Hygrophila pinnatifida
A rheophyte stem that behaves more like Bucephalandra, attaches to hardscape via creeping rhizome and stays low. Bronze-red leaves with deeply lobed edges. Pairs beautifully with Anubias and Buce on driftwood. Needs flow to prevent detritus on the underside.
Hygrophila Pinnatifida (Hygrophila pinnatifida) is a rhizome / stem (creeping) aquatic plant for the midground of a planted tank. It reaches 10–20 cm under good conditions and grows at a medium rate. Light: medium to high. CO₂: recommended. Target 22–28 °C, pH 6.0–7.5, and 2–15 dGH. Substrate: Attach to wood or stone, crawls horizontally via rhizome. Propagate via side shoots from rhizome.
Care at a glance
A rheophyte stem that behaves more like Bucephalandra, attaches to hardscape via creeping rhizome and stays low. Bronze-red leaves with deeply lobed edges. Pairs beautifully with Anubias and Buce on driftwood. Needs flow to prevent detritus on the underside.
By Mike ElmiraUpdated 2 min read
Part of our complete guide to the planted aquarium.
Hero photo by Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikipedia
The parameters that decide whether hygrophila pinnatifida fits in your tank.
Acanthaceae
Rhizome / Stem (creeping)
Midground
Attach to wood or stone, crawls horizontally via rhizome
Side shoots from rhizome
Streams and rice fields of the Western Ghats, India
Western India (rheophyte)
Tank-mate safety and the species this one is documented to thrive (or fail) alongside.
Hard-won lessons from the tank.
Treat it like Bucephalandra rather than like a stem plant — attach with cyanoacrylate to porous stone or driftwood. The rhizome crawls horizontally across hardscape, producing leaves along the way. Pairs beautifully with Anubias and Buce on the same driftwood for a 'jungle on wood' effect. CO₂ keeps the bronze-red colour; without it leaves stay green.
What can go wrong and how to spot it.
Failure modes, in order of how dramatic the fix is.
Stretchy vertical growth: insufficient light. Pale: iron and nitrogen. Loss of red colour: low iron or insufficient light.
Detritus collects on the underside of attached plants if flow is too low. Direct gentle flow over and around H. pinnatifida.
The practical routine, read top to bottom.
Both root and water column feeder. Liquid carbon (Excel) tolerated and accelerates growth. Iron dosing for the red colour. CO₂ recommended.
Trim creeping rhizome at nodes; each cut piece becomes a new plant if attached to hardscape. Don't bury the rhizome — same rule as Anubias and Buce.
Where it comes from, how it behaves, and the variants you'll see at retail.
Where it lived before it came home.
Fast-flowing streams in western India (Goa state). Rheophyte — grows attached to rocks in current, often emersed during dry season.
Stiffer emersed leaves with brighter green coloration. Wholesale typically arrives emersed; transitions to submerged form in 2–3 weeks with leaf softening and reddish-bronze coloration.
Small purple flowers emersed; rare submerged.
The named cultivars and the lookalikes worth flagging.
Only one form in trade. 'Hygrophila pinnatifida' is the only species sold under this name. H. pinnatifida 'UK' (a captive cultivar developed in Britain) shows slightly redder colour.
Sometimes confused with Staurogyne repens (similar attachable habit but different leaf). The deeply-lobed leaves with bronze coloration are the giveaway.
Direct answers to the questions search engines and AI assistants surface most often about this species.
CO₂ requirement: recommended. Light requirement: medium to high. Under low-tech conditions the plant grows at a medium rate.
Hygrophila Pinnatifida (Hygrophila pinnatifida) needs medium to high light. Run a photoperiod of 6–8 hours; longer photoperiods invite algae unless CO₂ and dosing are dialled in.
Position: midground. Substrate: Attach to wood or stone, crawls horizontally via rhizome It typically reaches 10–20 cm.
Propagation method: Side shoots from rhizome. Hygrophila Pinnatifida is a rhizome / stem (creeping) plant.
Target 22–28 °C, pH 6.0–7.5, and 2–15 dGH. Flow tolerance: medium to high.
Difficulty: 3/5. Intermediate, stable parameters and a mature tank matter.
A planted tank is a system. Pair this plant with one entry from each other pillar to plan the whole scape.
