Narrow leaf anacharis

Care at a glance

Overview

One of the easiest stem plants there is: plant loosely in the background or let it float, and it grows fast in almost any light, temperature or hardness with no CO2 needed. It feeds from the water column, which makes it a workhorse in new tanks, soaking up nutrients that would otherwise feed algae. Under good light expect to trim weekly; replant the cut tops or discard them. Stems are brittle, so handle in bunches and expect fragments, each of which can grow into a new plant. In California it is a restricted noxious weed, so trimmings go in the trash, never down a drain or into a pond.

In the wild

Native to slow rivers, lakes and reservoirs in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Argentina, where it grows rooted or drifting in large submersed stands. It is a fully aquatic plant with no emersed form, so everything it needs comes from the water column. In Brazilian reservoirs it can form dense underwater meadows.

Good to know

A member of Hydrocharitaceae, the frogbit family. It was described by Planchon as Egeria najas and most shop tags still print that name; recent treatments fold Egeria into Elodea, giving Elodea najas. Compared with the familiar Egeria densa it has narrower, often recurved leaves with visible teeth along the edge, and its shoots run finer and more open.

Did you know

The quickest way to tell it from the common anacharis Egeria densa at the shop is to look at the leaf edges: the teeth on Elodea najas are coarse enough to see with the naked eye, while densa's are not.

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