About the species

Hygrophila corymbosa 'Compact' is an unusually compact variety with the leaves set close against the short stem. It puts out masses of side shoots and therefore turns bushy without getting tall. The leaves are dark brownish-green when the plant arrives from the nursery, but after a while in the aquarium they change to pale green with a silver-white underside. In strong light the newest leaves can take on a red-brown tone.

Facts

• Latin name: Hygrophila corymbosa 'Compact'
• Plant type: Stem plant
• Origin: Asia
• Height: 10–15 cm
• Growth rate: Medium
• Position: Midground

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 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

🟢 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

A good choice when you want a Hygrophila in the midground rather than the background — it stops at ten to fifteen centimetres. Do not worry when the dark nursery leaves are replaced, as that is entirely normal and the new ones come out paler.