Anubias Alternanthera Reineckii 'mini' CUP

The unpretentious, brightly coloured, low-stemmed plant Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini', the mini parrot leaf, comes from South America. The plant, which grows to about 5 cm high, is perfect for the foreground to the middle ground in the aquarium and can tolerate soft to hard water.

The mini parrot leaf Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini' is a very small cultivar of the stem plant Alternanthera reineckii from South America. The dwarf form is robust and has no big claims. It is ideal for the foreground, where it replenishes green groundcover with its beautiful deep red colour and visually awakens turf plantings.

The mini parrot leaf grows moderately fast and reacts with good branching to regular pruning. As a result, Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini' develops into a pretty and compact bush.

The small leaves of Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini' are bright cherry red to reddish-brown. Under a lot of light and with a good supply of nutrients and additional CO2 fertilisation, the plants turn red intensively. Without CO2 it works, but they stay a little paler and grow slower.

You can really easily multiply the miniature parrot leaf by cutting off offshoots and new corners in the bottom of the aquarium.

Here you buy the mini parrot leaf in the cup, which means that it was grown sterile in vitro in the lab. The cups contain only the plant and some nutrient liquid, which you simply rinse off before planting. There are no pests or bacteria, and even pesticides have left no traces here. You can safely put the plant directly into the aquarium, even with sensitive shrimp.

Our expert Oliver Knott recommends:

Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini' is the perfect match in the foreground. Their beautiful red colour is something special, the plants can have such an intense cherry red hue. It fits perfectly in nano aquariums.