Italian Vallisneria

Italian Vallisneria (Vallisneria spiralis) is an aquatic plant in the family Hydrocharitaceae. It is native to Cosmopolitan. Vallisneria spiralis is the smaller, more manageable Vallisneria — around 60 cm rather than 80 — and the one to choose when jungle val would simply fill the tank. It spreads by runners in the same way, forming a grassy background over a few months, and it shares the genus preference for hard alkaline water at pH 6.5 to 8.5 and 5 to 20 dGH. It grows at 18 to 28 °C (64–82 °F) in medium light without CO2. The name is misleading: the spiral is in the flower stalk, which coils to draw the pollinated flower back below the surface, not in the leaves. Like all Vallisneria it melts if dosed with glutaraldehyde-based liquid carbon.