Mexican Oak Leaf Plant Care Guide

Mexican Oak Leaf Plant (Shinnersia rivularis) is a beginner-level aquarium plant. A tough stem plant with lobed, oak-like leaves. It tolerates cooler water and a wide range of conditions, so it works in unheated tanks as well as tropical ones, and its leaves are a soft green that can turn reddish in strong light.

Care facts at a glance

Quick tips

• Trim the tops and replant the cuttings.
• It grows quickly toward the surface and can shade lower plants.
• Tolerates cooler temperatures than most stem plants.

San Diego water

Tolerates San Diego's hard, alkaline tap water (pH roughly 7.6-8.6) with slow acclimation and a conditioner that handles chloramine. Learn the numbers in our San Diego tap water guide.

New to planted tanks? Start with our beginner planted tank guide and the plant fertilizer guide.