# Fastest growing fern?



## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

bolbitus is your best bet. all anubias grows fairly similar in terms of growth rate ime


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## HDBenson (Jan 26, 2015)

Watersprite is THE fastest growing fern on the market... I do not know if it has a "bad" taste like other ferns though...


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## jorstrick (May 8, 2015)

Water sprite IME is rediculous as far as growth goes. Doesn't take long to establish. I had t8's going over my 55g I started with leaf zone and a small stem of it and 2 weeks later half my tank was full lol 

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## dukydaf (Dec 27, 2004)

I find Anubias Nana to be one of the fastest growing Anubias(either Nana and or petite). A nice plant that will go substrate free is Hygrophila pinnatifida. It can grow in lower light and needs some time to attach,but it grows faster than Nana and provides some variety.

+1 for Bolbitis


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## Mariostg (Sep 6, 2014)

Interesting, never realized water sprite is a fern yet I have it in 3 of my 4 tanks.  Yes it grows fast, very fast.


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

dukydaf said:


> I find Anubias Nana to be one of the fastest growing Anubias(either Nana and or petite). A nice plant that will go substrate free is Hygrophila pinnatifida. It can grow in lower light and needs some time to attach,but it grows faster than Nana and provides some variety.
> 
> +1 for Bolbitis


Ill have to search for the Hygrophila. Ive never seen it. I appreciate the push toward the bolbitus. I was hopeing it would be faster growing. Ill definitely get some
Does water sprite grow without being in the substrate?


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## Mariostg (Sep 6, 2014)

Yes water sprite can be easily grown just floating.


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## Mariostg (Sep 6, 2014)

Well if you go the Hygrophila route, difformis and augustifolia are fast growers. H difformis will grow different leave shape according to light intensity.


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## jorstrick (May 8, 2015)

Hygrophila Polysperma is fast for me as well and it's a beautiful plant

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## HDBenson (Jan 26, 2015)

H. pinnatifida is sometimes referred to as "fern leaf hygro" - like other Hygros it is a potassium hog . Also, watersprite will attach to objects as well. Particularly wood.


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

HDBenson said:


> H. pinnatifida is sometimes referred to as "fern leaf hygro" - like other Hygros it is a potassium hog . Also, watersprite will attach to objects as well. Particularly wood.


Again will Pinnatifida grow attached to rocks and wood? Also is potassium deficit what causes the black holes in Java Ferns? Im thinking about supplementing potassium for this reason. Maybe just the Flourish kind. I don't want to get into regular fert dosing again.
Ive got Hygro P and baby leaf Bolbitus on the way.


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## HDBenson (Jan 26, 2015)

I've read that H. pinnatifidia does attach to objects but so far none of my stems have... I have some right by wood but, I'm not actively trying to get it to attach.


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

HDBenson said:


> I've read that H. pinnatifidia does attach to objects but so far none of my stems have... I have some right by wood but, I'm not actively trying to get it to attach.


How is it growing for you? I dose my tanks with a pretty healthy dose of Excel and would prefer to keep ferts to a minimum (actually zero, but I really like this Hygrophila) that being said how much Potassium would you dose a 75 gallon tank? GLA sells several different kinds of Potassium, which do i get? Did it melt at all? How had the growth been in comparison to anubias or Java fern? I've also got baby leaf Bolbitus on the way. I love ferns and stuff that can attach to rocks and wood


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## dukydaf (Dec 27, 2004)

Yes H. pinnatifidia will attach itself to wood and stone. It does so by roots which will continue to creep on the stone/wood. To begin with, you need to aid it by fixing it in position with cotton thread or glue.I didn't try glue myself. Soon it will send roots and get a hold. Depending on the rate of growth, you can remove the thread within a month. 
In my experience it grows better when the roots have contact with soil, but this is expected. I cannot say what specific nutrients it needs most as I dose EI so the plants have all they need. I think H. pinnatifida will look awesome in a 75g.


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

dukydaf said:


> Yes H. pinnatifidia will attach itself to wood and stone. It does so by roots which will continue to creep on the stone/wood. To begin with, you need to aid it by fixing it in position with cotton thread or glue.I didn't try glue myself. Soon it will send roots and get a hold. Depending on the rate of growth, you can remove the thread within a month.
> In my experience it grows better when the roots have contact with soil, but this is expected. I cannot say what specific nutrients it needs most as I dose EI so the plants have all they need. I think H. pinnatifida will look awesome in a 75g.


I'm hoping. Hopefully it stays compact and grows horizontally. I want to get some growth in the empty shell bed area
I'm also going to attach some to the large driftwood on the left of my South American tank behind the large anubias where the small Java fern is now


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## strangewaters (May 13, 2015)

The Dude said:


> I'm hoping. Hopefully it stays compact and grows horizontally. I want to get some growth in the empty shell bed area
> I'm also going to attach some to the large driftwood on the left of my South American tank behind the large anubias where the small Java fern is now


sick tanks!!


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## dukydaf (Dec 27, 2004)

Nice tanks. They are different but you can tell they are scaped by the same person. I think H pinnatifida will be a great addition. Interesting to see if there is a different growth pattern in the 2 aquariums.

For me the usual growth pattern under ADA Aquasky is as follows:

Plant 1 has vertical growth. Once it has 5-6 nodules it starts sending "runners". But this takes a long time,looks bad, may be hard to control and you have large plant overshadowing the rest.

Plant 2 has vertical growth to get established. After it roots and has 2-3 nodules I cut it after the first nodule. Next thing you know you have small plants in the vecinity of the mother plant. It looks much neatter and cleaner.

I took some time to try and photograph the roots of a plant anchored by itself. A hard angle to shoot but here they are 

Look at the right corner how the roots made contact with the stone.


Plant 1 example... runners everywhere 


Plant 2 example ... close growth and small


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

Very interesting. I placed some in sand and some in with Java fern bunches. Some are mingled in with the shells on the side of the Tang tank. I can't see the roots from the planted ones in the Congo tank, but they have grown at least an inch.. I'm pretty happy with that. The ones in the cichlid tank are sending out white roots into the shell masses. 
I must admit I was concerned after reading the experiences of others with this plant. It is doing really well for me. The pieces that are in the java fern bunches which are like 8" from the light are already getting red and brown colors.


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

dukydaf said:


> Nice tanks. They are different but you can tell they are scaped by the same person. I think H pinnatifida will be a great addition. Interesting to see if there is a different growth pattern in the 2 aquariums.
> 
> For me the usual growth pattern under ADA Aquasky is as follows:
> 
> ...


What are your perameters


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

I broke up the rocks into to distinct rock piles. Theres 6 Julidichromis so I'm hoping for at least 2 pair. I have the Hygrophila pinnatifida in the shell piles and in the java fern groupings. I'm hoping for it to spread horizontally. Is it correct to crop the tops to encourage more horizontal growth. Right now lighting is only a Ray 2. I'll be adding a StingRay in the next couple of weeks. I dose 10ml of Metricide daily in this tank


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## dukydaf (Dec 27, 2004)

I have pretty hard water with a KH of 7-9, GH of 10, pH around 7, PO4 2ppm, NO3 20ppm (varying). I dose CO2 as I have an aquasky LED light. You can find more on my journal in the signature.

I think the plant sends more roots when there are high levels of nutrients in the water. The aquarium looks much better know. I like how the H. pinnatifida will look like a palm tree forest in such a tall aquarium. Cutting the main growth meristem ( the tip) will trigger increased growth of side-shoots. However, I advise you to wait for 2 wks until the plant establishes well and maybe grows more. This way you can also plant the top at a suitable depth.


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