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Bolbitis heudelotii

African fern, attaches to wood or rock, prefers low light and water flow

Regular price
£8.99
Regular price
Sale price
£8.99
  • Hurry, only 5 items left in stock!
Quick Facts

Rating:

Common name: Congo fern

Origin: Africa

Position in Aquarium: Attach to wood/rock

Grows up to (cm): 40 cm

Pot Size: 5 cm

Growth rate: Slow

Description

Bolbitis heudelotii is an attractive African water fern producing finely divided, semi-transparent deep green fronds on a creeping rhizome. It reaches 15–40cm tall and wide, making it a good midground or background feature plant that brings a naturalistic forest-floor quality to any aquascape.

Like Anubias, it attaches to hardscape rather than being planted in substrate. It prefers low light and performs better than most plants in shadier areas of the aquarium. Good water movement benefits growth significantly — position near a filter outlet if possible. CO2 is not required but encourages lusher, more rapid growth.

Attach the rhizome to wood or rock using thread or aquarium-safe superglue. Do not bury the rhizome — it will rot.

Plant Sizes

You’ll receive a healthy, rooted plant in a pot, similar to those shown. Each one is hand-checked before dispatch.

Shipping

Same-day dispatch on orders placed before 4pm, Monday to Friday. Tracked 24 Service from £4.99, DPD Express from £6.99.

Bolbitis heudelotii (Congo fern) Aquafleur
Bolbitis heudelotii Congo Fern with care instructions on a white background
Potted Congo Fern with text on a white background
Potted fern plant with text about its suitability for aquariums and low-maintenance setups.
Planting tip for Bolbitis heudelotii with text and icons on a white background
Potted plant with quick facts on a white background
Bolbitis heudelotii (Congo fern) Aquafleur
Bolbitis heudelotii (Congo fern) Aquafleur
Bolbitis heudelotii (Congo fern) Aquafleur

Customers praised this aquatic fern for arriving in "excellent condition" with strong root systems and healthy leaves. Many noted it attaches well to wood and rock, thriving in low-tech tanks. However, some reported leaves browning or melting initially, and one mentioned smaller size than expected. Overall rated highly for quality and growth.

  • Excellent, great root system, no snails, nice colour.
  • Really dark, thick leaves and compact enough to secure onto wood easily.
  • Big beautiful strong plant, looks great in my tank.
  • 5 stars: 36 (77%)
  • 4 stars: 11 (23%)
  • 3 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 2 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 1 star: 0 (0%)
E
Etsy c.

All plants arrived in excellent condition and made a perfect addition to my aquarium

J
John C. (Bolton, GB)
Need one more or

Need one more or 2

T
T

Excellent 👌🏼 great root system, no snails, nice colour.

S
Susan

Beautiful

C
Carl J. (Romford, GB)
Great plants

Plants delivered in great condition. No issues. Will recommend.

M
MARK P. (Bolton, GB)
just wish it wer' true

the plant arrived as usual in perfect tip top condition as per AQUA essential Standards I left it as usual in a larger cut plastic bag cut to allow an oxygenating flow through of water for a good 12 hrs or more but the breeding pair of Blue Acara as they've done with other plants spotted despite them and possibly spent all night Encamped waiting for their chance to strike, despite them having as near to natural a diet possible, I tied the plant to a lump of bog wood with my faithful Dry Yucca Plant Leaf String BRILLIANT Stuff & as Natural as it comes, put it in a temporary home but they've had a go so sadly their days are numbered I'm going to contact Les @ Complete Koi & Aquatics a Brilliant Shop by the way and re home them that way but I cannot sing the praises for Aqua Essentials Highly Enough ! Great Plants & Excellent Customer Service & Support which to me personally, is Paramount in these Days of't Tinterweb Thankyou A/E Mark. PS Just to add as usual the Blue Brigade have left the Lagenandra Meeboldii Red alone up to now

M
Mick H.
Review

Basic packaging but received ok. Too early for long t

J
James S.
Review

Of all the plants I bought this one is struggling the most. Looks great in the set up but leaves are turning brown and wilting.

