Choosing And Planting Aquarium Plants
Aquarium plants not only dress up your aquarium, they also provide some important functions for your fish.Putting live natural plants in your aquarium can provide your fish with a great place to hide, spawn and swim around in, much like they would find in their natural habitat. Aquarium plants can also help to reduce the toxic carbon-dioxide level which can keep your water healthy for your fish.
Popular Aquarium Plants
Your fish store will have a variety of aquarium plants and you can also buy them online and have them shipped to you. When selecting plants for your tank, be sure that the plant is healthy looking with no chewed leaves. Also, be sure to inspect the plant for tiny snails - one time I bought one that must have had a bazillion snail babies too small to be seen and weeks later I had a bunch of snails in my tank!
One favorite plant for aquarium enthusiasts is the Amazon Sword or Echinodorus amazonicus (bleheri). This plant looks like a clump of long narrow leaves and grows from 20 to 50 cm. It sends out runners to reproduce but often does not do well in aquariums as it requires good lighting and fertilization. It likes temps around 30 degrees C. and can be a fast growing plant under good conditions.
Anubias augustifolia is a lovely plant with long narrow leaves. Although some plants taste great and your fish will eat them, you don’t have to worry about that with this plant. It is fairly easy to grow and will reach 10 to 15 cm. It does not need too much light and will grow slowly and steadily. Moneywort or bacopa monnieri is quite easy to grow in most conditions and has a long stem with small leaves spaced out in pairs. You can propagate it by taking cuttings and planting those right in your aquarium. It grows to 25 to 0 cm in the right conditions which include medium to high light, a PH of 6-9 and temps of 15 to 30 degrees c.
If you are having trouble with algae, you might want to try growing some Wisteria (Hygrophila difformis) which is a beautiful plant with large oaky leaves. This plant is fast growing and helps to prevent algae as it absorbs nutrients from the water. This plant is great for beginners and is a fast grower climbing to around 20 to 50 cm. It does require a lot of light but will tolerate PH between 5 and 9 and temps from 22 to 30 degrees c.
Java moss (Vesicularia dubyana) is perfect for aquariums as it is a mossy type of plant that almost resembles coral and attaches itself to driftwood or rocks in the tank. It’s super easy to grow and requires minimal light and a PH of 5 to 9. It will grow slowly reaching a height of 5 cm.
Planting Aquarium Plants
Rooted plants need to be pushed down into the sand or substrate of your aquarium Hold the tips of the root bunch between your thumb and fingers and gently push them into the sand or gravel, with your free finger, push some of the gravel over the exposed part of the roots. You want the whole root ball to be covered but don’t just jam it into the gravel - be gentle.
For rootless plants use the same process but bunch the lower ends of the stems together and set them in the gravel as you did the roots.
Aquarium plants can help give your aquarium a natural look, and with just a little bit of care can survive for a long time in your tank.