Want a foreground carpet without committing to CO₂ and high light? Dwarf Chain Sword is the forgiving option. Narrow grass-like leaves spread by runner into a soft green lawn, and it asks far less than the demanding carpet plants it replaces.
What You’ll Receive
Sold as small bare-root plant portions in the following pack sizes:
1 Pack: Includes 1 small portion, approximately 2–4 small plants
5 Pack: Includes 5 small portions, each portion approximately 2–4 small plants
10 Pack: Includes 10 small portions, each portion approximately 2–4 small plants
Each portion may vary slightly in size due to natural plant growth and harvesting.
Plant Profile
- Common name — Dwarf Chain Sword
- Scientific name — Helanthium tenellum
- Also known as — Echinodorus tenellus (the older name, still widely used)
- Origin — The Americas, from the southern United States to Argentina
- Placement — Foreground
- Shipped size — Small portions of 2-4 plants, roughly 1-3 in
- Mature height — 2–4 in
- Suits — 5 gallons and up
- Growth rate — Medium
Care
- Difficulty — Beginner. The easiest true carpet plant we sell
- Light — Medium. Brighter light keeps it shorter and more compact
- CO₂ — Recommended, not required! It carpets in a low-tech tank, just more slowly
- Water — 68–82°F · pH 6.5–7.5
- Substrate — Required. Root feeder — aquasoil or root tabs make the difference
- Growth habit — Amphibious. Also grows emersed
- Propagation — Substrate runners
Grower’s Notes
- It spreads by substrate runner, not floral stalk. Unlike the larger Echinodorus swords that throw an arching stalk up through the water, Helanthium sends stolons sideways under the sand and pops new plantlets up beside the parent. That is what makes it a carpet plant rather than a specimen.
- Root tabs are what trigger those runners. In inert gravel it survives but sits still — the single reason a Chain Sword fails to carpet.
- Plant each portion separately, an inch or two apart, and let the runners close the gaps. Planted as one clump, it stays a clump.
- Expect a settling-in period. It often does nothing visible for two to three weeks while it builds roots, then runs quickly.
- Plant the crown at the substrate line, never below it. A buried crown rots.
Want to go deeper? Read our complete Helanthium Chain Sword Care Guide.
Notes
- Photos are for reference; portion size and leaf length vary with lighting and nutrients. Some melting or leaf loss during transition is normal.
- Never release aquarium plants into natural waterways.
Shipping Policy
At Aquarium Plants Factory, we carefully package and ship all orders to ensure plants and livestock arrive healthy and ready to thrive.
Order Processing Time
Most orders are processed within 1–2 business days after payment is received.
Orders placed on weekends or holidays will be processed on the next business day.
Orders containing out-of-stock, pre-order, or backorder items may require additional handling time.
Once your order ships, tracking information will be sent to your email.
Shipping Schedule
Live Plants
Live plant orders ship Monday through Saturday when using United States Postal Service (USPS).
Most plant-only orders ship within 1–3 business days, excluding products that are out of stock, pre-order, or backorder.
Estimated USPS delivery time is 2–5 business days, depending on your location.
UPS Express Shipping
We offer the following UPS expedited shipping options:
UPS 2-Day Air®
Estimated delivery: 2 business days
Please note that UPS 2-Day Air® is not a guaranteed service in the event of carrier delays, weather disruptions, or operational issues.
UPS Next Day Air®
Estimated delivery: 1 business day
This service is guaranteed by UPS according to their service guarantee policies.
UPS expedited orders ship Monday through Wednesday only to ensure packages arrive within the same week and avoid weekend delays.
Please note that orders require 1–2 business days of handling time before shipment.
To help ensure same-week delivery, please place UPS orders on or before Tuesday at 6:00 AM Pacific Time (PT).
Live Animals Shipping
Live animal orders ship Monday through Wednesday only.
This schedule ensures animals arrive within the same week and do not remain in transit over the weekend.
Handling time for live animal orders typically ranges from 1–5 business days, depending on:
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Weather conditions
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Livestock health
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Shipping destination
Tracking information will be emailed once the order has been shipped.
Free Shipping
We offer Free Shipping on eligible orders over $150 within the contiguous United States.
Estimated delivery time for free shipping orders is 2–5 business days.
If your order contains both live plants and live animals, the shipment may be combined and the appropriate shipping rate will be shown at checkout.
