Cultivated form (nursery selection, no wild range)
Overview
Bacopa Platinum is a pale stem plant that works as an accent in the midground or background, set against dark green plants. It is moderately demanding.
Did you know
Bacopa Platinum looks different depending on who sells it. Sreepadma sells it as silvery green, while Aquarium Plants Factory describes its Platinum as white to palest cream. Hygronature sells a Bacopa Platinum it calls gold and white.
Caring for Bacopa Platinum
Strip the lower leaves and plant the stems in a nutrient-rich substrate, or add root tabs. Bacopa Platinum grows slowly, so plant enough stems for the group you want from the start.
Give it strong light, since its pale leaves carry little chlorophyll and need more light than green moneywort. In weak light the stems stretch and drop their lower leaves. Add CO2 if you can, because it speeds growth. Keep it at 64 to 82°F (18 to 28°C), and it even tolerates brackish water.
Trim and replant the tops regularly to build a denser group with more side shoots. Cut out any shoot that comes up fully green, since Aquarium Plants Factory warns that the form can revert.
Good to know
Bacopa Platinum is a pale form of Bacopa monnieri, the fleshy-leaved moneywort of the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. Shops also sell it as White moneywort and White bacopa. Some shops use the same text for Platinum and Variegated moneywort, so check the photos before you buy. Variegated moneywort keeps mostly green leaves marbled with cream.
In the wild
Bacopa Platinum is a cultivated form with no wild range. Sreepadma, an aquatic plant farm in India, sells it as tissue culture under code C125 in its GroWoW series. UNS also produces it. Its species, Bacopa monnieri, grows on lake shores, riverbanks and pond edges across the tropics and subtropics.
Common questions
Is Bacopa Platinum a different species from moneywort?
No. Bacopa Platinum is a form of moneywort, Bacopa monnieri. It wants high light, where the species wants medium. Added CO2 helps it, while the species grows well without. It also differs in difficulty.
Does Bacopa Platinum need to be planted in the substrate?
Yes. Strip the leaves from the lower part of each stem, then push the stems into the substrate one at a time, a little apart.
Does Bacopa Platinum need CO2?
No, but it helps. Bacopa Platinum can grow without injected CO2, and added CO2 makes it grow faster.
How much light does Bacopa Platinum need?
Bacopa Platinum needs high light from a strong planted-tank LED. In weaker light its stems stretch and drop their lower leaves.
Does Bacopa Platinum need root tabs?
They help. Bacopa Platinum takes nutrients through both its roots and its leaves. Root tabs near its roots and a liquid fertilizer cover both.
How do you propagate Bacopa Platinum?
Bacopa Platinum propagates by cuttings and side shoots. Cut off the top of a stem and replant it, and the stump left behind grows new shoots. Cut a side shoot off once it has a few leaves and plant it on its own.
How tall does Bacopa Platinum grow?
Bacopa Platinum grows to about 11.8 in (30 cm) tall. It grows slowly and rarely needs trimming.
High lightBackground11.8 in (30 cm)
Low lightBackground15.7 in (40 cm)
High lightMidground11.8 in (30 cm)
High lightMidground11.8 in (30 cm)
High lightMidground11.8 in (30 cm)
Medium lightMidground15.7 in (40 cm)