• Microsorum pteropus XL - Aqua Essentials
  • Microsorum pteropus XL - Aqua Essentials
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Aqua Essentials

Microsorum pteropus XL

£26.99
£26.99

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    Quick facts:

    Rating:

    Origin: Cultivated

    Position in Aquarium: Attach to wood/rock

    Grows up to (cm): 50 cm

    Pot Size: 9 cm

    Growth rate: Slow

    Common name:

    Plant Sizes

    The image of the plant you'll be receiving is just an example of what you can expect. Each plant is unique and may vary in size and shape, so it won't be an exact match to the photo. If we provide a size guide, keep in mind that it's just an estimate and that plants can vary in size depending on the time of year.
    Our Delivery Promise To You

    Express Delivery is our fastest and most reliable option. Orders are fully trackable, delivered within a one-hour time slot, and covered by our replacement guarantee if plants are damaged due to delivery delays. It’s ideal if you want extra peace of mind and plants arriving exactly as they left us.

    Tracked 24 is a great value option and usually arrives within a couple of days.

    Order before 4pm (Mon–Fri) for same-day dispatch.

    Shipping starts from £4.99 for Tracked 24 and £6.99 for DPD Express.

    Microsorum pteropus, known universally as Java fern, is one of the most iconic and widely kept aquarium plants in the world. It produces broad, wavy-edged dark green leaves from a creeping rhizome that attaches naturally to driftwood and rock, giving it the appearance of a plant growing wild on submerged hardscape. This XL version supplies a larger, more established specimen with a long rhizome and many leaves, providing immediate impact without waiting for growth.

    Care is extremely simple. It thrives in low to medium light without CO2 injection and adapts to virtually any water conditions — soft or hard, tropical or temperate. Growth is slow but the plant is extraordinarily long-lived. It is largely ignored by herbivorous fish, making it one of the few plants that works reliably in cichlid and goldfish tanks.

    Attach the rhizome to a substantial piece of driftwood or a rock using cotton thread or aquarium-safe superglue — never bury it in substrate as this causes rot. The roots anchor themselves naturally over time. Small adventitious plantlets develop on the leaf surfaces and can be removed and attached elsewhere once they have grown their own roots.

    Microsorum pteropus XL - Aqua Essentials

    Product details

    1. Go large

    Xl Plants are the biggest plants available to hobbyists and sometimes extremely impressive, especially in the summer time. Pots are typically 9cm+ but the range is fairly limited so if you see one you like, best to go for it.

    Why is the range limited in the winter?

    Plants grow much slower due to the weather and the cost to heat gigantic greenhouses. As a result, in the cooler months plants are typically 30-40% smaller than they are in the warmer months.

    2. Planting up

    Due to their size, they're best positioned towards the back of your aquarium. Of course, some of them will be better tied onto wood or rock (like Anubias). It is possible to leave these plants in their pots if you prefer, but we always recommend that where possible, you take them out of their pots and rockwool, and plant them in a nutrient rich soil. Bear in mind the plants may have extensive root structure but this can be trimmed prior to planting.

    3. Feeding

    How much food do they need?

    Due to their size, larger plants need much more food than the 5cm potted plants so this has to be considered when planting.

    What fertilisers should I offer?

    We always recommend using both a nutrient rich fertiliser and a liquid carbon for all plants. Use Neutro T as a liquid fertiliser and Neutro CO2 for your carbon. Both are available in big bottles and if you are injecting pressurised CO2, sway the Neutro T for Neutro+.

    Are root tabs needed?

    If you want to get the best from your plants, so they stay strong, grow faster and produce better colours then yes. Use TerraTabs for best results. Insert 3 under each XL plant every 4 months.

    Let customers speak for us

    from 9242 reviews
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    C.O.

    Ordered the 120l aquarium kit for a new setup we’d bought my dad for his retirement and I was blown away by the variety and quality of the items provided.

    Everything was in perfect condition on arrival and, despite sourcing the wood locally, everything just worked around it.

    My dad is over the moon with how it came out and the aquarium looks like it’s been established for a while already.

    Highly recommend and would definitely shop here again

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    Much better than I anticipated , glued to rocks

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    Delivery great as normal with this company and will definitely buy here again 😀 👍.

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    Lovely little plant in great condition and already starting to sprout new leaves. This is one of the best conditioned ferns I have ever got.

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    Love it

    Ive been wanting to plant my not so very planted shrimp tank up for months, and ive been trying to find the best plants to look nice (large in the back to smallest in the foreground) and i come across the scaped for you section. I am pretty much a novice at planting tanks as this is my first ever time doing it. Firstly id say that while this does come with a layout guide, it is only a guide and not a "how to" because it is only an image that is provided and nothing else. This isnt a bad thing of course because your tank is you own and you can do whatever you want with it. It took me about 2-3 hours to fully complete how i wanted it and set it up with the plants and after a few days of settling in looks so much better than i expected it. I love it and i think my shrimps do too :) - one thing to note i would say is if youre buying spider wood, make sure you weight it down or soak it for a long time before putting it in the tank as your first placement will most definitely float and cause some frustration. Id definitely buy this or another scaped for you option in the future if i wanted to do this again.

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    nina

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    nina

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    They include little care sheets to figure out how to properly care for your plants if needed. Will be coming back when I’m ready to move forward with the next plants. Great company ☺️

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    I've been using Neutro CO₂ along with Neutro T Aquarium Plant Fertiliser daily for a few months now to revive a neglected low-tech tank. It seems to be doing the job - the plants are recovering and the algae issues are hugely improved. I double dose Neutro CO₂ with no problems (although it did create a lot of organic sediment when first using as the algae died off - easily removed with regular syphoning and water changes).

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    What customers think about the store

    Highly-rated aquatic plant specialist offering excellent quality plants, rocks, and substrates. Customers praise fast delivery, superb packaging, and healthy products. Plants arrive in pristine condition with strong root systems. Responsive customer service ha...

    AI-generated from customer reviews.

    Delivery Packaging Plants Quality

    We're environmentally friendly

    • 1. Sustainable Packaging

    • 2. Fast Delivery

    • 3. Guarantee

    Your plants will be wrapped with recyclable Honey Comb wrap - sounds cool because it is :). It interlocks which means we don't need to use tape either, reducing our impact on the environment.

    Not only is delivery fast with DPD Express but it's also green as they offset all the carbon their vehicles produce. Guilt free delivery which we're very proud of...

    We guarantee you'll be happy with your order. But if you're not, please contact us so we can resolve. We are 100% here to help and will always do our best to resolve any issues - that's a promise.

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