# LONG Water Sprites!



## adlemsi (Jul 3, 2015)

Hi! I ordered bunches of Water Sprite from AquaBid. The picture the seller posted showed the bunches next to his hand and they were just a few inches taller than his hand. When I received them they were about 24 inches! I have a 5G tank, which has a decent about of plants. I was thinking of tying the Water Sprite to river rocks (from Petco) with fishing line to weigh them down so the excess length can float across the length of the tank. The only thing is I already have several plants floating at the surface. I could bunch up some of the Anacharis & weight them down. Or could I propagate the Water Sprite by the cutting the stem from the top to have additional plants instead of extra length? TIA!


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

Yes, you can propagate it by cutting. I did that with some of the stem plants and it didn't affect their growth. 

Your fish will be happier with more plants


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## adlemsi (Jul 3, 2015)

Great! Thanks for letting me know it's okay to cut them


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

Water sprite isn' a stem plant, so cutting it will just be chopping the leaves in half. 
you can probably pull the longer leaves off and let it grow new leaves from the center.....?

I've never tried to trim mine when I had it


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah, if you chop a frond off, it will die. But it will throw out babies when it dies. Actually, they throw babies whether they are dying or not haha.


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

Oh really? I thought it was a stem plant. I also read somewhere it can be propagate by cutting...

I'm so sorry about my misunderstanding. I hope your water sprite throw out babies like lilnaugrim said.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

You're thinking about Water Wisteria, that's the stem plant  Water Sprite is a fern.


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

lilnaugrim said:


> You're thinking about Water Wisteria, that's the stem plant  Water Sprite is a fern.


My bad! I feel so bad  Do you think it'll really throw babies?


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

ryry2012 said:


> My bad! I feel so bad  Do you think it'll really throw babies?


I know it will! Mine does it all the time lol. As long as the dead/dying frond stays in the water then it will throw off babies  They're quite a prolific plant lol


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

It definitely will! It took me forever to get rid of mine. *somehow* I would miss an elusive leaf when I try ti give my water sprite away. And then weeks later another water sprite would pop up just to spite me. So I kept "giving it away" to get rid of it, and it kept mysteriously coming back. It finally vanished at one point, though. I guess I managed to get rod of all of its self-cloneable parts, lol.


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

Phew. Thank you for assuring you both! 

*adlemsi* : I'm sorry again for my misunderstanding. I hope it will throw off a lot of babies and grow big soon.


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## kitkat67 (Mar 10, 2015)

I recently posted a thread about water sprite. I experimented by ripping the leaves to shreds and tossing it into the tank. EVERY LITTLE PIECE THREW A BABY!! I have so many now!


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

Yay! Babies! lol

It might be better that OP will be getting baby plantlet. They're be a better size for her tank


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## kitkat67 (Mar 10, 2015)

I like that in a few weeks I can plant them together and get a very bushy, very full look.


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

You all are great! Every post makes me happier


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## adlemsi (Jul 3, 2015)

I missed all your responses because I was taking my aunt around (she's newly arrived to NYC). Before going out with her, I cut the Water Sprite. I left all the "excess" length in a large square vase since I didn't have time to arrange them. I did see a couple of "babies" with roots sprouting. I have more than enough in my tank already. I'm going to bunch & weigh down the Anacharis to fill in along the sides, since the Water Sprite took up a lot of floating surface area. I'm really excited about the way my tank is shaping up! I can't wait to receive my Betta (he was shipped from Thailand today) & hope he enjoys his new home!


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

Most likely you wont's be able to see any nitrates at this rate! no need to cycle


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

Please upload pictures once your betta is in the tank!


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## adlemsi (Jul 3, 2015)

ao said:


> Most likely you wont's be able to see any nitrates at this rate! no need to cycle


Really?! That would be great!


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## adlemsi (Jul 3, 2015)

ryry2012 said:


> Please upload pictures once your betta is in the tank!


I'm trying to post pictures I took of the tank setup on my phone, but can't figure out how since I don't have a web link to them.


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

adlemsi said:


> I'm trying to post pictures I took of the tank setup on my phone, but can't figure out how since I don't have a web link to them.


How cool! I like the way you arrange plants. The coming tenant will LOVE it! ;-) I agree with ao, you won't really have to worry about nitrite level with this much of plants.

Looking forward to see more pics when he (or she?) is in.


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## adlemsi (Jul 3, 2015)

Thanks! I raided all the Petcos (and one Petsmart) in Manhattan for their nicest Anubias. Most of the other plants I bought on AquaBid, and ao graciously gave me a few


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

Oh my! It's so nice and lush! 
Mr betta will feel right at home!


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## adlemsi (Jul 3, 2015)

Thanks! My goal was to make it nice & cozy, while keeping it as natural as possible. The hideout decoration is made from stone, the rest of the decor are live plants (some weighed down by river rocks I bought at Petco). All my family members who've seen it say I packed it too much, that the Betta won't be able to swim properly, and that I won't be able to see him. I told them I actually still had room to add some short plants to fill the sides, that there was enough swimming space for one Betta, and that they liked to hide but I'd be able to see him either way.


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## Tree (Sep 29, 2013)

I have a question, whats the difference between Water sprites and Wisterias? 

all of my Wisterias seemed to die on me. would sprites be a tougher plant to own?


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## adlemsi (Jul 3, 2015)

I'm still an aquatic plant newbie, but the Water Sprites & Water Wisterias I have do look similar. The Water Sprite is a fast grower so far, I've already had to trim it, even after cutting down the excess length. My understanding is that the leave shape depends on the lighting, but I'm not sure what the different parameters are. I hope someone with more experience/knowledge can help clarify for you.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Water Wisteria is a stem plant
(not my image)









Water Sprite is a fern plant with fronds.
(again, not my image)









See how Sprite comes from a single crown and grows out the frond? It's similar to a sword where it has leaves coming out of the crown but Sprites are ferns so instead, they're fronds coming from the crown 

The leaves themselves can look similar but water sprite is a lot more delicate looking.

As for durability, it depends. Once upon a time, I had no problem with Water Wisteria but had an issue with Water Sprite. Now, it's reversed; couldn't get my wisteria to grow but my sprite is taking over my 45 gallon!


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

I drew this wayyy back when.

But these are stem plants (water wisteria)









and these are rosette plants (water sprite)









You can see the thread here 
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=129513


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## Tree (Sep 29, 2013)

thanks guys! wow I do see the difference now. I might have to look into some of them in the future. =D I love the look!

And I always have problems with stem plants. I like the ones that are rooted down. =)


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