Azolla Caroliniana care guide
Azolla Caroliniana (Azolla caroliniana) — medium light, 15-28 °C, pH 5.5-7.5, no CO2.
Overview
Azolla Caroliniana (Azolla caroliniana) is a scale-leaved liverwort of the family Salviniaceae, grown as an aquarium plant. A tiny floating fern that forms dense green carpets on the water surface, turning reddish under intense light. Contains symbiotic nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, making it a natural fertilizer for the aquarium.
Taxonomy
- Family: Salviniaceae
- Genus: Azolla
- Scientific name: Azolla caroliniana
- Common synonyms: Mosquito Fern, Fairy Moss
Habitat
Azolla caroliniana originates from North America, where it grows in freshwater marshes, ditches and slow-moving streams, frequently emersed on seasonally flooded ground.
Growth requirements
- Lighting: medium
- CO2: not required
- Temperature: 15-28 °C (59-82 °F)
- pH: 5.5-7.5
- GH: 2-12 °dGH
- Substrate: none (floating or epiphytic)
- Maximum height: 2 cm
- Growth rate: fast
- Nutrient demand: low
- Recommended placement: floating
- Typical trim interval: 7 days
Placement
In aquascapes this plant floats at the surface.
Propagation
Propagation is by division of the parent clump; daughter plants are separated once they have formed several leaves and visible roots.
Common issues
Pale or stunted new growth usually signals a nutrient or iron deficiency, while algae on older leaves often follows light that exceeds the available nutrients or CO2; correcting fertilisation and trimming affected parts resolves most cases.