TankBud

Cultivar of Echinodorus

Reni sword

Echinodorus 'Reni'

One of 21 cultivars of Echinodorus · See all cultivars →

Also known as Red Reni sword, Echinodorus Reni, Echinodorus 072D

FreshwaterRosetteRunnersSide shoots

Reni sword (Echinodorus 'Reni')
Aquarium Plants Factory · Used with permission

Cultivars · Echinodorus

See all 21 →

Care at a glance

Light
Low light
CO2
CO₂ beneficial
Temperature
72–82°F
22–28°C
Max height
15.7 in
40 cm
Growth rate
Medium
Placement
Midground
Type
Rosette
pH
6.0–8.0
Hardness
2–15 dGH
Spread
9.8 in (25 cm)
Nutrient uptake
Root + water column
Growth region
Submersed or emersed
Difficulty
Easy
Family
Alismataceae
Origin
Cultivar (bred by Tomas Kaliebe, cross of 'Großer Bär' x 'Ozelot', released 2003)

Overview

A compact red sword that stays small enough for the midground of medium tanks. New leaves emerge reddish-brown to deep beetroot with lighter veins, and colour is strongest under good light with a nutrient-rich substrate; CO2 helps but is not essential. Feed the roots with tabs and remove tired outer leaves at the base.

In the wild

A cultivated hybrid with no natural range. Its ancestry traces to South American marsh swords that grow along shaded stream banks and seasonal wetlands, rooting into muddy substrate and often growing emersed in the dry season. Reni keeps the compact basal rosette habit of those parents.

Good to know

Bred by German aquarist Tomas Kaliebe by crossing the cultivars 'Großer Bär' and 'Ozelot', both themselves Echinodorus hybrids, and brought to market in 2003. It sits in the family Alismataceae. It is notably slow to size up, holding a small rosette far longer than most swords, which makes it usable in smaller tanks.

Did you know

Because Reni can hold a rosette of leaves only around 10 cm long for a long time, it is one of the few Amazon-type swords small enough to work as a foreground or centrepiece in a nano or small tank.

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