Bolbitis heudelotii
| Common Names: | African Water Fern Bolbitis Fern |
| Distribution: | Tropical West Africa. It grows either submersed or emersed in shaded streams |
| Description: | A fern with multipinnate(branch-like) fronds(leaf-stalk). The leaves range in color from dark green to a light translucent green depending on conditions. Leaf size also depends on conditions. It has a rhizome with dark brown or black roots. |
| Potential Height: | 51cm (20.1") |
| Growth Rate: | Slow |
| Care: | Since it is a fern, it needs to be attatched to driftwood or rocks. It cannot tolerate being planted in the substrate. It will not grow and will eventually die if planted in the gravel. In a low maintnance set-up, fertilizers are not neccesary as the waste from the fish is more than sufficient for its growth. It should also be placed in an area with waterflow. This will produce the best appearance in the leaves. It may also be placed in a shaded area. |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
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| Lighting: | Low to High |
| Propagation: | Division of the rhizome. After Bolbitis heudelotii has been in your aquarium to mature, it will produce new rhizomes. After these new rhizomes produce 4-5 healthy leaves, you may seperate them from the mother plant and and attatch them to another peice of wood or rock. |
| Comments: | Bolbitis heudelotii is a beautiful fern. If you can grow java fern, you can grow Bolbitis heudelotii. Care is easy. It will eventually take over an aquarium if not pruned. It can easily take over small aquariums. It is usually left alone by herbivorous fish, but they may nibble on the fiddleheads. Fiddleheads are the new leaves that are small and curled up in a spiral. |
| Image Credit: | © FishProfiles.com |
| Submitted By: | clownloachfan |
| Contributors: | clownloachfan |
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