Spider Plant
Chlorophytum comosum
Also known as Chlorophytum comosum, Airplane Plant, Ribbon Plant, Spider Ivy
Plantae›Tracheophyta›Liliopsida›Asparagales›Asparagaceae
📍 Coastal southern Africa
Grown emersed with roots in the tank water and the arching foliage above, acting as a nitrate-absorbing biofilter. Likes bright indirect light, grows fast, roots readily, and throws off plantlets you can re-root.
Grown with its roots in the tank water and its leaves in the air — a living nitrate filter, not a submerged aquarium plant. Give it bright indirect light; no aquarium CO₂ or substrate needed.
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Tanks keeping this 🌿
Growing in 3 tanksCommunity tanks featuring Spider Plant.
Tank Mates
Common Diseases
Root / crown rot
Mushy, blackened, or foul-smelling roots or lower stem; drooping, yellowing foliage — almost always from submerging the leaves or crown.
Keep only the roots underwater and the foliage in the air. Trim away rotted tissue with clean scissors, improve surface circulation/oxygen, and let the plant re-establish.
Brown leaf tips
Dry, browning leaf tips.
Usually a reaction to hard water or fertilizer/mineral buildup. Top the tank off with dechlorinated or lower-mineral water and ease back on ferts.
Tips from the community 💡
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Quick Facts
- light
- Bright indirect
- biofilter
- true
- placement
- Emersed — roots in water, leaves in air
- growth rate
- fast
Water it likes
- ph
- 6.0–7.5
- nitrate
- Thrives on high nitrate — a strong natural exporter
- hardness
- Soft to hard (2–20 dGH)
- temperature
- 64–82°F (18–28°C)
Legality
No state or federal restrictions on record for this species.
Not legal advice, and possibly incomplete or out of date. Rules vary by state and locality and change over time — always confirm the current regulations with your state wildlife or agriculture agency before buying, keeping, or shipping this species.