Red Root Floaters

Red root floaters is named for the tuft of red roots that hangs beneath each floating rosette, and in a planted tank those roots do most of the work: they shade the water slightly and give fry and dwarf shrimp a place to gather. It is the species sold in red and green forms alike; the colour follows light and nutrient levels rather than a separate cultivar.

Each node carries a single round leaf with a heart-shaped base, which sets it apart from the floating ferns it resembles. The leaves sit flat on the surface with a slightly domed centre, and under good light they take on a brown-red tone while the roots run from pale to deep red. Tiny white flowers can appear in the leaf axils, and the plant spreads by fragmentation: the fragile stems break apart on their own and each piece floats on as a new rosette.

It comes from the Amazon region and neighbouring parts of tropical South America and Central America. Water of 24 to 28 °C suits it best, and it accepts a pH of 5 to 8. It needs no CO₂ and takes its nutrients straight from the water column, so it grows fast enough to require weekly thinning once settled.

Strong light brings out the red in the roots; under weaker light it stays green and grows more slowly. It can also grow emersed on wet, nutrient-rich substrate, which makes building up a stock before flooding a tank straightforward.