Jungle val
Vallisneria americana
Also known asJungle vallisneria · Tape grass · Wild celery
Water parameters
Light and nutrients
Substrate type: inert ok. Propagation: runners.
Substrate compatibility
| Substrate | pH effect | Nutrient load |
|---|---|---|
| Inert sand (Pool filter sand) | neutral / inert | none |
| Inert gravel (Aquarium gravel) | neutral / inert | none |
| Limestone gravel (Crushed coral) | raises pH | none |
| Aquasoil (ADA Amazonia) | lowers pH | very high |
| Mineralized clay substrate (Seachem Fluorite) | neutral / inert | moderate |
| Dirted tank (mineralized topsoil) (DIY soil substrate) | slightly acidic | very high |
With fish
Origin and habitat
A grass-like aquatic of the tape-grass family, Hydrocharitaceae, Vallisneria americana, called jungle or giant val, wild celery, tape grass or eelgrass (though unrelated to marine eelgrass). The species is native to eastern North America, from central and eastern Canada through the United States, in lakes, rivers and streams where it forms dense underwater meadows; the wider genus is near-cosmopolitan and supplies other aquarium vals such as V. spiralis (Italian/corkscrew val) and the narrow V. nana. Long ribbon leaves rise from a basal rosette and the plant spreads by runners. It has been an aquarium staple since the 1800s, and is named after the Italian naturalist Antonio Vallisneri. It has an unusual wild pollination: male flowers detach and float up to drift to female flowers at the surface. Notably salt-tolerant, V. americana grows from fresh water up to around 18 parts per thousand salinity.
Care notes
Among the easiest background plants. It grows in low to high light with no CO2, and unlike most aquarium plants it actually prefers hard, alkaline, calcium-rich water, doing well from pH 6.5 to 8.5 and tolerating low-end brackish conditions, while it slows in soft, acidic water. Plant the rosette with the crown at the substrate and roots buried, and add root tabs to push growth. It spreads aggressively by runners, one plant throwing a dozen daughters in a few months into a flowing grassy wall, so thin and replant or discard runners to keep it from taking over. The long leaves reach the surface and trail along it as a canopy, so trim those that shade the foreground. It is widely reported as sensitive to glutaraldehyde liquid-carbon products such as Seachem Excel and can melt if dosed, so use pressurised CO2 or skip carbon supplements, and avoid sudden parameter swings, which also cause melt. Propagation is automatic by runners. It is an ornamental, not a crop, so it is unsuited to media-bed aquaponics or hydroponics.