Brazilian pennywort
Hydrocotyle leucocephala
easy careOverview
Brazilian pennywort (Hydrocotyle leucocephala) is a fast, cheerful stem plant with rounded, coin-shaped bright green leaves on climbing stems. It is exceptionally easy — hardy across a wide range of conditions, fast enough to work as a nutrient sponge in a new tank, and flexible enough to grow rooted, climbing or floating. Whether you want a soft green background, a trailing surface cover for fry, or a fast grower to help outcompete algae, Brazilian pennywort delivers with almost no fuss.
Planting & placement
Brazilian pennywort grows in the midground, background or floating — your choice. Planted, push the lower stem into the substrate and it roots and climbs toward the light; floated, it drifts and trails roots as surface cover. It is a vigorous, sprawling plant, so give it room and expect to trim and redirect it. As a stem plant it propagates from cuttings, making it easy to shape into a dense hedge — see how to plant aquarium plants and aquascaping for beginners for placing fast stems in a scape.
Light, CO2 & ferts
This plant tolerates low to high light, but the brighter the light, the more compact and bushy it grows — under weak light the stems stretch with big gaps between leaves. It needs no CO2. Being fast, it is hungry: a regular complete water-column fertilizer keeps the leaves large and green and prevents yellowing. Because it grows so quickly, it is one of the better plants for mopping up excess nutrients in a young or overstocked tank.
Propagation & problems
Propagation is textbook stem-plant: cut a healthy top a few leaves long and replant it, and it roots within days. You will have more than you can use in no time. The only real problems are legginess under low light and its sheer speed — it can shade slower plants and needs frequent trimming to stay tidy. Melting or leaf loss after planting is usually a short-lived adjustment to submersed growth. Keep the light adequate, feed it, and prune often, and Brazilian pennywort is one of the most reliable fast plants you can grow.
Brazilian pennywort — frequently asked questions
Can Brazilian pennywort grow floating?
Yes. It grows equally well rooted in the substrate as a stem plant or left floating at the surface, where it trails roots and shades the tank. Floating growth is often faster and makes good cover for fry and shy fish.
Does Brazilian pennywort need CO2?
No. It is a fast, hardy stem plant that grows without injected CO2 across a wide range of light levels. CO2 speeds it up further, but it is genuinely undemanding and suits low-tech tanks well.
Why is my Brazilian pennywort leggy with big gaps between leaves?
Long gaps between round leaves mean the plant is stretching for light. Increase the lighting or move it higher in the tank and it grows compact with leaves close together. Regular trimming and replanting also keeps it bushy.
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