Salvinia Minima (Salvinia minima) Care Guide

A small floating fern with round, light-green leaves. Grows extremely fast and provides excellent shade and cover for surface-dwelling fish and shrimp fry.

Overview

Salvinia minima is an aquatic plant in the family Salviniaceae. A small floating fern with round, light-green leaves. Grows extremely fast and provides excellent shade and cover for surface-dwelling fish and shrimp fry.

Taxonomy

Family: Salviniaceae
Genus: Salvinia
Scientific name: Salvinia minima
Other names: Water Spangles, Small Salvinia

Habitat

A floating fern native to South America, Mesoamerica and the West Indies, introduced to the southeastern United States in the 1920s-1930s. Leaves bear fine water-repellent hairs and a third dissected submerged leaf functions as a root.

Growth requirements

Light: medium (≈50-80 PAR at substrate)
CO2: optional (CO2 improves growth and coloration)
Temperature: 18-30 °C
pH: 6-8
GH: 2-15 °dGH
Nutrient demand: low
Growth rate: fast
Difficulty: beginner

Placement

Recommended placement: floating at the surface
Maximum height: 3 cm
Trim every: 7 days

Propagation

In cultivation the plant is propagated by vegetative division or fragmentation.