Free Shipping is not available for customers located in:
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Alaska
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Hawaii
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Puerto Rico
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Guam
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U.S. Virgin Islands
Customers in these locations must select Expedited or Express shipping options at checkout.
Delivery Time Estimates
Delivery times shown at checkout are estimates provided by the shipping carrier.
While we work hard to ship orders quickly, delivery times may vary due to factors outside of our control, including:
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Weather conditions
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Carrier delays
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High shipping volumes
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Transportation disruptions
Aquarium Plants Factory is not responsible for shipping delays caused by the carrier.
Delayed or Lost Packages
Occasionally, shipments may take longer than expected.
A package is considered lost only after 15 business days (approximately 3 weeks) from the ship date.
If a package is confirmed lost by the carrier, we may offer a 50/50 replacement, meaning:
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Aquarium Plants Factory covers 50% of the replacement cost
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The customer covers 50% plus shipping
Address Accuracy
Customers are responsible for providing a complete and accurate shipping address when placing an order.
Please ensure that your address is correct when using payment methods such as:
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Credit / Debit Card
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PayPal
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Apple Pay
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Google Pay
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Amazon Pay
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Shopify Pay
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AliPay
Orders returned due to:
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Incorrect address
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Refused delivery
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Failed delivery attempts
may not be eligible for a refund.
Order Cancellations
If you need to cancel an order, please contact us as soon as possible.
Orders can only be canceled before they have been shipped.
Once an order has been shipped, it can no longer be canceled.
Returns
Due to the sensitive nature of live goods, all sales are final.
We do not accept returns or exchanges for:
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Live plants
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Live animals
For any shipping questions, please contact us before placing your order.
Aquarium Plants Factory
https://www.AquariumPlantsFactory.com
What We Guarantee
24-Hour Live Arrival Guarantee — We guarantee that live plants and live aquatic animals will arrive alive. In the rare case of a Dead on Arrival (DOA), you must notify us within 24 hours of the delivery time recorded on the carrier's official tracking page. The guarantee is void after that 24-hour window, as condition can no longer be attributed to transit.
How to Submit a Claim
- Take at least 2 clear, well-lit photos of the affected items in their original, unopened, sealed packaging, plus a photo of the shipping label on the box.
- Email your photos and order number to hello@aquariumplantsfactory.com within 24 hours of delivery.
- Do not photograph plants or animals after they have been unpacked, planted, or introduced to your aquarium — once an item enters your aquarium's ecosystem, it is no longer covered.
Approved claims are resolved with a replacement, store credit, or refund at our discretion, under the terms of our Refund Policy. Each item is eligible for one replacement only — replacements are final and we cannot replace a replacement.
Conditions That Void the Guarantee
- Incorrect or incomplete shipping address (vacant address, missing apartment number, or any issue that prevents delivery)
- Packages marked "invalid address," "undeliverable," refused, or returned to sender
- Packages left unclaimed, held at a carrier facility at the customer's request, or not retrieved promptly after delivery — live goods must be brought indoors and unpacked the day they arrive
- Carrier delays, weather events, or delivery exceptions once the package has left our facility
- Shipments to freight forwarders or package-forwarding services
Providing accurate, complete shipping information and monitoring your tracking are essential to keeping your guarantee valid.
Please note: the Live Arrival Guarantee covers arrival only. We cannot guarantee ongoing success — aquarium environment, water quality, nutrients, temperature, lighting, filtration, and CO2 all affect long-term results.
What We Can't Guarantee
- Pest-free plants (potted & bare-root): Although our plants are grown in our own clean greenhouse, we cannot guarantee they are 100% free of snails, algae, or other hitchhikers. We recommend rinsing and quarantining all plants before adding them to your aquarium. Tissue culture (in vitro) plants are the exception — they are grown in sterile lab conditions, are 100% free of pests, algae, and disease, and have never been in contact with any aquarium.
- Pesticide-free plants: We use homemade, organic pest control in our greenhouse and never use copper-based pesticides, which are toxic to invertebrates such as snails, crabs, and shrimp. However, we cannot guarantee plants are entirely pesticide-free — always rinse and quarantine before use in invertebrate tanks.
- Your aquarium's success: We are not responsible for your aquarium inhabitants, including fish, shrimp, snails, and turtles. Please quarantine all plants before use.
- Growth form: Unless specified, we do not guarantee plants will grow emersed or submersed in your particular setup.
Please review your state's regulations on restricted plants, as we are committed to not shipping plants that are restricted in your area. Do not release any plants into the wild or waterways, as this can harm local ecosystems by introducing invasive species.
