Rotala rotundifolia vs indica

No, they are different species.

R. rotundifolia
R. indica

The true R. indica didn't enter the hobby until a couple years ago. Before then, any Rotala that was called R. indica was probably R. rotundifolia. Unfortunately, the two names are still used as synonyms by some people even though they're not the same species.

Submersed, they look very different. R. rotundifolia has thin leaves that turn pink to red under high light. R. indica has round leaves that usually stay greenish while the stem turns red or pink. Emersed, they're quite similar though.

legomaniac89 said:

Unfortunately, the two names are still used as synonyms by some people even though they're not the same species.

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So true. After reading this thread I realize I have Rotala Rotundifolia. Thanx for the info.

I have never really seen indica for sale in a fish shop. Rotundifolia is far more common. Many LFS label rotundifolia as R. indica which can be confusing.

I see the same thing as sharkfood do too. Plus the plants at the LFS are in pretty bad shape.

I'm in a different boat. I got some Rotala rotundifolia from my lfs, and it was obviously emersed grown. It just looked... weird. I was like, "eh, what the heck", and threw it in my tank.

The new leaves are short, rounded, and thick. I'm confused at this point; the other r rotundifolia looks like... rotundifolia. This stuff, not so much.

Captivate05 said:

I'm in a different boat. I got some Rotala rotundifolia from my lfs, and it was obviously emersed grown. It just looked... weird. I was like, "eh, what the heck", and threw it in my tank.

The new leaves are short, rounded, and thick. I'm confused at this point; the other r rotundifolia looks like... rotundifolia. This stuff, not so much.

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This is interesting....so the plant started growing out completely differently after it was rooted under water?! Any chance you can show pics of before & after??

Thanks khanzer22 for sharing the photographs. All this time, I thought Rotala rotundifolia was supposed to have round leaves, because it got its latin name from the shape of its leaves ("rotundifolia" - "round leaf")...

aqua-botanicae said:

Thanks khanzer22 for sharing the photographs. All this time, I thought Rotala rotundifolia was supposed to have round leaves, because it got its latin name from the shape of its leaves ("rotundifolia" - "round leaf")...

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That is in reference to the emersed leaves, which are indeed round.

Thanks. That explains.

thanx i had both in emersed and submerged and couldnt differentiate untill now

How do i see the photos?