Scarlet temple (AR)
Alternanthera reineckii
PlantsFreshwater
- Care level
- Moderate
- Maximum size
- 40 cm
- Temperature
- 22–28 °C
- pH
- 6–7.5
- Light
- Medium
- Diet
- Photosynthetic
Care at a glance
Scarlet temple is one of the few aquarium plants with genuinely intense red to purple-pink foliage, which brings colour to a green tank at a stroke. The leaves sit in opposite pairs and are most deeply coloured underneath.
For that colour it needs good light and enough iron; with CO2 it grows more compact and a deeper red. It grows more slowly than green stem plants, so give it a spot where it is not shaded and trim it back now and then to force new side shoots.
Related species
Keep Scarlet temple (AR) in the BlubHub app
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Values are mainstream hobbyist guidance, not gospel — always watch what your own animals need.