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Description
- Fine, lace-like leaves
- Can be grown floating or planted in ground
- Easy plant that grows quickly
Water sprite is an easy-to-grow, aquatic fern with dense foliage that provides excellent shelter for small fish and fry. It can be grown traditionally planted into substrate or used as a floating plant. Water sprite grows fairly quickly when given plenty of nutrients under low to medium lighting. It is often confused with water wisteria because of their complex leaf texture and bright green color. However, water sprite has a more thin, lace-like leaf structure, whereas the leaves of water wisteria are a little more broad and sturdy.
- Scientific Name: Ceratopteris thalictroides (or Ceratopteris siliquosa)
- Native To: Asia, Australia, Americas
- Skill Level: Easy
- Placement: Background or floating
- Recommended Light: Low to Medium Light 10-35 PAR (click to see our PAR chart)
- CO2 Requirement: Low to none
- Preferred Fertilizer: Easy Green liquid fertilizer and Easy Root Tabs if planted in the ground
- Propagation: Trim stems and replant
***Being a natural product, sizes can vary from what is shown.***
How to Plant Water Sprite in Aquarium
1. Remove the potted plant from plastic basket, and split the rock wool in half.
2. Carefully remove the plant roots from the rock wool, and make sure to remove all the small, yellow fertilizer balls. Wash off any remaining debris.
3. Use planting tweezers or your fingers to plant each stem deeply, at least 2 to 3 inches into the ground, which means the substrate may cover some of the bottom leaves.
4. Don’t plant the stem plants all in a single bunch but rather individually with a little space between so that the roots have some room to grow.
5. If the plant keeps popping out of the ground, try inserting the stem at an angle or wrap a plant weight at the bottom of the stem to keep them anchored. If the stems have no roots, some people will float them at the surface until they develop roots and then plant them into the substrate.
How to Grow Water Sprite Aquarium Plant
— Aquarium plant water sprite care is very easy, so start by using low to medium lighting between 10-35 PAR to prevent "leggy" stems (where the bottom portion of the plant starts dropping leaves).
— Why is my water sprite plant melting? This stem plant is grown out of the water at the farm. Once the plants arrive to us, we begin the process of converting them to their underwater form. The plant you receive may be half-converted and still need time to adjust to life under water. To help speed up the transition, provide plenty of light and nutrients to encourage new leaves to sprout as the old leaves melt away. Consider floating the stems at the surface until it grows more roots and can be easily planted into the substrate.
— Why is my water sprite turning yellow or brown? If your stem plant is getting enough light, it may be a nutrient deficiency, so measure the nitrate level using a multi-test strip. Dose with Easy Green all-in-one fertilizer until the water has 20-50 ppm nitrate.
— How to trim water sprite: If the plant is too tall or the bottom half of the stem has lost its leaves, prune off the top portion and replant it.
How to Propagate Water Sprite
Stem plants can be easily propagated by trimming off the top half of the plant and replanting it in another location. The original plant will continue growing upwards from where it was cut and may even create multiple branches.
