River Buttercup

River buttercup is an Australian buttercup that behaves like a ground-cover plant rather than a stem plant. Its leaves are finely divided and look almost fern-like, carried on short stalks from a creeping base, and under good light a healthy patch takes on a bright, fresh green. It is a foreground species that spreads across the front of a tank without climbing upward.

It spreads by runners; established clumps can be divided to expand the foreground. It comes from Australia, where it grows in shallow, seasonally wet ground and along stream edges. Warm water of 22 to 28 °C suits it well, and it prefers soft to moderately soft water at a pH of 5 to 7.

Moderate to strong light keeps the growth compact; weaker light makes the leaves stretch and the carpet turn loose. CO₂ is recommended to keep the patch dense, though it will grow without it at a slower pace. It can also be grown emersed on damp substrate, which makes propagating a large foreground quicker before the tank is flooded.