Guppy Grass

Overview: Guppy Grass, also popularly known as nanja grass, is a freshwater aquarium plant. Its scientific name is Najas guadalupensis. As the name implies, guppy grass is the most suitable for guppies. It also works wonderfully for shrimps. It is because this grass has tons of nooks and crannies to pick food off of and hide within. At the same time, guppy grass is also used as a spawning mop by fish like neon tetra, rainbow fish, and pearl danios. Providing a good cover to the newly hatched fry and giving them a continuous source of microscopic food, guppy grass is suitable for the community tank. 

Appearance:  Guppy grass is lush green grass with long, narrow, and pointed leaves. You can plant it or leave it floating in the aquarium. Thus, placement could be floating, planted, or weighed down with plant weights. Depending upon the way it is grown, the leaves may appear differently. The plant grows incredibly fast and quickly overtakes most of the areas of the tank. It happens predominantly in breeding colony tanks and highly stoked tanks. 

Hard/Soft Plant: It is a hard plant that helps prevent any algae issues. It grows furiously and can overrun the tank if left unchecked.  

Ideal water temperature: The ideal water temperature for Guppy grass is 10 to 30 degree Celsius. Although it is advised to keep the temperature within the range, it seems to matter very little when it comes to its happiness. It is because, in a lower flow situation, the plant grows better and fragments less. 

Lightening conditions: Guppy grass needs light to grow. The more light you give it, the greener it becomes. However, under extreme light conditions, the leaves turn yellow. 

When it comes to other requirements, guppy grass doesn’t require carbon dioxide, soil, or any type of fertilizer. However, if the water lacks nutrients, some fertilizers can be used to improve the growth.  

Ideal pH level: The ideal pH level ranges from 6-7. 

Propagation: Guppy grass in all directions- upwards and sideways. You can snip pieces of the plant off and continue growing the clippings as propagation. The fun part is propagating guppy grass isn’t the hard part, but keeping it under control is. 

Do you know: Guppy grass exhibits heterophylly which means the plant changes its leaf shape under different growing conditions. So if it’s planted, the leaves will look different than if it was floated.