Aquarium plants are a tricky business of a novice. You have to be patient with them. There are a lot of different types of plants out there. Choosing your plants also has similar considerations as choosing your fish. In this post I will try to give you an overview of the things you should consider before buying plants at your local fish store.
Types of aquarium plants
Stem plants: these plants can grow from any piece of their stems which has a node. They have a good ability to absorb nutrients from the water column. This makes them very hardy and can survive until they can grow roots. Roots are still more efficient at absorbing nutrients hence they will grow faster and denser if they are rooted in nutrient- rich substrate.
Rosette plants: These plants have leaves radiating from the central crown of the plant. They are root plants that is get their nutrition through the roots. They will thrive in nutrient rich substrate. Plants of this type will come under other types discussed below.
Examples: cryptocorynes, apongetons, amazon swords, jungle val,
Rhizomatous plants: Rhizomes are modified stems which grow horizontally and leaves and roots grow from them.
So long as the rhizome is alive and green it will grow into a plant.As new leaves and plants grow the rhizome also grows. You can cut the rhizome in appropriate places to propagate the plant.
Examples, Java fern, Cryptocorynes, anubias,
Carpet plants: Mosses are the smallest plants you would want because plant smaller than mosses will be algae. They grow prolifically in rich nutrient environments. But they are also very hardy and not very finicky about their water parameters.
Stem plants like baby tears, pearl grass, glossostigma, will grow horizontally in high light and high nutrients. Rosette plants like hair grass, dwarf sagittaria will send out runners and cover the substrate to form a carpet.
Carpet plants are generally high maintenance plants. of the above mentioned I have found dwarf sagitaria to be the most forgiving plant. It has thrived under almost all the conditions I subjected it to. Others may survive but may not thrive without a high tech setup.
Floating plants: Many stem plants can be just floated and will do well but floated plants are those which grow on the surface of the water their leaves are open to air while their leaves are under water. Water lettuce, duckweed, frogbit, water hyacinth, water sprite.
Bulb plants: These are bulb plants. The bulbs so long as they are alive i.e. firm They are flowering plants so they can generate seeds. They also grow vegitatively that is a branch like stem will grow from the bulb and a new plant will grow from its tip. Water lilies when grown in ponds will flower. Tiger Lilly, nuphar japonica, red Lilly are some of the examples.
Stem plants: these plants can grow from any piece of their stems which has a node. They have a good ability to absorb nutrients from the water column. This makes them very hardy and can survive until they can grow roots. Roots are still more efficient at absorbing nutrients hence they will grow faster and denser if they are rooted in nutrient- rich substrate.
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| Ludwigia Repens: A stem plant can grow new branches and roots at every node apart from leaves. thus each node is a potential plant. |
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| Cryptocorynes are a a family of plants which will come under the rosette category they also fall under the rhizomatous category. |
Examples: cryptocorynes, apongetons, amazon swords, jungle val,
Rhizomatous plants: Rhizomes are modified stems which grow horizontally and leaves and roots grow from them.
So long as the rhizome is alive and green it will grow into a plant.As new leaves and plants grow the rhizome also grows. You can cut the rhizome in appropriate places to propagate the plant.
Examples, Java fern, Cryptocorynes, anubias,
Carpet plants: Mosses are the smallest plants you would want because plant smaller than mosses will be algae. They grow prolifically in rich nutrient environments. But they are also very hardy and not very finicky about their water parameters.
Stem plants like baby tears, pearl grass, glossostigma, will grow horizontally in high light and high nutrients. Rosette plants like hair grass, dwarf sagittaria will send out runners and cover the substrate to form a carpet.
Carpet plants are generally high maintenance plants. of the above mentioned I have found dwarf sagitaria to be the most forgiving plant. It has thrived under almost all the conditions I subjected it to. Others may survive but may not thrive without a high tech setup.
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| Dwarf Sagittaria carpet. |
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| Floating plants will not add much to your aquascape but are very useful to control algae issues. |
There are a lot of different types of plants out there which have different requirements. Some need good substrate like root plants some need liquid fertilizers like stem and rhizomatous plants like java ferns and anubias. Many red plants need high light to maintain red color else they turn green. Similarly carpet plants need high light to grow along the substrate in low light they will grow vertically and get long and leggy.
Plants take time to truly establish some may even melt before starting new growth. Many plants will take time to grow flowers or runners to propagate. My apongetons took years to send out flowers and runners until then I was unaware how the propogated. The point being it is a hobby of patience. I advise my friends in the hobby to not indulge in aquacaping until they know the plants they want to use. It is heart breaking to design a beautiful aquascape and see it crash.
Finally you need to lookout for plants may be moonlighting as aquarium plants when they maybe only partially or temporarily aquatic. Such plants will almost always melt away in your aquarium. I have seen pothos plant or as some may know it money plant being sold as aquarium plant. Many aquarium plants can be grown above water such plants will also melt if they are not transitioned properly to underwater conditions.
Setting up a planted tank or an aquascape is same as starting a garden you should first know your plants and how to grow them!
