Ceratopteris Cornuta

Quick facts

Identity

Also known as

Broad-leaf water sprite; Lobed water sprite; Horned water fern

Synonyms

Ceratopteris thalictroides var. cornuta; Acrostichum cornutum

Environment

Freshwater

Native to

Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, Southeast Asia, Northeast India, Northern Australia

Habitat

Stagnant ponds, warm swamps, and calm riverbanks with nutrient-rich, sunlit water, growing both submersed and as a floating plant

Sourcing

Captive-bred

Conservation

Not Evaluated

Care

Care level

Easy

Growth form

Rosette

Max height

4 – 16 in (10 – 41 cm)

Spread

16 in (41 cm)

Growth rate

Fast

Placement

Midground, Background, Floating

Water

Temperature

64 – 86 °F (18 – 30 °C)

pH

5.0 – 8.0

GH

0 – 30 dGH

dKH

0 – 21 dKH

Flow

Low-Moderate

Light

Medium

CO₂

Beneficial

Planting

Substrate

Nutrient-rich preferred

Feeds from

Both

Fertilizer needs

High

Colors

Green

Feeding & breeding

Propagation

Plantlets, Rhizome division

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Care guide

Overview

Reaching up to 16 inches with deeply lobed, broad fronds, this rosette-forming fern can be anchored in a nutrient-rich substrate or left to drift as a floating mat. It grows quickly under medium light, pulling nitrate and phosphate straight from the water column, and multiplies readily via plantlets along its leaf margins. Easy for beginners, shrimp-safe, and useful as cover for fry.

Care

Broad-leaf water sprite adapts readily to either rooted or free-floating culture, making it forgiving for beginners while still rewarding more advanced layouts. It tolerates a wide pH and hardness range and grows well without CO2 injection, though supplemental CO2 and rich nutrients push it toward its fastest growth. Medium to high lighting keeps the rosette compact and prevents the lower leaves from thinning out, especially in submersed form.

Planting & trimming

Set the rosette shallowly in the substrate with the crown, where new fronds emerge, kept above the surface rather than buried. It can also be pinned down with a plant weight or simply left to float until roots lengthen enough for planting. Older, larger, or damaged fronds should be trimmed at the base periodically, and floating mats need regular thinning to stop them from shading the rest of the tank.

Fertilizing

This fern is a heavy consumer of nitrate, phosphate, and potassium, so it benefits from liquid fertilization or a nutrient-rich water column rather than root tabs alone. Iron supplementation helps prevent the pale, chlorotic new growth that signals a deficiency. Because it draws much of its nutrition directly from the water rather than the substrate, dosing a general macro and micro fertilizer routine suits it well.

Propagation

Propagation happens naturally through adventitious plantlets that sprout along the margins and tips of mature or damaged fronds. These plantlets can be separated once they develop a few small roots and either replanted in substrate or left to float independently. The plant also reproduces by spores, though vegetative plantlet production is by far the more common method in aquarium culture.

Problems

Newly potted specimens often arrive with minimal roots and can detach easily from rockwool during transport, but they recover quickly once floated or lightly anchored. Insufficient light causes leggy, sparse rosettes, while shading from surface coverage can stunt plants growing below a floating mat. Otherwise this species is largely free of the melting issues common to more delicate stem plants.

Sources

1. Ceratopteris cornuta - Flowgrow Aquatic Plant Database
2. Ceratopteris cornuta | Aquasabi - Aquascaping Shop
3. Ceratopteris cornuta Aquatic Plant Care | Atlarium
4. Ceratopteris cornuta - ABC Plants

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