African Water Fern

Bolbitis heudelotii

A fern from fast West African rivers, with dark, almost translucent leaves of an unusual crinkled shape. It grows on wood and stone and is worth the extra care it asks for.

Light: medium
Difficulty: medium
Height: 15 – 30 cm (5.9 – 12 in)
Temperature: 18 – 27 °C (64 – 81 °F)

Leaf colour: green
Plant type: rhizome
Growth rate: slow
CO₂ demand: medium
Tolerates light: low – high
pH: 5 – 7
Carbonate hardness: 0 – 12 °dKH
General hardness: 0 – 30 °dGH
Placement: on stone and wood +2 on stone and wood, background, midground
Propagation: rhizome division, division +1 rhizome division, division, daughter plants
Grows emersed: yes

Appearance

Feathery leaves 15–30 cm long, dark green and glossy, thin enough to let light through. The plant is slow: a couple of new leaves a month is a good rate.

Keeping

Fussier than the other epiphytes. It wants soft, slightly acidic water and moving water — in a still corner it stalls and collects algae. Moderate light and carbon dioxide noticeably improve growth, though it survives without them. Do not bury the thick horizontal stem: under the substrate it rots.

Placement

Tied to wood or a stone, best where the filter outflow passes. In the middle or the back of the tank, where its dark leaves stand against lighter neighbours.

Propagation

Cut the horizontal stem into pieces with several leaves each and tie every piece down. Growth resumes slowly, so patience is part of the job.

Water conditions match

The water suits 834 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.

Butterflyfish Julii Corydoras Featherfin Synodontis Red-finned Parotocinclus Gastromyzon monticola Egg-shaped Goldfish Flame Tetra Gardner's Killifish African Tetra Hypsolebias picturatus Common Zacco Labeo Bicolor Gambusia Flying barb Gastromyzon scitulus Albino Zebra Danio Geophagus Brokopondo Homaloptera bilineata Red-tailed Rasbora Boraras naevus Lampeye Killifish Spotted Raphael Catfish Corydoras melanotaenia Festivum cichlid

Will eat this plant

These species damage plants, especially when their diet is short of vegetable food.

Bengal Loach Zebra Loach Burmese Border Loach Emperor Botia Marbled Headstander Pellegrin's Leporinus Leporinus striatus False Black Tetra Common Metynnis Mylossoma duriventre Red Whiptail Catfish Moonlight Gourami Melanotaenia parva

Matching water does not mean the fish will leave the plant alone.

Scientific and other names, conservation status

Other scientific names: Gymnopteris heudelotii Bory ex Fee, Acrostichum heudelotii, Acrostichum heudelotii major, Acrostichum heudelotii majus, Acrostichum heudelotii minor, Acrostichum heudelotii minus, Anapausia heudelotii, Bolbitis felixii, Bolbitis heudelotii, Bolbitis heudelotii angustifolia, Campium angustifolium, Campium heudelotii, Chrysodium heudelotii, Gymnopteris heudelotii, Leptochilus heudelotii
Bolbitis heudelotii: (Bory ex Fee) Alston
Family: Dryopteridaceae
Conservation status: LC