Red aquarium plants

The species, easiest first

1. 1

   Dwarf Lily

   Nymphaea stellata

   • Easy
   • Medium light
   • CO2 beneficial
   • Max 16"

   The Dwarf Lily grows from a bulb into a rosette of arrow-shaped leaves that range from green to deep red and bronze depending on light.

   $5.99 Out of stockCare profile →
2. 2

   Kleiner Bar Sword

   Echinodorus 'Kleiner Bar'

   • Easy
   • Medium light
   • CO2 beneficial
   • Max 12"

   Kleiner Bar is a compact, narrow-leaved sword whose new growth flushes red and copper, staying smaller than the big Amazon-type swords so it fits midground positions in moderate tanks.

   $8.99 In stockCare profile →
3. 3

   Ludwigia 'Super Red Mini'

   Ludwigia palustris 'Super Red'

   • Easy
   • Medium light
   • CO2 beneficial
   • Max 8"

   Super Red Mini is a selected form of Ludwigia palustris that stays small and turns a deep blood-red with far less effort than classic high-tech reds.

   $6.99 In stockCare profile →
4. 4

   Ludwigia Dark Red

   Ludwigia sp. 'Dark Red'

   • Easy
   • Medium light
   • CO2 beneficial
   • Max 14"

   Ludwigia 'Dark Red' is one of the easiest ways to get genuine red into a planted tank, holding deep burgundy tones even under moderate light where many red plants fade to green.

   $5.99 In stockCare profile →
5. 5

   Ludwigia Palustris

   Ludwigia palustris

   • Easy
   • Medium light
   • CO2 beneficial
   • Max 10"

   Ludwigia palustris is a compact, small-leaved red stem that colors up at lower light than almost any other red plant — solid medium light produces rusty red tops even without CO2.

   $5.99 In stockCare profile →
6. 6

   Ludwigia Peruensis

   Ludwigia peruensis

   • Easy
   • Medium light
   • CO2 beneficial
   • Max 18"

   Ludwigia peruensis is a fast, large-leaved red stem plant that brings bold orange-to-red foliage to the background without the fussiness of finer Ludwigias.

   $6.99 In stockCare profile →
7. 7

   Ludwigia Repens

   Ludwigia repens

   • Easy
   • Medium light
   • CO2 beneficial
   • Max 20"

   Ludwigia repens is the easiest red stem plant in the hobby — coppery-red undersides even in modest setups, deepening to full red as light increases.

   $5.99 In stockCare profile →
8. 8

   Red Root Floaters

   Phyllanthus fluitans

   • Easy
   • Medium light
   • No CO2 needed
   • Max 1"

   Red Root Floaters are the showpiece floating plant: under strong light the leaves flush deep red and the trailing crimson roots match.

   $10.99 In stockCare profile →
9. 9

   Red Rubin Sword

   Echinodorus 'Red Rubin'

   • Easy
   • Medium light
   • CO2 beneficial
   • Max 20"

   Red Rubin Sword is a large rosette plant whose broad lance-shaped leaves emerge deep wine-red and mature to a reddish-bronze, making it a striking centerpiece for bigger tanks.

   $8.99 In stockCare profile →
10. 10

    Red Tiger Lotus

    Nymphaea zenkeri

    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 12"

    Red Tiger Lotus erupts from a bulb into a fountain of burgundy, tiger-streaked leaves — the easiest deep-red focal plant in the hobby, needing no CO2 to color up.

    $4.89 In stockCare profile →
11. 11

    Rotala Rotundifolia

    Rotala rotundifolia

    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 20"

    Rotala rotundifolia is the standard background stem of nature-style aquascaping: fast, forgiving, and quick to form the soft pink-orange bushes seen behind iwagumi stone work.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
12. 12

    Alternanthera Reineckii

    Alternanthera reineckii

    • Medium
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 16"

    Alternanthera reineckii delivers true magenta-to-burgundy foliage that no light spectrum trick can fake — the centerpiece red of Dutch aquascaping.

