Placing different species of plants into your aquarium can create beautiful visual effects. Red aquarium plants can give a bold splash of color into your tank.
They provide a contrast to the shades of the green plant varieties.
The question is... Which red aquatic plant should you use?
Here are nine of the most popular red aquatic plants among aquarists. Get to know more about these plants and how you can use them to produce a more dramatic aquascape for your fish tank.
Rotala Rotundifolia
The rotala rotundifolia is a classic aquarium plant you can grow without a problem. It only needs intense lighting and pruning once it reaches the surface.
You need good lighting to produce the true colors of rotala rotundifolia. The plant can grow in medium light, but low light may cause this aquatic plant to lose its leaves. Provide enough light exposure at all times.
Rotala rotundifolia originated from Southeast Asia. It thrives there as a weed in rice paddies and wet soils. The form and color of this species vary depending on its surroundings.
Exposing it to low or medium-light can cause a lean and yellow-green specimen. Place the plant under intense fire and ensure it receives enough amount of micro-nutrients to achieve pink coloration.
Aquascapers often use this versatile plant in Dutch style and Nature Aquarium style layouts. It can serve as a reddish accent or the focal point.
Rotala rotundifolia looks good when you mix it with other low-growing plants. Place it in mid-ground or background-position.
The plant often turns back downwards when you let it grow to the surface of the aquarium, which results in an attractive cascade.
This fast-growing stem plant responds well to frequent and heavy pruning.
- Rotala Red Rotundifolia (Rotala rotundifolia): A vibrant, colorful live aquatic plant with needle-like leaves and eye-catching red and pink hues, perfect for adding depth and dimension to your freshwater aquarium.
- Ideal for Freshwater Aquariums & Aquascapes: This versatile plant is suitable for various freshwater tanks, including planted, community, and nano aquariums, as well as aquascapes.
- Easy to Grow & Maintain: Rotala Red Rotundifolia (Rotala rotundifolia) thrives under moderate to high lighting and can be easily propagated through cuttings, making it perfect for both beginners and experienced aquarists.
Ludwigia Repens
Beginner aquarists should consider growing Ludwigia repens. This plant is easy to grow and maintain you do not have to follow strict rules to grow it.
It is also one of the most beautiful red plants for the aquarium. It looks good in any fish tank regardless of the decoration you want to use.
When buying the plant, choose one that has a reddish color with no damage in the leaves. Parasites and diseases can infect aquatic plants that look damaged.
You need to observe caution when placing any aquatic plant in your tank. You would not want to put infected plants in your aquarium and risk spreading disease.
Get a plant that is still young, so it will have plenty of time to adapt to the conditions in your tank.
Limit using a few stems if you do not have a large aquarium. Ludwigia repens can propagate quickly. This means you can grow dozens of small plants from a few stems.
This plant has solid roots so you can use any substrate. Do not use sand, though, because it can suffocate the roots.
Use chemicals that can provide the needed nutrients for the plants at least during the first few months if the substrate does not have enough nutrients. This can help create a healthy root system for the aquatic plant.
- LIVE ARRIVAL GAURANTEE - *must provide photo of plant in packaging*
- Plant Root Tab Included to Help Plant Acheive Best Color
- Easy Care
Rotala Wallichii
The rotala wallichii is a stem plant with pink and red hues and needle-shaped leaves. It produces flower spikes with bright, purple flowers.
It may not be the most natural aquarium plant to grow, but it is one of the most popular red stem plants among hobbyists.
The plants need carbon dioxide injection and bright illumination. It also requires nitrate and iron doses. It grows best with high phosphate levels.
The rotala wallichii may tax to maintain, but this should not stop you from growing it. Given the right conditions, the plant can reward you with bright pink or deep red stems that can rise to the waterâs surface.
The plant's parts that are closest to the water surface are likely to develop the most intense color. They also produce many lateral shoots.
If you notice that this plant grows too large for your tank, you can cut off its uppermost parts and replant these in the substrate. The lateral shoots of the rotala wallichii grow new roots fast once re-planted.
Carbon dioxide, intense lighting, and fertilization can bring out the vibrant colors of the leaves. Ensure that the nitrate level of your aquarium never falls to zero not exceed 10 to 15 mg per liter.
For best visual effects, plant rotala wallichii three to five stems at a time to form large and dense groupings. The rotala wallichii will look best when you grow it in a group as a background or mid-ground plant.
- 6 Rotala Wallichii Live Aquarium Plant Stems
Rotala Indica
Image by Planted Aquariums Central
Rotala indica, also known as the Indian toothcup, is an ideal mid-ground plant for a freshwater aquarium.
The good thing is this somewhat undemanding plant can also adapt to most typical water conditions.
It can grow and spread across the water when you provide sufficient carbon dioxide, intense lighting, and doses of iron and trace elements.
This annual creeping herb is a favorite among aquarists because of its colorful leaves and flowers.
The plant has squarish soft stems and leaves arranged in perpendicular pairs along the stems.
Its leaves are green at the top and pink at the bottom. These are also oblong and egg-shaped with thick and cartilaginous margins.
Rotala indica is a fragile plant. I do not advise using it in tanks with active or large fishes that might damage the stems.
It also quickly forms side shoots, so the rotala indica tends to look compact and bushy. This makes it hard for the light to penetrate the lower leaves.
Prune this plant periodically because it propagates fast. The bushy appearance, however, makes the rotala indica a suitable place for fry or brood fish.
- You will get 1 bundle, each bundle contains 6 stems. The plants will be similar to the one that you see on the picture of the listing. I will also include a mystery plant of my choosing.
