Water Sprite Or Oriental Water Fern

The Ceratopteris thalictroides is sommonly known as the "water fern" or "Indian fern". It is a common plant that is popular for being easy to keep, fast growing, and also easily propagated. Rendering itself to be utilized in a lot of ways, the Water Sprite can be a very beautiful addition to your aquarium as long as it is given proper care. It is a pretty fern that will grow great in fertilized aquariums. Taken well cared of, it can produce beautiful green leaves for you and grow to a maximum height of 20 inches (50 cm) at a rapid rate. Because of its height, it is best as a midground or background plant. However, it should not be planted too deeply and make sure that its top roots are fairly visible above the gravel. For its fast growth, the addition of CO2 is necessary to promote its growth. In small aquariums it can grow and break out making it beautiful surface leaves. Its finely branched leaves are very decorative and are a good contrast to other leaf shapes. When in a good light the Ceratopteris thalictroides can grow very fast and by such prevent algae by consuming large amounts of the environment’s nutrients.

Because of its various features, this can be a very good starter plant in small aquariums. The Watersprite propagates easily by developing their "babies" on the outer margins of their leaves. The broken off leaves must be left alone then to float for these will soon grow to be babies . Once the roots of these  are developed, the young plants can then be gently pulled off from the parent leaf though sometimes they can come off on their own. However, there is a need to trim them off every fortnight to keep the vessel tidy.

Water Conditions
 
Water Sprite thrives best in fresh water conditions. They also prefer soft and slightly acidic water and work best at temperatures above 20 degrees C. The plant likes light that is moderate to bright, direct or indirect, incandescent, fluorescent or natural lighting. What makes it beautiful is that it doesn't appear to be hindered by the growth of algae, the scurrying of catfish, the small amounts of fish nibbling or snail infestations.

to help the Water Sprite thrive they should be regularly checked especially since it needs a pH level of between 5 and 7.5. As mentioned, the more acidic the water the better it is. To meet the above requirements, make sure that you have regular water changes as well as keep a regularly fertilization every after each change. Keep the bottom substrate nutrient-rich with these fertilizers. The propagation of the Water Sprite can be done by adventitious plantlets that grow off at its leaf margins.