About the species

Echinodorus 'Aquartica' is a compact sword plant with round, fresh green leaves. It stops at ten to twenty centimetres, which is low for an Echinodorus, and therefore works as a decorative little solitaire even in smaller aquariums. The variety is a cross between several cultivated sword plants, among them Echinodorus horemanii and a few round-leaved species, and was developed by Kristian Iversen at the Aquartica nursery.

Facts

• Latin name: Echinodorus 'Aquartica'
• Plant type: Rosette plant
• Origin: Cultivated variety
• Height: 10–20 cm
• Growth rate: Medium
• Position: Midground

Light requirement

Medium light requirement. Reckon on around 0.5 W per litre or a modern mid-range LED unit. Too little light gives sparse, stretched shoots and pale leaves, while the right amount keeps the plant compact and richly coloured.

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

Plant the root ball in the substrate so the roots are covered but the crown — where the new leaves emerge — sits just above it. Burying the growth point makes the plant rot. Give it plenty of room, since the leaves spread out in a rosette.

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

Care & propagation

Cut old outer leaves off at the base once they start to look tired, and the rosette stays fresh. The plant propagates itself with daughter plants from the rootstock; separate them from the mother plant once they have their own roots and a few leaves.

Position in the aquarium

Its height makes it a classic midground plant. It works nicely as the transition between low foreground plants and tall background plants, and looks best in a group or around a piece of wood.

Difficulty level

🟡 Moderate — wants stable lighting and regular fertilisation to look its best.

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

A good choice when you want a sword plant as the focal point but have no room for the large varieties. The round leaves sit handsomely against narrow-leaved neighbours such as Vallisneria or Cyperus.