Ammania sp. "Bonsai" trade names, but its flowers have helped identify it correctly as R. indica. The name Rotala indica has been known in the aquarium hobby for a long time, but it was erroneously used for the totally different species Rotala rotundifolia. The unique appearance of Rotala indica can best be described as compact miniature version of Bacopa caroliniana. R. indica is a slow grower; under a lot of light, the shoot tips and stems turn reddish. With its straight hardly ramified thick stems and its roundish leaves it is best planted in a group in the fore- or middle ground of a tank. Rotala indica is especially suitable for smaller aquaria, but a large group of this plant may look nice in a bigger tank, too. Good lighting (at least 0.5 W/litre) and an ample supply of CO2 and nutrients need to be made sure. Moreover, R. indica should not be planted in the shade.
The leaves of R. indica are 0.5-1.7 cm long. Their emersed and submersed forms do not differ much, they are obovate to spatulate and have an obtuse tip. Typical for R. indica, and another difference to R. rotundifolia, is the “cartilaginous” leaf margin: with a strong magnifying lens or under a microscope it can be seen that the leaf margin is thicker and whiteish transparent (without chlorophyll). The submersed form of R. indica has a strictly upright growth habit, dense foliage, a relatively thick stem and not very ramified. Under sufficient light, the shoot tip is reddish.
The stems of the emersed form lie low on the ground. The tiny reddish flowers appear on short lateral shoots or in the leaf axils along the stem and have very small, inconspicuous petals. In contrast to these, the flowers of R. rotundifolia are quite distinct in upright spikes on the shoot tip.
Rotala indica is a rather slow grower, and in the aquarium it has relatively high demands regarding light intensity and nutrient supply. Its almost pillar-like upright shoots are best planted as larger, individual group of stems of different length in the middleground of a tank.
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