Echinodorus 'Ozelot' Profile

Echinodorus ‘Ozelot’ is a hybrid of Echinodorus schlueteri 'Leopard' and Echinodorus x barthii created by the Hans Barth nursery, Dessau, in the former East Germany. Growing from ten to twenty inches tall, this hybrid is an excellent choice for a large centerpiece plant and is a good alternative to the more common and larger Amazon Sword, E. bleheri. Although Ozelot Swords can also become tank busters, with careful pruning they can be managed. The long oval spotted leaves make this plant an eye catching focal point for just about any tank.

Echinodorus schlueteri 'Leopard' where the Ozelot Sword gets it's spots

Echinodorus 'Ozelot'

Several different color variations of the Ozelot Sword have been developed. The new growth on Echinodorus ‘Ozelot’ has reddish brown leaves with the spotting characteristics typical of E. schlueteri ‘Leopard’, ranging from almost black to a dark red wine color. As individual leaves age, they start to fade to a shiny green, but retain their dark spots. Similar to E. ‘Ozelot’, is E. ‘Red Flame’, which has a more intense spot pattern and red coloring. In contrast to the reds, E. ‘Ozelot’ (Green) has the same spotting, but produces light green leaves instead.

Echinodorus x barthii - one parent of the Ozelot Sword

Echinodorus schlueteri 'Leopard' leaf

Ozelot swords are very easy to grow in a wide variety of water and lighting conditions. They are not picky about hardness or pH levels and can even tolerate a small amount of salt. Although the best results will be obtained with medium-high light and pressurized CO2, they will do well in almost any lighting and in non-CO2 tanks. Even in low light they will retain their spots but the red coloring will be less intense. They do require a rich substrate with iron supplementation however, and benefit from liquid fertilization. In addition to liquids, I push half of a Jobes Plant Spike into the substrate at the base of all my swords about every month or two with good results. Other people report success by planting individual plants in plastic or clay pots full of potting soil that is covered with a layer of gravel, then placing them into the aquarium.

Like most Echinodorus species, Ozelots grow well emersed, provided humidity remains high enough. Almost all commercial nurseries grow them in this way. Emersed leaves are thicker and have more of a rounded appearance. They also reportedly flower constantly when grown this way.

When the light cycle is over twelve hours a day, mimicking the summer season, Ozelots will readily send up a flower stalk about the diameter of a pencil which can reach several feet in length, and if left to its own devices, will grow up and above the water surface. I once had a stalk grow twenty-four inches to the water surface, then another few feet to touch the ceiling. The stalks produce small white flowers with yellow centers that can be self pollinated and last about a day. In between the flowers, small daughter plants form that can be cut and rooted to produce new plants. If the stalk is kept below the water level, no flowers will be produced and a greater number of daughter plants will form instead.

To propagate the daughter plants, carefully cut them from the stalk when they reach about two to three inches long and have a few leaves. Be careful when cutting so that you do not to damage the stalk. The older plants on the lower part of the stalk are sometimes ready to cut before the newer ones on the tip have fully formed. These daughter plants, once cut, can then be pushed down into the substrate and will eventually take root and grow to full size.

Mature Ozelot specimens often naturally split and form a second crown from the same root. When the new crown has gotten a few leaves it can be divided into a new plant. To divide the crown, uproot both and carefully cut them where they naturally divide. Make sure each piece has a good amount of roots attached. If you do not wish to uproot the whole plant, sometimes you can clear away some of the substrate, and use a sharp knife to cut the two apart and pull only one out. As with the other method, make sure the new crown has a few good roots attached, then simply plant the new plant in the desired location.

Because Ozelots readily flower and can be self pollinated, they can also be propagated by seed. In their natural habitat, many Echinodorus species live in an environment where water levels vary from season to season. In the dry season when they flower, seeds fall from the flower stalks and lodge themselves in the mud where they sprout into new plants as the wet season comes on. To sow Ozelot seeds you need to duplicate this situation.

Sowing can be done using a dome covered seed tray placed in a window that gets indirect sunlight. Simply fill the tray with about an inch or so of sand, or a sand and peat mix, sprinkle the seeds across the surface, and fill it with water just to the top of the substrate level. Keep the dome loosely placed on the tray so the humidity stays high, but do not seal it, you'll want some amount of air flow. It helps if you keep the bottom warm using a heating mat made for sowing seeds under the tray, but this is not always required. In about two weeks to a month the seeds will slowly start to sprout. At this point keep raising the water level at the plants grow so it is always just above the tips of the new leaves. When the new seedlings are about one inch tall they can be removed from the tray and planted in a new location to be grown out.

Unless you want to hybridize, growing Ozelots from seed is a very slow method of propagation and usually has a relatively low yield, so it might be better to go the vegetative route.

TheGreenAquarium.com

Greater Portland Aquarium Society