Anacharis Plant Guide

Plants can play many different roles in the aquarium.

As well as being used for visual purposes, aquatic plants can also be used as a food source, as water purifiers and to provide shelter.

The Anacharis Plant is used for all of those purposes, and even more. It is a great option for beginners because it is hardy, easy to care for and is very low-maintenance.

It is known by many different names such as the Brazilian Elodea, Brazilian Waterweed, and Egeria just to name a few.

In this app we’re going to take a look at how to choose Anacharis from a store, how to plant and care for it, the optimal tank conditions for it to thrive and how to propagate it.

Before we do that, here is a quick summary so you can decide whether it’s the type of plant you’re looking for.

Often sold in stores simply as ‘Anacharis’, there are also lots of different trade names or synonyms for it; Ancharis, Egeria densaand Elodea densa.

Its current scientific name is Egeria densa; however it used to be known formerly as Elodea densa, so you may find it’s called either of these two things in fish stores.

Anacharis is also an old scientific name which stuck.

Anacharis belongs to the family Hydrocharitaceae under the order Alismatales. It looks very similar to two invasive plants Elodea canadensisand Hydrilla verticillata; however there are a few differences to help distinguish the three.

E. densa has larger leaves than both of the other plants, growing up to ½ in diameter, it also has whorls of 4-6, whereas Elodea canadensis has whorls or 3 (sometimes 4), and Hydrilla verticillata usually has whorls of 5.

Anacharis is native to Southeast Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, and now grows prolifically throughout North and South America, and other areas of the world.

E. densa is a popular aquarium plant and is widely available in fish stores; its dark green coloring provides aquariums with a very lush appearance.

It is a perennial plant which inhabits ponds, lakes and slow moving waters such as streams, canals and some rivers.

In the wild, the plant rises and falls depending on the time of day and temperature. During warm weather, the plant will float on the surface to soak up the sun and during night time or cooler days the plant sinks and rests.

It grows in waters up to 4m deep, and can tolerate a wide range of conditions with regards to nutrients, carbon dioxide, pH and oxygen.

It is an excellent choice for beginners because it is adaptable to a wide range of water conditions.

~Appearance~

Anacharis is a very attractive plant which is made up of a long green stem with small green leaves covering the entire length.

The shade of green can vary from plant to plant, and depends on the condition of the water. It can range in color from grass-like to a deep dark dense green.

In the wild, the stem can grow up to lengths of 3ft tall and around 3mm thick. The stems are tube shaped, with nodes from which the leaves grow from.

Typically each node has a whorl of 3-6 leaves. The lowest leaves might have whorls of 3, and the middle and upper can have whorls of 4 to 6. The leaves can be either oval or oblong shaped and between 1-4cm in length, and 2-5mm in width.

You’ll also find a dense cluster of leaves at the end of each branch. At the base of each stem grow delicate fine white stringy roots.

in the summer, it produces a pale- white flower which has three petals and floats on or rises just above the water level.