Utricularia bifida (Utricularia bifida) care guide

Group
Plants
Family
Lentibulariaceae (bladderwort family)
Origin
Tropical and subtropical Asia and Oceania, from India and China to Japan, New Guinea and Australia
Water
freshwater
Temperature
18–30°C
Care level
expert
Lighting
Bright light (grown out of water on wet soil)

Care

Warning: Utricularia bifida is a land (or at most bog) plant, not a true aquatic plant. Kept fully underwater it slowly weakens and dies, often over several months, so it is best grown emersed in a paludarium or with only its roots in water. Utricularia bifida is a small annual carnivorous bladderwort that grows on damp soils and in rice fields across Asia and Oceania. It catches tiny soil organisms in minute bladder traps on its underground stems. Unlike Utricularia graminifolia, our sources do not record it being grown underwater. Grow it on wet, nutrient-poor peat or sand in bright light, as for other terrestrial bladderworts, in a bog tray or the wet edge of a paludarium. Water figures are our estimate, not from the sources. Sources: Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utriculariabifida); Wikipedia, List of freshwater aquarium plant species. Checked October 2026.

Breeding

An annual, so it is kept going from seed, which it sets readily; sow on wet peat.

Compatibility and tank mates

Do not sell or buy this as a true aquarium plant. It belongs in a paludarium, terrarium or on a windowsill with its roots in water, out of reach of fish.

Last updated 8 October 2026. Community-edited care guide on Aquatic-Auctions.

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