How to Grow and Care for Bolbitis heudelotii

Bolbitis heudelotii is a fern-like aquatic plant with transparent green leaves. Many people often use it for aquascaping when keeping fish or turtles, so what are the cultivation methods for Bolbitis heudelotii?

1. Water quality requirements

Bolbitis heudelotii prefers a slightly acidic soft water environment. When it is in a slightly alkaline hard water environment, black spots will appear on the leaves or they may even turn completely black.

2. Substrate

Bolbitis heudelotii is suitable for cultivation on a well-aerated substrate; otherwise, it is highly prone to oxygen deprivation, which prevents the roots from breathing normally and causes them to be "suffocated," ultimately leading directly to root rot. Therefore, under normal circumstances, it can be tied with fishing line and grown on driftwood or rocks. If you wish to grow it close to the bottom sand, you can tie it to volcanic rock and then bury the lower part of the volcanic rock in the sand, ensuring that the horizontal rhizome is exposed above the sand surface.

3. Temperature requirements

When growing Bolbitis heudelotii underwater, care should be taken to keep the water temperature between 20 and 28; otherwise, the leaves are prone to turning black and rotting.

4. Fertilizer requirements

Its fertilizer demand is relatively low; generally, only a small amount of liquid fertilizer needs to be added.

5. Other management matters

When Bolbitis heudelotii is transplanted during underwater cultivation, due to changes in the environment, the original leaves will turn black and die off in large numbers. This is a normal phenomenon. As long as the environment basically meets the above cultivation requirements, no treatment is needed. If the environment is kept stable, new leaves will sprout in about 2--3 weeks. After the new leaves are lush, simply cut off the blackened leaves.

Overall, Bolbitis heudelotii is still very easy to grow. As long as you find a good substrate, keep the temperature between 20-28 degrees, and add some liquid fertilizer appropriately, it will be fine.