elusive water sprite

Talk about your fresh water plants here
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bayside
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Joined: Sun Nov 26, 2023 12:30 am

elusive water sprite

Post by bayside »

Water Sprites aren't that hard to grow, from what I've found.
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squidman
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat May 14, 2022 4:31 am

Re: elusive water sprite

Post by squidman »

I've had a pretty good experience with water sprite, and from what I've heard from others, it's generally considered easy to grow. I picked some up about 3-4 weeks ago and it's been taking off - it's already growing out of my tanks, which is a bit crazy. I haven't tried propagating it yet, since I've been warned it can be a bit finicky when you start cutting or separating it. The key is your tank's lighting and ferts/stocking, but overall it's a great choice as a low-maintenance floating plant.

One thing I really like about water sprite is that it's easy to keep contained in one section of my tank, which allows me to have some higher-lighting plants in other areas without the shade. At the same time, my fish still have plenty of shade and cover, which is a big plus.
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bayside
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Re: elusive water sprite

Post by bayside »

squidman wrote: Fri Jun 09, 2023 1:10 pm I've had a pretty good experience with water sprite, and from what I've heard from others, it's generally considered easy to grow. I picked some up about 3-4 weeks ago and it's been taking off - it's already growing out of my tanks, which is a bit crazy. I haven't tried propagating it yet, since I've been warned it can be a bit finicky when you start cutting or separating it. The key is your tank's lighting and ferts/stocking, but overall it's a great choice as a low-maintenance floating plant.

One thing I really like about water sprite is that it's easy to keep contained in one section of my tank, which allows me to have some higher-lighting plants in other areas without the shade. At the same time, my fish still have plenty of shade and cover, which is a big plus.
Thanks for the info, I've had a couple of water sprite and they seem to rot at the base for some reason. I'm running a 125 tank with a variety of plants and a Fluval Plant 3, so I'm not sure what's going on.
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sSjey
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Re: elusive water sprite

Post by sSjey »

Mine's floating, I find it's easier to manage that way, plus it's less messy when it starts growing out of control like it has in my tank.
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squidman
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Re: elusive water sprite

Post by squidman »

squidman wrote: Fri Jun 09, 2023 1:10 pm I've had a pretty good experience with water sprite, and from what I've heard from others, it's generally considered easy to grow. I picked some up about 3-4 weeks ago and it's been taking off - it's already growing out of my tanks, which is a bit crazy. I haven't tried propagating it yet, since I've been warned it can be a bit finicky when you start cutting or separating it. The key is your tank's lighting and ferts/stocking, but overall it's a great choice as a low-maintenance floating plant.

One thing I really like about water sprite is that it's easy to keep contained in one section of my tank, which allows me to have some higher-lighting plants in other areas without the shade. At the same time, my fish still have plenty of shade and cover, which is a big plus.
I'm guessing you've got it planted in the substrate. I've always kept mine floating, and from what I've seen, that's how most people do it. I've noticed some folks let it float until the roots develop, then they plant it. I've tried planting a few myself, but they always seem to want to float back up, so I just roll with it. If you plant it before those roots form, it might be more prone to rot, since the base of the plant is buried. I don't have much experience with planted water sprite, to be honest - I prefer keeping mine floating, and I love how the roots hang down for my fish to swim through and hide in.
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bayside
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Joined: Sun Nov 26, 2023 12:30 am

Re: elusive water sprite

Post by bayside »

squidman wrote: Fri Jun 09, 2023 1:10 pm I've had a pretty good experience with water sprite, and from what I've heard from others, it's generally considered easy to grow. I picked some up about 3-4 weeks ago and it's been taking off - it's already growing out of my tanks, which is a bit crazy. I haven't tried propagating it yet, since I've been warned it can be a bit finicky when you start cutting or separating it. The key is your tank's lighting and ferts/stocking, but overall it's a great choice as a low-maintenance floating plant.

One thing I really like about water sprite is that it's easy to keep contained in one section of my tank, which allows me to have some higher-lighting plants in other areas without the shade. At the same time, my fish still have plenty of shade and cover, which is a big plus.
I'm guessing you might've had it planted? I keep mine floating, same as most people. I've heard some folks let it float till it gets those long roots, then they plant it. I did try planting some once, but it always floats back up, so I just roll with it. If you plant it too early, the base might rot since it's buried. I don't have much experience with planted water sprite, but I love how the roots hang down from my floating ones - my fish seem to enjoy swimming through 'em too.
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