    $9.19 In stockCare profile →
13. 13

    Alternanthera Reineckii 'Lilacina'

    Alternanthera reineckii 'Lilacina'

    • Medium
    • High light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 12"

    Alternanthera reineckii 'Lilacina' is a broad-leaved cultivar of the popular red stem plant, showing a purplish-lilac underside that deepens with strong light and CO2.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
14. 14

    Ammannia Gracilis

    Ammannia gracilis

    • Medium
    • High light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 20"

    Ammannia gracilis is a big, architectural stem from West Africa with long, wavy leaves in copper-bronze to salmon-orange — a Dutch-tank classic that earns its place under high light and generous iron dosing.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
15. 15

    Hygrophila Araguaia

    Hygrophila lancea 'Araguaia'

    • Medium
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 8"

    Hygrophila 'Araguaia' is an unusually small, slow Hygrophila with narrow lance-shaped leaves that turn bronze, copper, and red-brown under strong light.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
16. 16

    Lagenandra Meeboldii 'Red'

    Lagenandra meeboldii

    • Medium
    • Low light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 8"

    Lagenandra meeboldii 'Red' is a crypt relative with thick, leathery leaves that flush reddish-pink to copper, offering a slow, low-light alternative to demanding red stem plants.

    $8.99 Out of stockCare profile →
17. 17

    Limnophila Aromatica

    Limnophila aromatica

    • Medium
    • High light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 16"

    Limnophila aromatica is a showpiece stem plant whose narrow leaves carry green tops over rich purple-to-magenta undersides when grown well.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
18. 18

    Limnophila Hippuridoides

    Limnophila hippuridoides

    • Medium
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 16"

    Limnophila hippuridoides grows whorls of feathery leaves that flush deep purple-red underneath under good light, giving a soft, bushy texture in the midground or background.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
19. 19

    Ludwigia Arcuata

    Ludwigia arcuata

    • Medium
    • High light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 12"

    Ludwigia arcuata trades the broad leaves of its relatives for fine needles that turn coppery orange-red under strong light, giving a delicate texture few red plants offer.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
20. 20

    Ludwigia Ovalis

    Ludwigia ovalis

    • Medium
    • High light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 12"

    Ludwigia ovalis is a rounder-leaved Ludwigia that shifts from green to coppery orange and pink as light intensity climbs, giving a Dutch layout a soft warm accent.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
21. 21

    Red Flame Sword

    Echinodorus 'Red Flame'

    • Medium
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 14"

    The Red Flame Sword is a compact hybrid sword whose leaves are heavily mottled with deep red and burgundy over green, putting sword-plant color at a midground scale.

    $8.99 In stockCare profile →
22. 22

    Rotala 'H'ra'

    Rotala rotundifolia 'H'ra'

    • Medium
    • High light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 16"

    Rotala 'H'ra' is the color-upgraded form of Rotala rotundifolia, shifting orange-red under high light where the standard species only blushes pink.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
23. 23

    Ammannia Senegalensis

    Ammannia senegalensis

    • Advanced
    • High light
    • CO2 required
    • Max 14"

    Ammannia senegalensis is a demanding Dutch-style stem plant whose leaves curl and glow coppery orange to red under intense light, the tops sometimes blushing pink.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
24. 24

    Cryptocoryne 'Pink Flamingo'

    Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Pink Flamingo'

    • Advanced
    • High light
    • CO2 required
    • Max 8"

    Cryptocoryne 'Pink Flamingo' is a striking pink-to-magenta crypt that, unlike most easy Cryptocoryne, genuinely needs high light, CO2, and rich nutrients to hold its color and grow well.

    $19.99 Out of stockCare profile →
25. 25

    Ludwigia Inclinata 'Cuba'

    Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba'

    • Advanced
    • High light
    • CO2 required
    • Max 20"

    Ludwigia 'Cuba' is a showpiece for high-tech tanks: whorls of narrow copper-orange leaves that can dominate a Dutch background — and a plant that genuinely will not perform without injected CO2, high light, and rich, consistent fertilization.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
26. 26

    Pogostemon Stellatus

    Pogostemon stellatus

    • Advanced
    • High light
    • CO2 required
    • Max 16"

    Pogostemon stellatus crowns each stem with a starburst of narrow leaves that flush pink-to-purple under intense light — one of the most striking background stems in aquascaping, and one of the fussiest.

    $5.99 Out of stockCare profile →
27. 27

    Rotala Macrandra

    Rotala macrandra

    • Advanced
    • High light
    • CO2 required
    • Max 20"

    Rotala macrandra is the hobby's reference red stem — broad leaves in saturated red to magenta that no easier plant matches.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →