Java Fern Trident on the Surface:

Java Fern 'Trident' (Microsorum pteropus sp. 'Trident') is a cultivated form of an epiphytic fern that grows best when attached to rock and driftwood along the streams and waterfalls across Malaysia, Thailand, Northeastern India, and parts of South China. In the Botanical Method Aquarium, its rhizome and root network provide habitat and surface area for biofilm to form, and its narrow, forked fronds create cover in the water column for fry and shrimp. Please attach the rhizome to wood or stone; its roots are free to grow into the substrate. Do not bury the rhizome, as it will rot. Our favorite way to affix Trident Java Ferns in our aquariums is at the base of manzanita branches with the growth node pointed up the branch so that over time the entire branch can become encrusted with the ferns.

Essential Details

• Care Level: Easy
• Growth Habit: Slow growth via rhizomes
• Light: Low
• CO2: Not Necessary
• Propagation: Rhizome division, or daughter plantlets that form on mature fronds
• Tint Tolerance: Low to High
• Habitat Location: Malaysia, Thailand, Northeastern India, and parts of South China
• Optimal For: Betta fish, shrimp, and dwarf cichlids, and other species suited to wood- and rock-attached cover
• Use with Caution: Rinse before introducing; may carry beneficial hitchhiking snails, snail eggs, or duckweed from the grow-out ponds
• Size Range: Fronds typically reach 4 to 12 inches at maturity
• Quantities: Sold as a bunched plant of 2-3 rhizomes

Java Fern Trident for Planted Aquariums & Blackwater Biotopes

Java Ferns grow new leaves out of their horizontal rhizome that is known to creep along hardscape. We like to tie or glue it to wood or rock with cotton thread, clear fishing line, or a small bead of cyanoacrylate gel, and allow the roots to take hold from there or reach into the substrate. Once attached, the rhizome and roots provide a surface that biofilm can colonize, which provides shrimp and fry a grazing resource, while the forked fronds add complex habitat within the water column. We often find our Bettas and corydoras resting on the fronds before swimming back down to the leaf litter bed to hunt for food.

The amount of tint you have present in your aquarium can reduce the light that reaches the growing aquatic plants below the surface, so in a heavily tinted aquarium we mount Trident Java Ferns high on hardscape, closer to the surface. Attached to wood or stone, they absorb their nutrients from the water column, so a small amount of liquid fertilizer will provide better growth. Once the roots find their way into the substrate, especially with a dirted Botanical Method Aquarium, new leaves will grow bigger. Growth is often slow, which gives algae more time to establish on older fronds, so we spot-check them regularly and trim any that become covered.

Daughter plantlets form on mature fronds, often with their own small roots. We carefully separate them once they have a few leaves and tie them to new hardscape. Excess plantlets and cuttings go to the compost, and we never release aquarium plants into local waterways.

Beneath the Leaves: Microsorum pteropus in the Wild

Microsorum pteropus, also known as Leptochilus pteropus, grows on rocks and wood in streams and waterfalls, fully or partially submerged, with its rhizome and roots kept wet by the flow. The species varies widely in leaf size and shape, and Trident is one of the cultivated forms, with crested, forked frond tips.

Where a botanical contributes as it breaks down, an aquatic plant is living and contributes as it grows. So let them grow. Mother Nature leads the way.

Sustainability Note:

Please select a heat/cold pack if necessary. Check your local weather before ordering to avoid any shipment holds or cancellations. All Plants may contain snails or snail eggs. We keep them in all of our aquariums for the benefits they provide. Our blackwater aquarium plants are provided in cooperation with PNW Bettas in adherence to their Shipping and DOA Policies. Your curated selection will arrive in their packaging separate from your botanical, wood & merch orders.