The very easy to care for Microsorum pteropus, or Java fern, comes from Southeast Asia. The epiphyte is 10 to 20 cm high and is perfect for tying on roots or stones in the middle ground and tolerates soft to hard water.

The Java fern Microsorum pteropus from the jungle streams of Southeast Asia has a permanent place in the aquarium hobby. The long, medium green leaves of this beautiful water fern grow rather slowly. Java fern is robust and quite undemanding and doesn't need a lot of light.

Microsorum pteropus also grows in nature as a epiphyte. The rhizome (the thick green rhizome) of the water fern grows crawling along the ground. The rhizome should not be planted because it can begin to rot in the substrate in the aquarium. Java fern is, therefore, best tied or glued to an aquarium root or a stone. When planting in the substrate, you have to make sure that the rootstock is definitely not covered with gravel or soil.

The easy-care Microsorum pteropus fits very well into the middle ground on hardscapes like roots and stones. It is not really picky about water values and also grows under little light and without CO2 fertilisation. What the Java fern needs, however, is a good supply of potassium. If this is not the case, it can develop unsightly black spots, especially on the older leaves.

Java fern reproduces through daughter plants that form on the leaf tips. Lose weight and plant, it's that easy to multiply.

You can also buy Java fern here in the shop as an XL copy. The large mother plant is a particularly beautiful and impressive specimen of Microsorum pteropus.

You can get Java fern from us in the Olibetta shop already tied to a root of size ML, which corresponds to a length of 25-30 cm.

Our expert Oliver Knott recommends:
As an alternative to the classic nylon thread, I like to recommend the fast-acting adhesive Gel ProHaru Rapid from JBL for fastening. This makes it really easy to attach Java fern to aquarium roots or a decorative boulder, for example.