Do not treat the selection of freshwater aquarium plants as a trivial task. Plants have an enormous beneficial effect to both the aquarium environment and the fish in it, they reduce levels of nitrate, make the aquarium look great, provide hiding places for shy and timid fish, limit the growth of algae and during breeding, provide spawning areas.
Nitrates in the water can cause problems to your fish in high enough levels, the good news is that aquarium plants use up these nitrates. When all is said and done plastic plants can never compete with the beauty of real live plants.
Some are more difficult to look after than others. Amongst the more robust plants for your aquarium are the Java Fern, Hygrophila polysperma and Vallisneria spiralis.
You will need to check out a couple of things before embarking on your live plant adventure.
Water Parameters
Aquarium plants and tropical fish are identical in their requirements when looking at water parameters. Different water conditions are required by different aquarium plants. Make certain that you are aware of the required water conditions for the plants that you want. You need to know things like ph, hardness levels and lighting levels for each plant.
Good Substrate
You will need to have a good substrate in order for your plants to survive. You can place your plants in clay planters or you can plant some straight into the gravel. Plants placed directly into the gravel will not get their required nutrients from the iron fortified clay so you need to add iron supplements to teh water.
Good Lighting
The main reason why plants do not thrive in an aquarium is because of low lighting levels. In general aquariums come with somewhere between 20-30 watts of lighting which is far too small for successfully growing plants. Each plant will require different levels of lighting, this is usually measured in watts per gallon. If your plants are going to thrive photosynthesis must take place and this measurement is most important. CO2 is also required for photosynthesis. CO2 can come from the fish respiration process going on in your tank. However, if your tank is very full of plants your fish alone will be unable to provide enough CO2 for them so you may need to get a CO2 injector.
Fish Compatibility
Certain fish species will make aquarium plant keeping a nightmare. Silver Dollars for instance will love to eat your plants while Goldfish and Oscars will spend their time digging them up. So, before you embark on your live plant journey, if you have any fish check that there won’t be any issues between fish and plants.
Don’t throw money away by buying plants of which you have no knowledge, they will not survive if you do not provide them with their correct needs.
Finally, you should feed your plants with special freshwater plant food. I usually feed mine about once a week.
Some Recommended Plants
All of the following plants look great in an aquarium and most of them do not demand enormous lighting levels.
- Java Ferns. pH 5.5-7.5, temp. 20-28 Celsius, Water hardness 2-15 degrees, tolerates low light levels. These do better tied to floating driftwood rather than planted in the gravel.
- Amazon Sword. pH 6.5-7.5, temp. 22-28 Celsius, Water hardness 2-15 degrees, Lighting 50 watts per 25 Galls water. These should be supplemented with iron fertilizer and planted in loose substrate.
- Argentine Sword. pH 6.5-7.5, temp. 16-25 Celsius, Water hardness 1-5 degrees, Lighting 50 watts per 25 Galls water. These should be supplemented with iron fertilizer and planted in loose substrate.
- Hygrophila Polysperma. pH 6.5-8.0, temp. 20-30 Celsius, Water hardness 2-15 degrees, Lighting 50 watts per 25 Galls water. Small reddish or green leaves atanding at 24 inches, they should be placed in the center back of the tank so they have room to grow.
- Umbrella Plant. ph 5.0-7.0, temp. 22-25 Celsius, Water hardness 4-12 degrees, Lighting Intense. They can be anywhere between 8-12 inches tall. They have tall, thin stems with small leaves at the top of each stem that branch out into a star shape. They will die if completely submerged in the aquarium water because they are not really aquatic plants. You can successfully grow this plant by submerging its roots and growing the plant on the surface.
- Vallisneria Spiralis. pH 6.5-7.5, temp. 15-30 Celsius, Water hardness 5-15 degrees, Lighting 50 watts per 50 Galls water. This looks like grass and grows to 24 inches. Because Vallisneria spiralis is not too fussy with its water parameters, it is a good choice for beginning aquarists. These plants look best along the sides or in the back of your aquarium
- Anubias Barteri. pH 6.5-7.5, temp. 22-28 Celsius, Water hardness 8 degrees, Lighting Moderate. Anubias Barteri are wide plants with wide green leaves that grow as tall as 16 inches. They grow best with CO2 fertilization.
- Other low light options include: Cryptocoryne, Dwarf Hairgrass, Water Sprite, Anacharis, and Cabomba.
For more information on Freshwater Aquarium Plants go to my website www.freshwateraquariumsecretsonline.com
