01
Overview
Mayaca looks like moss that learned to stand up: whisper-thin leaves crowd its stems into fuzzy vertical wands. A blackwater native of the Americas, it prefers soft, gently acidic tanks, where a grove of it becomes green mist behind the hardscape.
02
Aquascaping use
Mass it as an out-of-focus background that makes fish and hardscape pop forward. It suits soft-water tetra and shrimp tanks styled around subtlety.
03
Planting
Plant pinches of stems in soft substrate; they are nearly weightless and need a week of calm to grip. Density fills in quickly after that.
Soft nutrient substrate
04
Light & CO₂
Medium light and available CO₂ keep the fuzz dense to the stem base. In hard water it pales and stalls regardless of feeding.
05
Substrate & fertilization
Steady column nutrition with attention to iron; its paleness makes chlorosis visible immediately. Soft, slightly acidic water does half the feeding work.
Feeding behavior: Water-column feeder. Nutrient demand: high.
06
Growth, trimming & propagation
Trim by pinching tops and replanting; the fine stems tear if sawed at. Thin the grove so interior wands keep their color.
Stem cuttings
07
Common problems
- !Pales badly in hard, alkaline water
- !Iron hunger shows as near-white tips
- !Delicate stems shred under rough handling
