The horizontal sword at half scale. Echinodorus horizontalis 'Mini' holds its leaves out sideways like the full-size plant — longish-oval blades with a heart-shaped base and fine grid-like veining — but on a compact rosette that settles happily into a 10-gallon tank. New leaves often come through with a reddish-brown tint. What You'll Receive Sold as emerged bare-root plants, bunch plants, or potted plants Bare-root plants: loose, bare-root plants Bunch plants: rooted plants, bundled with foam and the plant's weight Potted plants: rooted plants, potted with rockwool Shipped size: approximately 4-6 inches Plant Profile Common name — Horizontalis Mini Sword Scientific name — Echinodorus horizontalis 'Mini' Origin — Amazon region; shaded marsh woodland and seasonally flooded forest Placement — Midground Shipped size — 4-6 inches Mature height — 6-10 inches Suits — 10 gallons and up Growth rate — Medium Care Difficulty — Beginner, provided you feed the roots Light — Medium CO₂ — Not required Water — 68-82°F, pH 6.5-7.5 Substrate — Required. Heavy root feeder — root tabs or aquasoil under the crown. Growth habit — Amphibious rosette; also grows emersed Propagation — Adventitious plantlets on aerial floral stalks Grower's Notes Mini is the plant, not the grade. This is a genuinely dwarf form — it will not grow into the full-size Echinodorus Horizontalis, which reaches 10-16 inches with a rosette spanning a foot and a half. Choose this one when you want the horizontal leaf posture in a tank that could not house the full-size plant. It arrives at 4-6 inches and settles around 6-10. That is a small step, which is why it works in a 10-gallon and stays in proportion there rather than outgrowing it in a season. Budget floor space, not height. The leaves are held outward rather than upright, so leave clear substrate around the crown and do not crowd it with stem plants. It comes from shade. A forest-floor plant from seasonally flooded woodland — medium light suits it, and strong light mostly grows algae on slow-turning leaves. Watch for chlorosis. Pale leaves with green veins point to iron. Root tabs plus a general liquid trace mix will correct it. Plant the crown at substrate level, never below, and expect propagation from aerial floral stalks rather than runners — leave each plantlet attached until it has four or five leaves and its own roots. Want to go deeper? Read our complete Amazon Sword (Echinodorus) Care Guide. Notes Disclaimer: Pictures are not the actual plants you will receive, but a sample representation. Unless specific, we don't guarantee aquatic plants will be free of pests, and pesticides, grow emerged, or submerge. Never release aquarium plants into natural waterways.
