Staurogyne repens
The easiest 'carpet without CO₂' plant. Compact rosette of small bright-green leaves that branches and creeps horizontally when trimmed. Much more forgiving than Monte Carlo or HC Cuba, great low-tech alternative.
Staurogyne Repens (Staurogyne repens) is a stem (creeping) aquatic plant for the foreground to midground of a planted tank. It reaches 5–10 cm under good conditions and grows at a slow to medium rate. Light: medium. CO₂: optional. Target 20–28 °C, pH 6.0–7.5, and 2–15 dGH. Substrate: Nutrient-rich substrate + root tabs help. Propagate via cuttings (lateral shoots).
Care at a glance
The easiest 'carpet without CO₂' plant. Compact rosette of small bright-green leaves that branches and creeps horizontally when trimmed. Much more forgiving than Monte Carlo or HC Cuba, great low-tech alternative.
By Mike ElmiraUpdated 2 min read
Part of our complete guide to the planted aquarium.
Hero photo by 호로조 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikipedia
The parameters that decide whether staurogyne repens fits in your tank.
Acanthaceae
Stem (creeping)
Foreground to Midground
Nutrient-rich substrate + root tabs help
Cuttings (lateral shoots)
Riverbanks of the Cristalino basin, Brazil
Rio Cristalino basin, Brazil
Tank-mate safety and the species this one is documented to thrive (or fail) alongside.
Hard-won lessons from the tank.
The forgiveness of Anubias with the look of HC Cuba. Plant 2 cm apart in a grid; the bush form fills in over 3–4 months. Once established, it spreads horizontally via lateral shoots — ideal foreground/midground transition plant. Works under LED tank lights without CO₂, which is rare for any 'carpet-like' plant.
What can go wrong and how to spot it.
Failure modes, in order of how dramatic the fix is.
Pale: iron + nitrogen. Stretchy upward growth: insufficient light. Yellow new growth: trace mineral deficiency.
Slow growth = some algae attaches to old leaves. BBA particularly on lower leaves. Stable CO₂ (if dosed) and limited light hours during establishment prevent this.
The practical routine, read top to bottom.
Moderate root and column feeder. Root tabs every 4 months accelerate growth. EI-style column dosing keeps colour bright green.
Top every 4–6 weeks. Cut just above a node; the cut stem branches and sends out horizontal runners. Replanted cuttings root within a week.
Where it comes from, how it behaves, and the variants you'll see at retail.
Where it lived before it came home.
Rio Cristalino basin in southwestern Brazil. Grows partially submerged on stream banks during the wet season, fully emersed during dry months.
Compact bushy emersed habit, slightly stiffer leaves. Submerged form is taller and more open. Almost all wholesale is tissue-culture emersed.
Tiny white flowers emersed; almost never flowers submerged.
The named cultivars and the lookalikes worth flagging.
Standard S. repens is the most common. S. brown ('Brown Staurogyne') is a related species with reddish-brown tones. S. porto velho is a larger Brazilian relative.
Often confused with Hygrophila pinnatifida (creeping, similar habit but different leaf), or with Pogostemon helferi (also bushy compact). The bright lime-green colour and small ovate leaves are the giveaway.
Direct answers to the questions search engines and AI assistants surface most often about this species.
CO₂ requirement: optional. Light requirement: medium. Under low-tech conditions the plant grows at a slow to medium rate.
Staurogyne Repens (Staurogyne repens) needs medium light. Run a photoperiod of 6–8 hours; longer photoperiods invite algae unless CO₂ and dosing are dialled in.
Position: foreground to midground. Substrate: Nutrient-rich substrate + root tabs help It typically reaches 5–10 cm.
Propagation method: Cuttings (lateral shoots). Staurogyne Repens is a stem (creeping) plant.
Target 20–28 °C, pH 6.0–7.5, and 2–15 dGH. Flow tolerance: low to medium.
Difficulty: 2/5. Forgiving, beginner-friendly once the tank is cycled.
A planted tank is a system. Pair this plant with one entry from each other pillar to plan the whole scape.
