Echinodorus horizontalis

Horizontal mini sword Amazon plants

Echinodorus horizontalis is a medium-sized sword plant originating from the Amazon depression in the north of South America. As the species name suggests, the leaf blades of Echinodorus horizontalis grow more or less horizontally. The emersed inflorescence are relatively small and open only for a short period during the day.

Native to: Brazil North, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela.

Submitted by: Natasha Khardina

GPS: -2.8041179, -52.0236015

Geographical region: South America
Drainage Basin: Amazon
River catchment
Water body type: Rio
Water body name: Xingu
Water body part
Water body course: Lower course
Water body: tributary of: Rio
Tributary name: Amazon

Type locality: Peru (Loreto), Colombia (Choco) & Brazil (Para)
Conservation status/IUCN Red List: Not Evaluated (NE)
Listed in CITES: No

Water Chemistry

Water information

Water type: Fresh water
Water color: Clear water
Water transparency: Medium
Concentration of sediments: Medium
Water temperature: 28 °C
Water flow/curent: Slow

Chemical parameters

pH: 6.0-7.0
Conductivity: 35
GH
KH
Dissolved Oxygen

Phytology

Plant form

Submersed

Plant type

Rosulate

Plant size

15-20 cm

Plant growth rate

Moderate

Plant light demand

High

CO2

Medium

Aquarium equipment

This species can be used in the midground of an aquarium. Whereas its emersed form reaches heights of over 50 cm, Echinodorus horizontalis only grows to 15 to 20, or maximally 35 cm high in the aquarium, which makes it a great plant for medium-size tanks.

Under normal aquarium conditions it does not grow out of the water. However, its leaf rosette may grow to 30 to 50 cm in width, thus the plant can occupy a lot of space.

Plant care

The light requirements of this sword plant may be rather low, however, it should not be shaded in the aquarium anyway. It prefers a substrate rich in nutrients and, eventually, a good supply of CO2. When suffering from an iron deficiency, Echinodorus horizontalis tends to develop chlorosis rather soon.

Water care

Echinodoris horizontalis prefers softer, slightly acidic water.