Your cooperation in protecting the environment is appreciated. For continuously updated information, refer to the USDA State Noxious Weed list here.
Thank you for your responsible commitment to environmental preservation.
Customers praised these aquarium plants for arriving healthy with strong roots and vibrant green color. Most found them easy to maintain and noted they spread quickly via runners. However, some shoppers reported receiving very small plants with minimal root systems that were difficult to plant in substrate, creating disappointment with size expectations.
- Started growing and shooting out runners a half an inch each day in only gravel substrate, no CO2
- Super high quality and a TON of it too
- Lots of nice green healthy looking plants with lots of roots
M
Extremely small not like picture at all
P
I love all the plants I bought.i have 3 20 gallon aquariums. They are going to look great in them. Definitely buying more.
R
I can not wait to add these lovely plants to my aquarium.
P
Arrived quickly and packaged well. Lots of nice green healthy looking plants with lots of roots. Responding well in my tank.
G
Very healthy quality. It sat there for three weeks and then suddenly started growing and shooting out runners a half an inch each day in only gravel substrate newly cycled, no CO2. Very satisfied.
M
Just like the picture
A
Helanthium Tenellum (Dwarf Chain Sword)
C
Plants came in healthy.
B
Ordered 20+ various plants and the dwarf chain sword was by far were the biggest disappointment. While the plants arrived green, they were unusable in any type of course substrate. They are quarter inch tall runners with no established root system and too small to plant. I am going to try floating them for now with liquid fertilizer in hope a root system starts to grow. Just not fun getting a plants you cant add to your aqua scape. These also applied as my free plants in the buy 2 get 1 free deal, so now it feels like I never really got the promotion.
B
Ordered 20+ various plants and the dwarf chain sword was by far were the biggest disappointment. While the plants arrived green, they were unusable in any type of course substrate. They are quarter inch tall runners with no established root system and too small to plant. I am going to try floating them for now with liquid fertilizer in hope a root system starts to grow. Just not fun getting a plants you cant add to your aqua scape. These also applied as my free plants in the buy 2 get 1 free deal, so now it feels like I never really got the promotion.
M
I’m all around satisfied with this purchase. There was a good amount of plants to fill the front area of my 29 gallon aquarium. I will buy from this seller again.
w
One reason I purchased these plants was for their easy maintenance. The arrived alive and I was able to rinse them and put them in the tank right away.
W
Very generous portions which were shipped promptly and packaged securely. The plants arrived in excellent shape.
K
I found these a bit hard to plant as they are small and tended to float up out of the substrate. That said, once anchored they have done very well. Look a bit like an upside down spider plant, with the 'babies' growing up instead of hanging down.
S
Helanthium Tenellum (Dwarf Chain Sword)
C
amazing clumps of this lower tech carpeting plant that produces runners! super high quality and a TON of it too
G
All the plants arrived in excellent shape. Looks great in my tank!
B
Awesome little plants
R
Purchased 14 plants, moss, grasses and all arrived healthy. Great value. I would suggest on each plants page that plants care requirements and planting, etc. Though, this information is readily available on other sites.
D
Couldn't be more pleased with quality quality of the plants
A
Nice amount, well developed and strong root system, came in great shape
G
Plants were in excellent shape again.this was the second buy from aquarium plant factory.the first was excellent .my son saw the order and was impressed.so I reordered forhim .he was very pleased.every one I know will know about the quality of the plants and service.great place to buy plants..this order was only shain swords.last week was chain swords ,anubias minima and dwarf sag. All exelent! When I was told day plants would arrive .exactly on time.
J
Filled in nicely
J
This plant arrived well packaged and healthy, displaying great color and healthy roots. I was actually not expecting as large a portion as I received so was very happy. I will be buying plants from Aquarium Plants Factory when I need them due to great prices and having received great plants.
D
These arrived in great shape, along with everything else in my order. Very satisfied overall!
J
Arrived in great shape, well packaged. Very nice roots and lovely little plants. This was a great buying experience and will absolutely buy from APF again!
M
How many plants are included in this bare root plant order? Is it just one plant or are they several plants connected by runners?
Approx. a few small plants
M
How many of these should be bought to cover a 75gal tank as a carpet?
A lot! 85 gal can fill hundred of this plant. But i recommended start around only 20~40 portion to test to see how they grow, you can always add more later. Once they adapted and rooted, they actually grow out quickly.
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