Ozelot sword

Care at a glance

Overview

An undemanding rosette plant that works as a midground or background centerpiece in a medium to large tank. It tolerates low light but holds its spotting and grows faster with brighter light and added CO2. Feed it through the roots with a rich substrate or root tabs, since the root system gets large, and leave the crown sitting at the surface of the substrate. It throws daughter plants on long flower stalks; let them root a little, then cut them free and plant them, or divide an older crown.

In the wild

Ozelot is a nursery-bred hybrid and has no wild population. Its parents, Echinodorus schlueteri 'Leopard' and Echinodorus 'Barthii', trace back to South American sword plants that root in soft substrate in slow streams, ditches, and swamps, growing submersed in the wet season and emersed as water drops.

Good to know

A cultivar in the family Alismataceae, raised as a cross between Echinodorus schlueteri 'Leopard' and Echinodorus 'Barthii'. Both green-leaved and more reddish forms are sold under the Ozelot name. The signature dark elliptical spots are stable and carry even on new leaves grown under modest light, which is unusual for spotted swords.

Did you know

Did you know Ozelot is named for the ocelot wildcat? The breeder picked the name for the leopard-like dark blotches scattered across each leaf, a pattern the plant keeps even in fairly dim tanks.

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