H
Holly W.
Review

This plant arrived in great condition. Cannot wait for it to grow! Would highly recommend ordering from Aqua Essentials.

R
Ramone K.
Review

Really dark, thick leaves and compact enough to secure onto wood easily. Really gorgeous, adds a lovely dimension to a cluster of ferns!

M
Mairtin C.
Review

Nice large heathly plant. Well packed. Growing nicely

r
rikki w.
Review

Has gone through a heavy melt but I'm sure it will come back thriving similar to my crypts which are to say the least huge now.

K
Karl S.
Review

Glued to rock and wood near to input flow. Doing well.

C
Customer
Review

Lovely healthy good sized plant as always doing well in low tech tank

D
David B.
Review

We ordered this plant because it was said to resistant to the eating habits of Silver Dollars. It arrived well packaged , in good condition and looks very well in the tank. So far the fish have not chosen to eat it, but it is only two weeks

L
Liz S.
Review

We have been buying plants to set up our aqaurium from a range of places - but these ones from Aqua Essentials are the best we have received - this is a really lovely healthy plant that provides a nice dappled shade for the fish - arrived very quickly and has settled into the tank very well.

T
Tony J.
Review

Arrived in good condition and looks great! Already growing!

A
Adam W.
Review

Healthy plant received & it seems to be doing OK attached to some wood. I purchased this Bolbitus along with some other plants & they all arrived in fantastic condition. Excellent service, great prices & superb products. Thank you.

G
Gillian S.
Review

I haven't tried this plant before. It's very attractive, and a bit different. Lovely quality, lovingly grown and packed. Hoping the fishes won't eat this one, but time will tell!

W
William S.
Review

Plants delivered in perfect condition far better than anything from most retailers! so far looking good

C
Claire C.
Review

Stunning fern.. perfect to attach to bogwood

S
Sue B.
Review

This plant was very strong and is suitable for placing in back of my tank

R
Roseanna-marie h.
Review

Really well packaged, arrived in beautiful condition with a lovely strong rhizome. A big beautiful strong plant, looks great in my tank I'll be buying from this company again.

R
Richard A.
Review

The fern came in great condition and was actually quite big
Beautiful full leaves and good colours
Been in the tank for just over a week now and is grow so well !!!
Will definitely be back for more

E
Eduard T.
Review

Plant in very good condition, is growing well

D
Daniel H.
Review

Good condition

P
Paul B.
Review

This plant is growing really well just pushed into a crevice in a rock, interesting leaf shapes and colours, I have CO2 and add fertilizer every day, but not very high light

g
glen m.
Review

Plants are in good condition.

j
john f.
Review

Have never grown this plant before but judging from the excellent specimen received, I have missed out on an attractive plant.

S
Stuart P.
Review

Smaller on delivery than the illustration but it started throwing out new growth within a few days ! What more could you want.
Good seller and fast delivery !

J
James P.
Review

Plant okay size for the price, arrived in healthy condition

R
Robb K.
Review

Love this species, and Chris sent me two of the nicest specimens Ive seen - growing a treat under the kessil 360WEs I got from this site. Nice!

E
Emma D.
Review

This plant was so much bigger than I expected! Nice and healthy. I got 6 or 7 good sized plants out of it.

Product FAQs

Helpful details before you buy.

Is Bolbitis heudelotii easy to grow?

It is moderately easy. It prefers low light and good water movement, making it well suited to tanks with strong filtration near the outlet.

How do I plant Bolbitis heudelotii?

Attach it to wood or rock using fishing line or super glue gel. Never cover the rhizome with substrate as this will cause it to rot.

Does Bolbitis heudelotii need CO2?

CO2 is not essential but will encourage lusher, faster growth. Good water movement is more important than CO2 for this species.

How big does Bolbitis heudelotii grow?

It reaches 15 to 40cm tall and wide, making it suitable as a midground or background feature plant in medium to large aquariums.

Where does Bolbitis heudelotii originate from?

It originates from Africa and is sometimes called the African water fern. Like Anubias, it prefers lower light and attaches naturally to hardscape in the wild.