01
Overview
Salvinia is a true fern gone nomad: chains of oval floating leaves covered in whisked hairs that shed water so completely the plant never wets. Below, modified root-like fronds filter-feed nutrients, and the chains multiply fast enough to double weekly in a fed tank.
02
Aquascaping use
Its small leaf and moderate root length shade gently, dimming a tank without the heavy blackout of frogbit mats. The furry texture reads beautifully in top-down photography.
03
Planting
Drop chains onto still water and provide gentle circulation; strong ripples flip and sink them. There is nothing else to do.
None
04
Light & CO₂
Medium light keeps chains compact and green; low light stretches the leaf pairs apart. Air supplies its carbon.
05
Substrate & fertilization
It mirrors the tank's nutrient state faithfully, yellowing in lean water and surging in rich. Dose for the community and let it report.
Feeding behavior: Water-column feeder. Nutrient demand: moderate.
06
Growth, trimming & propagation
Net out handfuls weekly during warm months. Cull before the layer doubles, or oxygen exchange and light both suffer.
Runner separation
07
Common problems
- !Explosive growth outpaces casual upkeep
- !Flips and drowns in turbulent surface flow
- !Blocks light rapidly at full coverage
