Care guide
Overview
Guppy Grass (Najas guadalupensis) is one of the most useful plants you can keep, and one of the hardest to kill. A fast-growing stem plant that will float or root, it asks for no CO2 or special light and acts as a living filter while it grows. Fry keepers love it, because a loose clump turns any tank into a nursery.
Natural Habitat
Widespread across the Americas in slow ponds, ditches, and quiet stretches of stream, where it grows in dense, drifting masses through warm, still water.
Planting & Placement
Use it any way you like — let it float as a surface mat, push the stems into the substrate to root, or both. There is no rhizome or crown to worry about. It is naturally brittle, and every fragment that breaks off grows into a new plant.
Lighting & CO2
Undemanding in the extreme. It grows under low light and faster under bright light, with no CO2 injection required. It feeds straight from the water column, pulling nitrate and ammonia out as it grows.
Aquascape Role & Tankmates
A background or floating plant and the single best fry refuge there is — newborn livebearers dive into the tangle where adults cannot follow. Safe with all peaceful community fish, shrimp, and snails. Trim handfuls out when it gets too thick.
Propagation
Effortless. Snip or pinch off a length of stem and it is already a new plant. Drop the trimmings anywhere and they keep growing — you will never run short.
Approximate Shipping Size
Guppy Grass ships as a generous fresh-cut portion of stems, roughly 6–10 inch (15–25 cm) long, ready to float or plant. All orders are covered by our Live Arrival Guarantee.