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Taro Care

Colocasia esculenta · Araceae

⚠️ Toxic to pets 🎯 Easy ☀️ Full sun 💧 Every 7 days

🕮 6 min read 🕓 Last reviewed: 2026-08-23

Care at a glance

Light

Full sun

Temperature

15–32 °C (59–90 °F)

Soil

a nutrient-rich aquarium substrate (or attached to wood/rock)

Difficulty

Easy

Mature size

90–180 cm (35–71 in)

Pet safety

Toxic to pets

Care effort Medium

The short version

Beginner-friendly and forgiving.
Give it Full sun.
Water every 7–7 days.
Keep away from cats and dogs.

The Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is an aquatic plant grown submerged in freshwater aquariums. It comes from Southeast Asia and is rated Easy to keep, reaching 90–180 cm. Here is how to grow it underwater — lighting, substrate, CO₂, placement and propagation.

Also known asColocasia esculentaサトイモ芋头

📋Quick facts

Growth rate	Fast
Mature size	90–180 cm (35–71 in)
Native region	Southeast Asia
Plant family	Araceae
Toxicity	Toxic
Air-purifying	No
Ideal for	beginners, filling a corner

⚖️Pros & cons

Pros

Hard to kill; great for beginners
Fast, rewarding growth
Big, room-defining presence

Cons

Toxic to cats and dogs
Needs high humidity to look its best
Needs a bright, sunny spot
Eventually needs plenty of room

🐟Growing it in an aquarium

Keep the water at 15–32 °C. Stable, gently moving water and regular partial water changes keep it healthy; sudden swings in temperature or chemistry cause melting.

Light

Give it Full sun-equivalent aquarium lighting. Low-tech tanks suit undemanding species; brighter light (and often CO₂) brings out the best colour and compact growth but also feeds algae, so balance it carefully.

Soil

Plant it in a nutrient-rich aquarium substrate (or attached to wood/rock). Rooted species are hungry feeders — use root tabs or a liquid aquarium fertiliser (and CO₂ for demanding types). Epiphytes like Anubias, Java fern and Bucephalandra must NOT be buried: tie or glue their rhizome to wood or rock, or they rot.

Its size and habit suit a spot in the foreground, midground or background depending on how tall it grows; trim and replant tops to keep it dense.

✂️How to propagate, step by step

Spring and early summer, during active growth, give the best success. Here is how to do it, step by step:

division at repotting

Water the plant the day before to reduce stress on the roots.
Slide it out of its pot and gently shake off the loose soil.
Tease the root ball into sections, each with healthy roots and a few shoots.
Pot each section into fresh mix at its original depth.
Water them in and keep out of direct sun for a week while they recover.

offsets (pups)

Wait until the offset (pup) is about a third the size of the parent.
Unpot the plant so you can see where the pup joins it.
Separate the pup, keeping as many of its own roots as you can.
Let any succulent cuts callus for a day; pot rooted pups straight away.
Plant in suitable mix and water lightly until it establishes.

🔬Classification

Plant type	Aquatic plant
Genus	Colocasia
Family	Araceae · Araceae
Native to	Southeast Asia

🩺Common problems

Symptom	Likely cause	What to do
Yellowing leaves	Usually overwatering or poor drainage	Let the soil dry more between waterings and make sure the pot drains.
Brown, crispy tips	Dry air, or salts and fluoride from tap water	Raise humidity and water with filtered or rested water.
Pests (mites, mealybugs)	Dry conditions or a new infected plant	Wipe the leaves, rinse, and treat with insecticidal soap or neem.

🩺 Plant Doctor →

🐛Pests & prevention

The usual indoor pests are spider mites (fine webbing, speckled leaves), mealybugs (white cotton-wool tufts), scale (small brown bumps), and fungus gnats (tiny flies from soggy soil). Inspect any new plant before it joins the others, wipe the leaves now and then, and let the topsoil dry to keep gnats away. At the first sign, isolate the plant, wipe or rinse off what you can, and treat with insecticidal soap or neem oil every week until it is clear.

🐾Is it safe for pets?

The Taro is toxic to cats and dogs (insoluble calcium oxalates (raw)). Keep it out of reach of pets and children. If you think an animal has chewed it, contact your vet or a pet poison line. If a curious cat or dog chews it, the insoluble calcium oxalates act like tiny needles, causing intense burning of the mouth, drooling, pawing at the mouth, and sometimes swelling that makes swallowing hard. It is rarely life-threatening in small amounts, but rinse the animal’s mouth, take away any plant pieces, and call your vet if symptoms are severe or last more than a short while.

Toxicity information is a general guide based on ASPCA data. If your pet or child may have eaten any part of a plant, contact a vet or poison control right away.