Photo: Renjusplace, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Water sprite
Ceratopteris thalictroides (L.) Brongn.
15–30 cm
Height in the aquarium
medium to high
Light
low
CO₂ needs
22–28 °C
Ideal temperature
Water parameters
Understand these values- Position
- background, midground, floating
- Propagation
- plantlets on the leaves, spores
- Uses
- spawning site, specimen plant
- Grows emersed
- yes
In the wild
Overview
Its light green, deeply cut foliage quickly forms a large, airy bush. This amphibious fern lives in shallow water and muddy tropical soils. Floating, it gives fry cover and some fish a support for their bubble nests.
- Scientific name
- Ceratopteris thalictroides (L.) Brongn.
- Classification
- Polypodiales › Pteridaceae
- IUCN Red List
- Not evaluated (NE)
Natural habitat
South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Australia, Oceania, North America, Central America, Caribbean, tropical South America
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Introduced in Rivers and lakes
- Native countries
- Introduced by people
Outside its native range, in 3 countries:
An aquarium plant must never reach the wild: throwing away cuttings or emptying a tank into a stream can be enough to establish it.
Countries: Kew World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP). Dots: GBIF observations in the native countries.
In the aquarium
Growing in the aquarium
It grows floating or rooted in the substrate, where it can become especially bulky. Medium light is already enough to grow it; more light, nutrients and CO₂ speed up its development. Plan a large tank for a single plant. The plantlets formed on the leaves let you renew the plants.
Sources:Flowgrow Tropica GBIF POWO (Kew) · Base map: Natural Earth