Water Sprite Indian Fern

Water Sprite Indian Fern

Water Sprite Indian Fern is one of the best “instant upgrade” plants you can add to an aquarium—soft, bright green, and beautifully textured with delicate, lace-like leaves that sway gently in the current. It’s versatile, beginner-friendly, and fast to reward you with new growth, making it a go-to choice for aquarists who want a tank that looks fuller, healthier, and more natural without needing a complicated setup.

Water Sprite Indian Fern Overview

In the aquarium, Water Sprite can be grown planted or floating, and both options look great for different reasons. Planted, it forms an airy background mass that adds depth and movement. Floating, it creates shaded cover near the surface—excellent for reducing stress, helping timid fish feel secure, and giving fry extra hiding space. Because it grows quickly and pulls nutrients from the water column, Water Sprite is also widely used as a “stabilizer” plant in newer or evolving tanks.

Aquarists appreciate Water Sprite for:

• Delicate, lace-like foliage: Bright green texture that makes a tank look instantly more planted.
• Beginner-friendly adaptability: Tolerates a wide range of water conditions and light levels.
• Fast growth with real utility: Helps absorb excess nutrients and supports cleaner, healthier water.
• Fish-friendly cover: Great shelter for shy fish, shrimp, and baby fish—especially when floated.

It’s a beautiful plant that also works hard behind the scenes, which is why so many aquarists keep it in long-term.

For aquascaping, Water Sprite is excellent as a soft backdrop behind hardscape like rocks and driftwood (including statement pieces like Spider Wood or Stump Wood) because it adds a light, feathery contrast to darker textures. It also pairs naturally with sturdier foreground/midground plants—think Anubias attached to wood or rock, or rosette plants like swords—creating a balanced layout with both structure and movement. If you enjoy a more natural, “biotope-inspired” look, botanicals can complement Water Sprite beautifully by adding earthy texture while the fern provides the lush green canopy effect.

Caring for Water Sprite Indian Fern

Water Sprite Indian Fern is highly adaptable and often grows quickly once it settles in. One of its biggest advantages is that it’s a strong water-column feeder, meaning it readily pulls nutrients directly from the water—so substrate type isn’t critical. This nutrient uptake can help reduce excess nitrate and keep the aquarium more stable, which is especially helpful in community tanks and tanks that are still finding their balance.

You can grow it planted or floating. If you decide to plant it, place it in the background where it can fill vertical space and create a full, feathery mass. If left floating let it spread near the surface for shade, cover, and a natural “top canopy” effect.

If planting, keep it away from strong filter intakes and powerheads—its delicate leaves can be pulled in and damaged. Occasional trimming is simple: remove older outer fronds or pinch back overly long growth to encourage a fuller, bushier look and prevent it from shading everything beneath it.

• Light: Moderate
• Temperature Range: 70–82°F
• Placement: Background (or floating)
• CO₂: Not required
• Difficulty: Easy
• Growth Rate: Fast under good conditions

Water Sprite Indian Fern is also available in a potted version, but whichever form you choose, it’s the kind of plant that rewards a simple, repeatable care routine. Keep it looking its best by pairing it with a steady liquid fertilizer schedule (especially in tanks where it’s pulling lots of nutrients from the water column) and giving it a quick trim whenever growth starts to crowd the surface or shade slower plants below. A clean cut with sharp aquascaping scissors helps the plant branch out and stay lush rather than leggy, and a good set of aquascaping tweezers makes it easy to reposition stems or remove older fronds without disturbing your layout. Used as a planted background mass or as a floating canopy, Water Sprite will quickly create that “grown-in” look—filling the tank with soft, bright green texture while providing the kind of cover fish naturally seek—so your aquarium feels healthier, more balanced, and visibly more alive week after week..  

Water Sprite Indian Fern is also available potted. "Disclaimer: Due to local restrictions this plant does not ship to California"

Shop with Confidence for Aquarium Plants at Modern Aquarium

At Modern Aquarium, each Water Sprite Indian Fern is inspected, cleaned, and prepared by hand before shipping so it arrives healthy and ready to thrive.

• Top Quality Store & real reviews: Modern Aquarium has been designated by Google as a Top Quality Store and has thousands of verified customer reviews from real customers.
• Live Arrival Guarantee & fast delivery: Our live plants are backed by our Live Arrival Guarantee and shipped via FedEx 2-Day delivery to help ensure they arrive fresh and vibrant.
• Trusted sourcing: We source from reputable nurseries and handle plants carefully from grower to your aquarium.
• What You See Is What You Get: Photos are representative; individual specimens will vary in size, fullness, and exact leaf shape.
• Support when you need it: Reach out via site chat or by phone anytime—we’re happy to help.

For the most natural, “finished” look, use Water Sprite as the soft, airy backdrop (or floating canopy) and balance it with more defined plants like Anubias, Crypts, or sword plants, plus rocks and driftwood—this combination adds depth, creates fish-friendly cover, and keeps your aquarium looking greener, healthier, and more established week after week. With a steady fertilization routine the plant will continue looking lush and give fish the kind of cover they naturally seek.