- Rotala Indica Plants are very easy to grow, great beginner plants. It does not require co2 or fertilizer, but grows much better with fertilizer
- Live Arrival and Satisfaction Guaranteed
- LIVE AQUARIUM PLANT - 1 Potted of Rotala Indica Green
- SIZE 3-8"+ length (Slightly different, May vary) 100% guaranteed free from algae, disease, pest and snail.
- FREE ICE OR HEAT pack - Due to extremely weather, Ice and heat pack is available up on request. Simply put "ICE" or "HEAT" after your name on your shipping address.
Alternanthera Reineckii Mini
Alternanthera reineckii mini is a fashionable but demanding aquarium plant.
Also known as AR Mini, it is a new dwarf variety of alternanthera reineckii, a favorite slow-growing stem plant
The AR mini is a hardy plant that can grow compact. It is ideal for small aquariums but also makes a great foreground plant in larger aquariums.
It produces flowers in emersed conditions. The leaves have different shapes and shades. The color of the upper leaf varies from sage green to brown while the lower surface is purple-red.
If you intend to use the AR mini in a small tank, plant it in small groups around the center of the aquarium. This will expose the plant to the best light, which can help it achieve optimal color.
Avoid over-planting because the plant may take up the swimming space of the fish.
You need to add iron into the aquarium to achieve red colorations. Trim the plant regularly so you can create a dense, red-violet carpet in the foreground.
Just like most plants, you can propagate AR mini by cutting and replanting the stem. You can use a soil-based substrate to support stable growth.
Ludwigia Arcuata
Ludwigia arcuata is a needle leaf plant with delicate red and green leaves. This plant has thick and pointed leaves that usually grow in opposite pairs along the stem.
The Ludwigia arcuata is an easy-to-maintain aquatic plant that can add movement and dimension to your fish tank.
The leaves of this plant species vary in color. They may be red or green depending on the amount of iron present in the water.
Adding nutrients and providing intense lighting can help achieve the desirable red color of this plant. A higher amount of iron in the water can also bring out the red tones of ludwigia arcuata.
You need not do carbon dioxide injection to cultivate this plant, but adding carbon dioxide into the tank can support the robust growth of ludwigia arcuata.
We can grow the ludwigia arcuata plant submerged or emersed. When you grow these plants emerged, the leaves are likely to take round shapes like other ludwigia species. They will also remain green.
The leaves, however, will become thin and turn orange to red if we place the plant under high light and submerged in the aquarium. You will want to do this if you are after the red color of the ludwigia arcuata.
Ludwigia arcuata grows slower compared with many stem plants but make sure you prune it regularly so it will branch out.
Pruning the top of the stem can produce new shoots from the node. Doing this often overtime can achieve the bushy appearance that many hobbyists want to make.
Ludwigia Palustris
Ludwigia palustris adds color to an aquascape without the hassles that often come with growing and maintaining colorful aquarium plants.
Ideally, you can place this plant in the fronts zones of the tank where its vivid color can create a beautiful focal point. The leaves of ludwigia palustris can be gold, red, or orange depending on the tank conditions.
While the use of this plant species in the aquascape depends on the color form it is being cultivated, the reddish type of this plant, which also is the most common, is the most decorative.
You can bring out the plantâs desirable bright colors by providing intense lighting and high nutrient levels.
You can grow this plant submerged or immersed, but it is far more difficult to cultivate in emersed form.
The plant produces side shoots. Cutting can increase the number of these shoots and make the plant denser. You can replant the cut-off shoots they can generate new roots in a short period amount of time.
Ludwigia Glandulosa
Ludwigia glandulosa is among the most colorful aquatic plants, albeit it's demanding to grow and maintain.
Its striking color makes it a suitable accent plant you can use as a focal point in an aquascape. The intense red and purplish coloring of the leaves can attract the eye.
It can develop wine-red leaves as long as you provide it with intense lighting, a good supply of carbon dioxide, and a nutrient-rich substrate. You also need to ensure that the temperatures are not above 25 °C.
The leaves of the plant will become greener and even fall if there is not enough light in the fish tank. Unlike other red plants, however, ludwigia glandulosa does not need low nitrate levels to maintain its red color.
This plant species is also unlike others. It develops upright and does not like to branch even if it grows right up to the water line.
Proserpinaca Palustris
Image by Mactac90
Proserpinaca palustris which people also identify as mermaid weed. This herbaceous aquatic plant is not too tricky to growth although you may have to allocate a lengthy period for its transition.
The proserpinaca palustris can transform from its saw-toothed, green emersed form into the finely toothed, orange-red submersed form. It can produce a dramatic visual statement in the tank where we plant it.
Its leaves start with vibrant green colors and rough serrated edges. Once you grow the plant under high-intensity lighting, the leaves may resemble tiny and delicate combs.
The shade of the leaves will also deliberately change from green to a variety of pink and gold. Adding this plant into your fish tank can give it a pop of color.
The red- and orange-colored varieties make an excellent choice for small aquascape because of their small size and moderate growth rate. The plant also makes an attractive red accent.
They need sufficient lighting, nutrients, and carbon dioxide to thrive. Lack of nutrients and light can cause the proserpinaca palustris to shed its leaves.
This plant grows at a slow to moderate pace, so you do not have to worry about trimming it often.
Adding red aquarium plants into your fish tank can create a stunning visual effect. They can produce a focal point and break the monotony of the green hues of other plants. We hope we provided you the necessary information you need to determine which plant will work best for you.