Floating Water Sprite

Ceratopteris pteridoides

The water sprite that only floats: unlike its relatives it cannot grow rooted under water. Broad pale fronds on swollen stalks make a thick raft at the surface.

Light: medium–high
Difficulty: medium
Temperature: 18 – 30 °C (64 – 86 °F)

Leaf colour: green
Plant type: rosette
Growth rate: very fast
Tolerates light: medium – high
pH: 5 – 8
Carbonate hardness: 0 – 21 °dKH
General hardness: 0 – 30 °dGH
Placement: spawning plant, surface
Propagation: plantlets on leaves, spores
Grows emersed: yes

Appearance

Floating leaves are undivided in young plants and broadly lobed in older ones, pale green, held up by spongy stalks. Long roots hang down into the water. Size and shape vary a great deal with conditions.

Keeping

Moderate demands and very fast growth. It lives at the surface or on wet mud — planted in the substrate it simply rots, which is the one thing to know before buying it. Bright light and rich water suit it; it takes up nutrients quickly and shades whatever grows beneath.

Placement

Floating. The raft of fronds and roots is standard cover in breeding tanks, where fry hide in it.

Propagation

By young plants that form on the leaves and float away on their own.

Water conditions match

The water suits 1033 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.

Swordtail Guppies Cobra Guppy Blood Red Molly Butterflyfish Red Zebra Cichlid Julii Corydoras Featherfin Synodontis Red-finned Parotocinclus Gastromyzon monticola Egg-shaped Goldfish Flame Tetra Gardner's Killifish African Tetra Kenyi Cichlid Cuckoo Catfish Golden Swordtail Hypsolebias picturatus Common Zacco Labeo Bicolor Gambusia Flying barb Gastromyzon scitulus Albino Zebra Danio Geophagus Brokopondo

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 Molly sphenops Balloon Molly Lyretail Molly Marble Molly Hi-Fin Platy Hawaii Platy Blue Platy Pintail Platy Black Platy Chocolate Molly Moonlight Gourami Melanotaenia parva

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

The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.

Other varieties: Ceratopteris pteridoides in Vitro

Scientific and other names, conservation status

Other scientific names: Parkeria pteridoides Hooker, Ceratopteris lockhartii (Hook. & Grev.) Kunze, Ceratopteris lockhartii, Ceratopteris parkeri, Parkeria lockhartii, Parkeria pteridoides
Ceratopteris pteridoides: (Hooker) Hieronymus
Family: Pteridaceae

Floating Water Sprite

Tank conditions

Care and keeping