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Ozelot Sword – Echinodorus ‘Ozelot’

Ozelot Sword – Echinodorus ‘Ozelot’

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$14.99
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✨ Ozelot Sword – Echinodorus ‘Ozelot’ is a decorative sword plant valued for its broad leaves, dark spotted markings, and changing green, bronze, and reddish-brown tones. New leaves often emerge with stronger colour and darker spots, creating a layered display as they mature among the older green foliage.

🌱 Beginner Level: Echinodorus Ozelot is an undemanding rooted plant that grows well without injected CO₂. Low to medium lighting, a nutritious root zone, and enough space for its spreading leaves are the main requirements. Its substantial rosette makes it especially useful as a focal plant in medium and larger aquariums.

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Ideal for Nature Aquarium, jungle, island, and spacious community layouts
Use one Ozelot Sword slightly off-centre to anchor a planted composition. Position it behind a low foreground or beside branching driftwood, leaving room for the leaves to fan outward. In a larger island layout, its broad rosette can form the main planting feature around which smaller plants are arranged.

Distinctive spotted foliage that remains interesting as it matures
Dark markings give each leaf its own pattern, while newly emerging bronze-red leaves add colour among the older greenery. The changing foliage creates interest even in a simple aquarium containing only a few plant varieties.

Excellent contrast with fine leaves and low-growing plants
Combine it with Cryptocoryne lucens, Staurogyne repens, Helanthium tenellum, or Marsilea hirsuta around the front of the planting. For contrasting background texture, use Limnophila sessiliflora or Rotala H’ra, keeping enough separation for each plant’s shape to remain visible.

A colourful focal plant for aquariums without injected CO₂
Ozelot Sword offers patterned leaves without requiring the intensive maintenance of delicate coloured stems. Try it beside Anubias Coffeefolia on Lava Rock, Java Fern Narrow Leaf on Lava Rock, and Cryptocoryne wendtii Green for a varied display built around manageable plants.

Beautiful setting for colourful fish and shrimp
Its broad green and bronze leaves complement neon tetras, lemon tetras, rummynose tetras, harlequin rasboras, honey gouramis, cherry barbs, blue dream shrimp, and yellow neocaridina shrimp. Silver fish stand out against the darker foliage, while brightly coloured shrimp are easy to watch as they explore the leaf surfaces.

Origin: Cultivated hybrid of Echinodorus schlueteri ‘Leopard’ and Echinodorus ‘Barthii’

Type: Rooted rosette / sword plant

Growth Rate: Medium

Size:
Height: approximately 20–50 cm / 8–20 in
Width: approximately 20–40 cm / 8–16 in once established
Actual size varies with growing conditions and plant maturity.

Natural Habitat:
Echinodorus Ozelot is a cultivated hybrid and has no separate wild habitat. In aquariums, it grows rooted in the substrate, producing leaves from a central crown. It can also develop an emersed growth form under suitable conditions.

Special Considerations:
Allow space for the mature rosette rather than planting according to its small arrival size. Large outer leaves may shade neighbouring plants, so position smaller species beyond the main leaf canopy.

Keep the crown—the point where leaves emerge—above the substrate. Supply nutrients around the roots, particularly in plain sand or gravel, and avoid repeatedly uprooting an established specimen.

Did You Know?
The name “Ozelot” refers to the spotted appearance associated with an ocelot. The darkest markings are often found on the youngest leaves, and this variety can retain spotting even under relatively low lighting.

Tank Size: Best suited to aquariums around 75 L / 20 US gallons or larger, with sufficient planting space. Consider the mature width as well as tank volume; one established plant can occupy a substantial part of a smaller aquarium.

Plant Placement: Best used as a midground focal plant in larger tanks or a background plant in smaller layouts. Plant slightly off-centre and leave space around the crown for new leaves.

For a layered arrangement, place Cryptocoryne lucens, Marsilea hirsuta, or Staurogyne repens in front of the rosette, allowing for future shading.

For a natural woodland appearance, combine it with dark driftwood, Christmas Moss, Anubias Coin Leaf on Lava Rock, and Java Fern Narrow Leaf on Lava Rock. Keep the sword planted in the substrate while arranging the attached plants on their rocks nearby.

Compatibility: Suitable for peaceful freshwater communities with tetras, rasboras, gouramis, guppies, endlers, Corydoras, kuhli loaches, Otocinclus, shrimp, and snails, provided the aquarium meets their individual requirements.

For colour contrast, Ozelot Sword looks especially attractive with:

  • Blue fish: neon tetras and blue guppies against bronze-green leaves
  • Silver fish: rummynose tetras and diamond tetras against darker foliage
  • Yellow/orange fish: lemon tetras and honey gouramis beside green mature leaves
  • Red fish: cherry barbs and red guppies among the broader green planting
  • Shrimp tanks: blue dream and yellow neocaridina shrimp provide clear accents on the leaf surfaces

Goldfish and plant-damaging fish may eat or disturb the plant. Some plecos also damage sword leaves, so monitor compatibility if holes develop.

Substrate: Nutrient-rich aquasoil is suitable. Sand or gravel can also work well when supplemented with aquarium root tabs. Provide enough depth to anchor the roots while leaving the crown exposed.

Light: Low to medium, approximately 10–35 PAR at the planting area as a starting guide. Strong lighting is unnecessary for maintaining its spotted appearance. Adjust for tank depth and shading from neighbouring plants.

Temperature: 18–28°C / 64–82°F

pH: Approximately 6.0–8.0 is a practical aquarium range.

GH: Adaptable to soft through hard water; approximately 3–20 dGH is a practical keeping range rather than a strict tolerance limit.

CO₂: Not required. Supplementation may support growth, but sufficient root nutrition is more important than adding CO₂ to an otherwise nutrient-poor setup.

Care & Propagation: Remove damaged or unwanted outer leaves by cutting their stalks near the base without injuring the crown. Allow healthy new leaves to develop from the centre.

Established plants may produce a flower stalk bearing daughter plants. Allow these plantlets to develop several leaves and their own roots before separating and planting them. Individual cut leaves will not grow into new sword plants.

Portion Size: 1 carefully selected rooted plant.

Plant Size: Young rosette; leaf count, height, and root length vary with current growth. Mature plants may be substantially larger than the specimen supplied.

Plant Type: Live rooted sword plant, ready for planting into aquarium substrate.

Snail-Free & Aquarium Safe: Plants are grown without chemicals that could harm fish, shrimp, or other aquarium inhabitants and are carefully inspected to ensure they are snail-free.

Transition After Shipping: Some older leaves may yellow, soften, or deteriorate during adjustment. Remove damaged leaves while keeping healthy foliage, roots, and the crown intact. New leaves may differ in shape or colour as the plant adapts to your aquarium.

Planting Guide

  1. Remove the protective packaging.
  2. Gently remove any pot, growing wool, or protective material around the roots, if present.
  3. Rinse carefully in clean, dechlorinated water.
  4. Remove damaged leaves and any soft, deteriorating roots.
  5. Make a planting hole large enough to accommodate the root system.
  6. Bury the roots while keeping the crown at or just above the substrate surface.
  7. Add suitable aquarium root nutrition when using inert or depleted substrate.
  8. Leave space for the leaves to spread and allow the plant to establish without frequent moving.

Tip
Use Ozelot Sword as one clear focal plant rather than crowding several large swords together. A single specimen behind Cryptocoryne lucens, beside dark driftwood, and near a small Anubias Coin Leaf on Lava Rock can create depth while leaving its spotted foliage visible.