Tenzende feuerfeder
Tenzende feuerfeder is the product of the German breeder Tomas Kaliebe. It first appeared on the European market in 2002. It owes its name to the German dance group Tanzende Feuerfeder, which consisted mainly of fire-fighters from the Barnim district of Brandenburg. The plant is easy to keep and can be recommended to novice aquarists.
Tenzende feuerfeder is a unique and very beautiful aquarium plant. It has long, narrow, dark green leaves. The young leaves are dark maroon with darker spots. This pattern on the young leaves somewhat resembles burgundy tongues of flame, which is confirmed in the name of the plant as well. This is a large plant, the mother shrubs from which it was obtained in the process of breeding, in nature reach a height of 70 cm. Echinodorus Dancing Flame Feather reaches a height of about 40 cm in aquarium conditions.
It is a fast growing plant. Under suitable conditions, it can flower with large, delicate white flowers, which may be both underwater and emergent.
Due to their fairly large size, we only recommend using Tenzende feuerfeder in large aquariums in the background. Coarse-grained river sand or fine gravel can be used as substrate. Only soft, silty substrate will provide the plants with their best possible appearance and colour. Note that the leaves of the shrub shade the ground beneath it very strongly, making it impossible to support other plants, which will not thrive in such conditions.
Water parameters: Temperature 15 - 30° C, hardness dH 1 - 20°, acidity pH 5.0 - 8.0. As you can see, the plant is capable of adapting to a fairly wide range of water values, just as long as they do not change drastically. A supplement of liquid iron-containing micro-fertiliser is essential. As the shrub grows, the old leaves will gradually die off at the bottom and should be pruned immediately.
The light intensity should be approx. 0.5 W/l. Duration of daylight hours: 9-11 hours a day.
Reproduction
The Tenzende feuerfeder is propagated by dividing the rhizome and by offshoots formed on the mother bush. As soon as adventitious offshoots have formed on the adult plant, they should be carefully separated and then planted in the ground in a new location.
The Tenzende feuerfeder can be kept not only in aquariums but also in moist greenhouses and paludariums.
