Mircrosorum pteropus "Java Fern"

Microsorum pteropus, or Java fern, grows in innumerable locations in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia. It is often found on rocks or wood in rivulets and waterfalls. Some populations grow submersed permanently, others occur as terrestrial plants on moist forest ground.

M. pteropus is one the easiest aquarium plants hitherto in cultivation and thus the perfect plant for beginning planted aquarium keepers. Its low demands and the possibility to cultivate it as an epiphyte on rocks and wood made it a firm asset in the aquarium hobby. Moderate light is more than sufficient, Java fern grows well under stronger and weaker lighting as well. Like Anubias, Microsorum pteropus develops a creeping rhizome on which the roots and leaves grow. This rhizome can be fixed to roots or driftwood with string, and after a few months it attaches to these surfaces with its roots. This plant can also be attached to the back or the side glass of the tank with suckers. In breeding tanks, M. pteropus is often used as floating plant, together with Java moss.

If you want to plant M. pteropus in the substrate, make sure you only cover the roots, not the rhizome, as it would rot away. The plant can also be fixed on the ground with plant needles or weighed down with rocks without covering the roots at all.

M. pteropus does not require the addition of fertiliser or CO2, however, moving water is highly beneficial. It can very easily be cultivated emersed in terraria or paludaria, as long as the substrate is kept moist. Its ability to grow in places in the aquarium where other plants cannot take root, Java fern provides the aquascaper with many design options. It is especially striking when planted on a piece of driftwood in the middle- or background of a tank.

*Pictures are not the actual plants you will receive, but a sample representation.