01
Overview
Anacharis has been the first plant of beginners since the Victorian parlor aquarium, because it grows floating or planted, cold or warm-ish, fed or forgotten. It prefers cool, hard water, which makes it the standard companion for goldfish and unheated tanks, and its appetite for nutrients makes it a working water polisher.
02
Aquascaping use
Use it practically: a fast screen in a new tank, cover in fry tanks, oxygenating mass in cold-water setups. Aesthetic refinement is not its trade.
03
Planting
Strip the lowest leaves and plant the stem bases in substrate, or leave healthy stems free-floating while fully submerged. Never allow fragments into natural waterways.
Plant or leave free-floating while fully submerged
04
Light & CO₂
Medium light in cool water suits it perfectly; in warm tropical tanks it deteriorates regardless of light. CO₂ is irrelevant to it, as it uses bicarbonate readily.
05
Substrate & fertilization
It feeds itself from fish waste and whatever the column offers, often outcompeting algae in the process. Deliberate dosing merely speeds the inevitable trimming.
Feeding behavior: Water-column feeder. Nutrient demand: moderate.
06
Growth, trimming & propagation
Cut back weekly in season and remove every drifting fragment, both for the tank and for the law. Fragments left loose become new plants immediately.
Stem cuttings
07
Common problems
Egeria densa is invasive and regulated in some jurisdictions. Verify local law, never release it, and dispose of every fragment securely.
- !Falls apart in sustained tropical warmth
- !Sheds needles and stems when conditions shift
- !Regulated as invasive in many regions
