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Hey just wanted to know whats the difference.. dont noe which one to choose for a background plant.. was gonna go for water sprite but dont see a difference between the both??

thanks
r0b3y

I guess they are kinda similar. The wisteria generally has broader leaves than water sprite, and is also a little less delicate. Either would do well, but I would chose the wisteria.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Water sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides) and wisteria (Hygrophila difformis) are very similar but wisteria is a much easier palnt to grow.

The following is from tropica.com:

Ceratopteris thalictroides No. 005A

Family Pteridaceae

Continent Pan Tropic

Region Pan Tropic

Height 15-30 cm

Width 10-20 cm

Light requirements high-very high

Temperature 20-28 °C

Hardness tolerance very soft-very hard

pH tolerance 5-9

Growth very fast

Demands easy

This plant normally grows fast, but the addition of CO2 may be necessary to promote growth. In small open aquariums it can grow out of the aquarium and form beautiful surface leaves. The finely branched leaves are very decorative and provide good contrast to other leaf shapes. In good light Ceratopteris thalictroides grows fast and helps prevent algae by consuming large amounts of nutrients. This makes it a good starter plant in small aquariums.

Hygrophila difformis No. 051

Family Acanthaceae

Continent Asia

Region South-east Asia

Country of origin

Height 20-50 cm

Width 15-25 cm

Light requirements medium-very high

Temperature 22-30 °C

Hardness tolerance very soft-very hard

pH tolerance 5-9

Growth fast

Demands easy

Hygrophila difformis is beautiful and undemanding. A plant for beginners which can help create a balance in the aquarium from the start. Its rapid growth helps prevent algae because the plant absorbs a great number of nutrients from the water. The shortage of micro-nutrients leads to pale leaves, which may be an indication that the aquarium needs fertiliser. In large aquariums its lobed leaves can create a distinctive group.

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"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

I have grown water sprite before and in my own opinion, it grows fast under light. I have a little over 1 watt per gallon in the tank i grew it in. The only reason i removed it is because the roots decayed in my eco-complete. I am currently growing wisteria which loves my eco-complete. I do not consider it a fast grower though. I think wisteria also makes a better group plant than water sprite. In the end, the choice is yours.

I have grown water sprite for many years it is extremly easy to grow as a floating plant.

One very important thing I have noticed over the years when there is a water problem in the tank the water sprite starts to die back very quickly.

With my recent water problem I lost about 90% but it is slowly growing again.

I use it for the surface swimmers (Opaline Gourami) they seem to love it

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Keith

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Wisteria is a stem plant.

Water sprite is in fact a rossette type plant. It wants to float and tends to propogate by by breaking down into lots of smaller plants.

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