Fresh Water Aquarium Plant Care
Keeping tropical fish in an aquarium with live plants is one of the best things you can do for your fish. Live plants provide safe places for fish to hide, they replicate their natural habitat but, best of all, they help remove toxins from the water.
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Benefits
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Growing live plants in an aquarium has numerous benefits. Plants add oxygen to the water and help remove ammonia and nitrate from the water. They also provide natural shelter for the fish. Other synthetic decorations can have rough edges that would hurt fish with delicate fins but live plants are more gentle. They help breeding fish by providing secluded areas for fish to lay their eggs. Young fry are able to hide in heavily planted aquariums until they are big enough to survive on their own. Healthy, thriving plants also pull nutrients out of the water that algae would otherwise use. Therefore, planted aquariums can have less algae.
Success with Live Plants
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Live plants require a few things to live.
They need food. The fish provide some of the food through their own waste but supplementing with a liquid aquarium fertilizer is usually necessary.
They need light. This is full spectrum lighting. Plants (and fish) do the best when the lights are set on timers. This can also help you control plant and algae growth by adding or reducing the length of time the lights are on.
Some plants float in the water or attach themselves to driftwood and rocks. Others need their roots in the substrate. These plants need a good substrate and may need aquarium fertilizer sticks (or tabs) near their roots.
Some fish eat some types of live plants so you will need to make sure your plants and fish are compatible.
If you buy plants that grow rapidly you may need to supplement the tank with CO2 which will require a CO2 injection system.
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Plant Types
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There are many types of aquarium plants on the market today. Some are fast growing, requiring a lot of nutrients and light. Others are slow growing, needing less work and light. These are generally best for beginners. There are a range of plants in the middle.
Plants can also be categorized by how they grow. Floating vs. rooted. Or grass vs stem plants.
Moss is also a popular aquarium plant. It grows on objects and thickly covers them.
Easy to Grow Aquarium Plants
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If you are looking for aquarium plants that are easy to grow, especially in low lighting and with little maintenance, check out these varieties:
Amazon Sword
Java Moss
Java Fern
Vallisneria spiralis
Water Sprite
Pennywort
Troubleshooting
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If you are having trouble keeping aquarium plants, you need to juggle some of the parameters. Some of the variables can be more or less fertilizer, more or less light, and type of fish in the tank. Some fish do eat plants, especially algae and other vegetarian matter. However, if you see your leaves 'melting' (leaves turn to mush and fall off) it could just be part of the natural growth process. This can happen when new plants are transplanted to an aquarium. It can also be caused by heavy plant growth at the top of the tank. Not as much light reaches the bottom so those leaves may melt off.
Pruning Your Plants
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Your plants will need to be pruned at some point. Fast-growing ones could require pruning every week. You can pinch off leaves or pull them out, trim them, and replant them. This will depend on how dense you want the plant life to be. Try to prune your plants without disturbing the fish and other plants.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit swamp fish image by sasha from Fotolia.com
