Rotala Rotundifolia
Origin:Asia
Lighting: low
Difficulty: low
Growth rate: Fast
Rotala Rotundifolia or just Rotala as most call it, is an easy to grow plant that grows well in low light and grows like crazy in higher lighting conditions. With CO2 and high light the plants will grow pink to red at the tops. It's great for filling in a tank quickly as the trimmings can be planted directly back into the substrate an will take root quickly. Some stems will sprout roots and pull themselves down to the bottom to grow like runners thus spreading faster.
I chose this plant because I have had great success growing it in many ways. I have grown it in the back of my tanks from the bottom all the way to the surface as back ground plants. I have grown it in front and trim it weekly with scissors as a for ground plant. I have let mats of trimmings float on the surface for baby fish to hide in. Shrimp seem to like living in it also. It's a very versatile plant but be warned, it can get weedy. You will likely find yourself trimming aggressively on a weekly basis. It can and will invade other plant areas but it is easily controlled by yanking it out. I have pulled out handfuls at a time with no ill affects.
One stem of this plant could fill a ten gallon tank in a year with proper lighting and careful propagation.
Here you can see some of the variation in color.
Here you can see how Rotala can be used from the front of the tank to the back.
Origin:Asia
Lighting: low
Difficulty: low
Growth rate: Fast
Rotala Rotundifolia or just Rotala as most call it, is an easy to grow plant that grows well in low light and grows like crazy in higher lighting conditions. With CO2 and high light the plants will grow pink to red at the tops. It's great for filling in a tank quickly as the trimmings can be planted directly back into the substrate an will take root quickly. Some stems will sprout roots and pull themselves down to the bottom to grow like runners thus spreading faster.
I chose this plant because I have had great success growing it in many ways. I have grown it in the back of my tanks from the bottom all the way to the surface as back ground plants. I have grown it in front and trim it weekly with scissors as a for ground plant. I have let mats of trimmings float on the surface for baby fish to hide in. Shrimp seem to like living in it also. It's a very versatile plant but be warned, it can get weedy. You will likely find yourself trimming aggressively on a weekly basis. It can and will invade other plant areas but it is easily controlled by yanking it out. I have pulled out handfuls at a time with no ill affects.
One stem of this plant could fill a ten gallon tank in a year with proper lighting and careful propagation.
Here you can see some of the variation in color.
Here you can see how Rotala can be used from the front of the tank to the back.
