate and rewards a root tablet. It dislikes sudden changes: after a move or a big shift in the water the leaves may melt away, and then grow back from the base if the plant is left alone.
Placement
Along the back and the side walls. The leaves are narrow and cast little shade, so plants in front of it still get their light. In a small tank it is out of place — it will cover the surface within weeks.
Propagation
By runners: a thin shoot creeps under the substrate and a new rosette appears a few centimetres away. Once it has three or four leaves of its own, the runner can be cut and the young plant moved.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 999 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.
Swordtail GuppiesCobra GuppyBlood Red MollyButterflyfishRed Zebra CichlidJulii CorydorasFeatherfin SynodontisRed-finned ParotocinclusGastromyzon monticolaEgg-shaped GoldfishFlame TetraGardner's KillifishAfrican TetraKenyi CichlidCuckoo CatfishGolden SwordtailHypsolebias picturatusCommon ZaccoLabeo BicolorGambusiaFlying barbGastromyzon scitulusAlbino Zebra DanioGeophagus Brokopondo
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 CatfishMolly sphenopsBalloon MollyLyretail MollyMarble MollyHi-Fin PlatyHawaii PlatyBlue PlatyPintail PlatyBlack PlatyChocolate MollyMoonlight GouramiMelanotaenia parva
Cultivars
The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.
Other varieties: Vallisneria americana var. biwaensis, Vallisneria neotropicalis, Vallisneria americana 'Natans'