About the species

Echinodorus 'Red Diamond' is a Ukrainian cultivar with ruby-red, sword-shaped leaves. The leaves reach 15–25 centimetres and the rosette 20–30 centimetres across, which is moderate for a sword plant. The variety is most likely a cross between Echinodorus horemanii 'Red' and Echinodorus 'Barthii'. The better the light, the deeper the red becomes.

Facts

• Latin name: Echinodorus 'Red Diamond'
• Plant type: Rosette plant
• Origin: Cultivated variety
• Height: 15–20 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

Added CO₂ is recommended — Tropica reckons 6–14 mg/l as a medium requirement. The plant can be grown without, but then grows more slowly and loses some of its colour. Supplement with liquid fertiliser weekly and keep iron and potassium levels up.

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

The red solitaire we suggest when the aquarium is too small for the really big sword plants. Push root tabs into the substrate around the root ball — that is where an Echinodorus draws most of its nutrition from.