Aquatic Plants

Malayan Aqua Fern

Having plants in your aquarium is not only beautiful and pleasing, but is one of the most beneficial things you can do!

   Quite simply, aquarium plants will make your tank healthier, more stable, and more beautiful. They serve as food for aquatic life. They provide hiding places for fish. Best of all, they add to the decoration and design of the aquarium. The aquarium plant categories below have to do with the general characteristics of each type of plant and how they propogate.

Freshwater Aquarium Plants
Selection, Maintenace, & Care

   Plants help make an aquarium healthy, lively and beautiful to look at.

   Aquarium plants can serve as food for aquatic life, provide hiding places for fish, or just add to the decoration and design of the aquarium.

   Besides being pleasing to look at and enjoy, and providing a comfortable environment for the inhabitants, plants also perform vital functions to the well-being of the aquarium. They do helpful things such as breaking down waste materials, producing oxygen for fish to breathe, and absorbing the carbon dioxide that the fish release.

Having plants in aquariums is one of the most beneficial things you can do to make aquariums healthier, more stable, and simply more beautiful.

   Besides providing a more physically enriched environment, aquatic plants perform important natural functions; they produce oxygen which the fish breathe, absorbe the carbon dioxide that fish produce, and they help in the breakdown of waste materials.

   Plants use several things in a process called photosynthesis to provide themselves with food and energy. These include light (normally sunlight), water, and carbon dioxide. During photosynthesis oxygen is released as a by-product, which is then breathed in by the fish. Photosynthesis only occurs during the daytime however (when sunlight is available), and so proper lighting must be supplied.

   Because they also absorb the carbon dioxide that fish breathe out, plants help keep the concentration of carbon dioxide in the water down. Plants also respire, the process of taking in oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide, but this occurs continuously day and night.

   Lastly, aquarium plants help in general maintenance of the water. They can help keep the water clean by absorbing waste materials emitted by the fish, as well as harbor bacteria on their surfaces that absorb waste material as a food source. Some plants can even keep the waste material on the bottom of the aquarium from decaying by emitting small amounts of oxygen from their roots.

   In all these respects, aquarium plants greatly improve the aquatic environment and enhance the survival of fish.

1.  Microsorium pterpus	The rootstock clings to logs and rocks, thrives in any light conditions.
2.  Acorus graminenius var pusillus	Grows slowly in the aquarium.  Prefers cool water, a good choice as a foreground plant in the aquarium.
3.  Riccia fluritans	Ideal for shading the aquarium and as a fry refuge, some fish will eat it.
4.  Vallisneria natans	Excellent as a background plant.
5.  Najas guadalpensis	Dense clumps ideal for spawning.
6.  Aponogenton crispus	Grows from a rhizome.  Will flower above the surface.  Needs cool rest in winter.
7.  Hygrophila polysperma	Fast growing easily propagated.
8.  Nomaphila stricta	For hard water.  may be eaten by snails.
9.  Salvinia natans	Trailing roots provide excellent shelter for fry.  Spreads quickly on the surface.
10.  Aponogenton madagascariensis	Needs bright light, water changes and rest periods to grow well.

1.  Sagittaria subulata	Popular plant: similar to vallisneria.
2.  Pistia strtiotes	The roots give shelter for young fish.
3.  Hygrophila difformis	Leaves vary in shape depending on the strength of the lighting, roots easily.
4.  Echinodorus bleheri	Very popular as a specimen plant.  Plantlets form on long runners.
5.  Cabomba caroliniana	Widely grown.  An excellent spawning medium.  Needs clean water to keep leaves sediment free, roots easily.
6.  Echinodorus magdalenensis	An ideal foreground plant.  Sends out many runners bearing young plants.
7.  Azolla caroliniana	Floating plant with velvety leaves, often red tinged.  Provides a shady haven for young fishes.
8.  Ceratophyllum demersum	Usually grows in a floating tangle, easily grown from cuttings.
9.  Ludwigia repens	A superb plant for bright aquariums.
10.  Eleocharis acicularis	Needs good light.

1.  Egeria densa	Grows best in hard water.  Absorbs nutrients through its leaves.
2.  Cryptocoryne balansae	Long leaves make it ideal for a deep tank.  Flowers above the surface in shallow water.  Spreads by runners.
3.  Cryptocoryne willisii	Extremely useful foreground plant.  Will grow in shady locations and can be planted under taller plants.
4.  Ceratopteris thalictroides	Can be grown rooted or as a floating subject with long trailing roots.   Thrives in warm bright conditions.  Must be kept in check.
5.  Cryptocoryne wendtii	Adaptable aquarium plant.
6.  Vesicularia dubyana	A clinging moss with tiny leaves on long stems.  Grow in good light, clear of sediment and algae.