About the species

This cultivated form of Bacopa monnieri is considerably more compact than the wild form and becomes almost creeping under good light. If you pinch off every shoot that wants to grow upwards it stays low and dense, because it readily puts out a large number of side shoots. It also grows well in the shade of other plants.

Facts

• Latin name: Bacopa monnieri 'Compact'
• Plant type: Stem plant
• Origin: Cultivated variety
• Height: 3–10 cm
• Growth rate: Slow
• Position: Foreground

Light requirement

Low light requirement. It manages with the lighting that comes with most aquariums and is happy in partial shade behind or beneath taller plants. Strong lighting does not harm it, but raises the risk of algae on the leaves because the plant cannot use all the available light.

CO₂ & nutrition

Manages entirely without added CO₂, which makes it as suitable for a simple aquarium as for an aquascape. Liquid carbon or injected CO₂ speeds up growth but is never a requirement. Dose an all-round fertiliser with iron and micronutrients every week.

Planting

Split the bunch and set the stems one by one, about two centimetres into the substrate and two to three centimetres apart. Removing the lowest leaves first stops them rotting in the substrate. A group of five to ten stems looks far better straight away than single plants.

Carefully remove the pot and rinse the rock wool off the roots before planting — leftover rock wool can otherwise hinder rooting.

Care & propagation

Top the plant when it reaches the height you want and replant the cuttings — that propagates it and gives a denser group at the same time. Trim regularly so light reaches the lower leaves, and discard the old lower sections once they start thinning out.

Position in the aquarium

Its low mature size makes it a foreground plant. Place it right at the front where nothing shades it, and let it form a continuous surface in front of the taller plants.

Difficulty level

🟢 Easy — grows in most aquariums without CO₂ and under ordinary lighting.

Delivery format

Delivered as a pot grown submerged, with the roots in rock wool. The pot holds several plants or stems that can be divided and planted separately.

Recommendation

Works very well as a slightly taller carpet or as a bushy plant at the front or in the midground. Without CO₂ and under weaker light it grows more upright and less compact.