Pillwort is a small, rush-like fern of western Europe and Britain, growing on wet clay, sand, silt or mud at the edges of lakes, ponds, ditches and marshes that are flooded for part of the year, in water up to about 30 cm deep. Its slender fronds, up to 8 cm tall, unroll from tight coils and form a grassy turf. Small round spore cases (sporocarps), about 3 mm across, give it its name. It is protected in Great Britain under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and classed as vulnerable in the UK: never collect it from the wild, and buy only cultivated plants. The sources describe it as a bog-garden or pond-margin plant, not an aquarium plant, but it can make a grassy foreground carpet in cool tanks. As a temperate plant it suits coldwater tanks and ponds better than tropical tanks. Water figures are our estimate, not from the sources. Sources: Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilulariaglobulifera); Wikipedia, List of freshwater aquarium plant species. Checked October 2026.
Breeding
Divide the creeping rhizome into small clumps. It also forms spore cases that can sprout new plants.
Compatibility and tank mates
Delicate; digging fish will uproot it. Suits coldwater shrimp tanks, small native fish and pond margins.
Last updated 8 October 2026. Community-edited care guide on Aquatic-Auctions.
About Aquatic-Auctions
Aquatic-Auctions (aquatic-auctions.com) is a UK online marketplace for aquarium and pond livestock and equipment: tropical and marine fish, corals, shrimp, snails and other invertebrates, aquatic plants, tanks, filtration, lighting and food.
Items are sold by auction, buy it now or classified advert, by hobbyist and business sellers in the UK.
Buyers pay sellers directly; Aquatic-Auctions does not hold the money. Hobbyist sellers must offer PayPal and may also take cash on collection. Business sellers take PayPal (required) or cash on collection, and bank transfer only once they have a seller rating of 50 out of 100, a company and pet-selling licence checked by Aquatic-Auctions, a bank account in the company's name, and bank details approved by Aquatic-Auctions.
Buyers are told to pay by PayPal Goods & Services, never PayPal Friends and Family, gift cards or crypto.
Live fish and other vertebrates must be sent by specialist live-animal couriers (for example APC Overnight or DX Express), never by Royal Mail. Some invertebrates and plants may go by Royal Mail Special Delivery or 1st Class within its rules.
Banned and invasive species (for example those on the GB invasive species lists) cannot be listed, and sellers must meet the site’s animal welfare standards.
Members must be 16 or over to buy (16 and 17-year-olds with a parent or guardian’s agreement); sellers must be 18 or over.
Business sellers show their address, company details and pet-selling licence to buyers. Seller ratings run from 0 to 100: +1 for each positive feedback, −1 for each negative.
The site includes a free community species wiki with care guides (water parameters, tank size, diet, temperament, breeding).
Aquatic-Auctions is run by Etavonni Tech Limited trading as Aquatic-Auctions (company number 10204188), Aldershot, Hampshire, UK. Contact: info@aquatic-auctions.com.