# Tips for getting Water Sprite to grow again?



## KeshiaB (Aug 27, 2013)

Hi all, haven't been active on here for a while but I'm back now 

I'm having a little trouble with my Water Sprite (how I don't know, it's supposed to be a ridiculously easy plant to grow!)... I've had it in my tank for around 6-8 months now and at first it was growing so well that I could split my original bunch into 3. Now, the most recent bunch I planted seems to have gone dormant, my second bunch pretty much died, and my original bunch is down to 4 stems :-( I'm quite a lazy gardener, I've added root tabs to my tank once since planting and throw in some extra fertilizer when I remember, but other than that I don't do much except trim my plants when they get out of control. I have 2 Crypts and some Java Moss in my tank which are doing great, but for some reason my Water Sprite isn't doing so well anymore.

Could it be that it's just time for more root tabs, or is there something else I can do to encourage the Water Sprite to get growing again? I'd love for it to be a dominant plant in my tank!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Root tabs should be replaced every couple of months.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Is it planted? If so, take it out and let it float for a couple of weeks and it should come back. Not all Sprite likes to be planted. There are two types: floating and planted, but even my "planted" ones didn't like to be planted. It doesn't like to be deep at all, leave the crown exposed like you would for a Sword, so it can breathe. I've finally just gotten mine to grow in the substrate, I don't normally have great success with that though, I normally just let them float.


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## LittleRose (Sep 7, 2013)

+1^ Try letting it float, that's the only way mine seems to want to grow too.


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## KeshiaB (Aug 27, 2013)

Thanks all. I've pulled out a small plant to see if it will grow while floating  Also ordered more root tabs and set a reminder to fertilize the tank regularly (I use Flourish liquid fertilizer).


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I agree with letting it float. I always float my watersprite and I find it grows very well. So well in fact that it starts pushing up against the cling wrap I have over the tops of my tanks.

Watersprite will change form when you let it float. I personally prefer the look of floating watersprite over planted watersprite, and the roots growing down towards the substrate provide cover and hiding places for your fish as an added bonus.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

^+1 to all the floating advice

"If it doesnt grow, let it float"
is my success story for almost any plant. even those normally grown in high tech aquariums


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## kitkat67 (Mar 10, 2015)

I know that this thread is a few weeks old, but I had a fun discovery today I would like to share. I have water sprite floating in one of my tanks. While cleaning dead plant material out, I found a tiny, half rotted piece of water sprite leaf, smaller than 1 cm². I was about to toss it when I noticed a bright green plantlet growing off of it! I would post a picture, but I am having problems with my camera. The plantlet is so tiny! Probably as big as this v. If I were to rip up more water sprite lwaves and just leave them in the tank, would I get more baby plants?


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

kitkat67 said:


> I know that this thread is a few weeks old, but I had a fun discovery today I would like to share. I have water sprite floating in one of my tanks. While cleaning dead plant material out, I found a tiny, half rotted piece of water sprite leaf, smaller than 1 cm². I was about to toss it when I noticed a bright green plantlet growing off of it! I would post a picture, but I am having problems with my camera. The plantlet is so tiny! Probably as big as this v. If I were to rip up more water sprite lwaves and just leave them in the tank, would I get more baby plants?



Yes they will  I had a hard time getting rid of watersprite one time. Everytime I thought I successfully managed to give all my water sprite away another one will mysteriously appear a few weeks later. I would leave the leaves whole, I find that they tend to sprout roots and new plantlets from the base of the leaves... or was that water wisteria?


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## kitkat67 (Mar 10, 2015)

Great, thanks!


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Water wisteria is the stem so that produces other stems from just under a nice on the stem.

Water sprite tends to reproduce just under the leaf on one of the stems. Just like java fern, dead stems will produce plantlets by the dozen almost lol


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