Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) Care Guide
A free-floating plant with rosette-shaped velvety leaves that resemble small heads of lettuce. Produces long feathery roots that provide excellent hiding spots for fry and shrimp.
Overview
Pistia stratiotes is an aquatic plant in the family Araceae. A free-floating plant with rosette-shaped velvety leaves that resemble small heads of lettuce. Produces long feathery roots that provide excellent hiding spots for fry and shrimp.
Taxonomy
- Family: Araceae
- Genus: Pistia
- Scientific name: Pistia stratiotes
- Other names: Pistia, Shell Flower
Habitat
Pantropical free-floating plant first scientifically documented from the Nile near Lake Victoria. Forms rosettes of velvety leaves whose fine hairs trap air bubbles for buoyancy. Listed as an invasive species across much of its introduced range.
Growth requirements
- Light: medium (≈50-80 PAR at substrate)
- CO2: optional (CO2 improves growth and coloration)
- Temperature: 22-30 °C
- pH: 6.5-7.5
- GH: 3-12 °dGH
- Substrate: any (rootless or floating)
- Nutrient demand: low
- Growth rate: fast
- Difficulty: beginner
Placement
- Recommended placement: floating at the surface
- Maximum height: 10 cm
- Trim every: 7 days
Propagation
In cultivation the plant is propagated by runners (daughter plants on horizontal stolons).