Vesuvius Sword

Name

• Scientific Name: Helanthium bolivianum 'Vesuvius' (syn. Echinodorus angustifolius 'Vesuvius')

• Common Names: Vesuvius Sword, Helanthium Vesuvius, Spiral Sword

Characteristics

• Appearance: Features bright green, needle-like leaves that curl and twist vertically in tight corkscrew patterns, creating a dynamic architectural texture in aquascapes.

• Size & Placement: Grows 6–12 inches (15–30 cm) tall, making it an excellent midground accent or background plant for smaller nano aquariums.

• Growth Habit: Forms compact, vertical clumps that propagate outward via substrate runners, rapidly creating a lush, textured curtain of greenery.

• Care Level: Moderate and adaptable, though it requires steady nutrition to maintain dense, tightly twisted leaves.

Temperature

• Ideal Range: 68°F – 82°F (20°C – 28°C)

• Note: Fits comfortably within standard tropical freshwater aquariums.

Lighting

• Requirement: Moderate to High

• Note: Adequate lighting is essential to keep the leaf spirals tight and compact. Under low light, the plant grows slower and leaves may uncurl or stretch out.

CO2: Not Required.

Propagation

• Method: Substrate Runners

• How it works:

  1. Healthy plants propagate prolifically by sending out long horizontal runner stems along or just under the substrate.

  2. Small daughter plantlets will sprout regularly along the nodes of the runner.

  3. Once a plantlet has formed a few leaves and roots, snip the runner line with sharp scissors and replant it elsewhere in the substrate.