Cabomba Aquatica

Cabomba aquatica is a cabomba from the warm, soft waters of the Amazon basin. Its leaves are much more finely divided and wider than those of green cabomba (C. caroliniana); each leaf pair forms a light green, lacy, round fan. When the stems reach the surface, it can produce small floating leaves and yellow flowers, whereas the flowers of other cabombas are white or purple. Despite its beauty, it is demanding: without warm, soft water, strong light, CO₂ and regular iron, it drops its lower leaves and falls apart.

Do not release it into the wild: Cabomba species can become invasive when they get into natural waters; trimmings should go in the trash.

• Stems are planted one by one with 4–5 cm between them, held gently with tweezers and buried 3–4 cm deep.
• It is placed in the background, in a spot that gets direct light and where the current is not strong.

• Light: High.
• CO₂: Required.
• Water: Very soft (GH 1–6), acidic, warm water.
• Fertilizer: Regular iron and micronutrient supplementation.
• Trimming: Cut from the top and replanted; good filtration is needed so that debris does not cling to the fine leaves.