Top 5 easiest aquarium plants.

Aquarium plants have a variety of benefits for the home aquarium, from filtration, food and even helping to breed fish. I am sure you have seen pictures all over the internet of stunning planted aquariums. Well, in reality, the plants that are used in these aquariums are not as hard to keep and make look beautiful as you may think. Aquascaping on the other hand, or the art of arranging aquarium plants in such a way that it looks like a slice has been cut from an amazonian river or African lake is a whole different beast.

If you are just looking to add some nature into your aquarium then there are many plants that the any hobbyist can have great success with. The key to successful aquarium plant growth is water quality and nutrients. If you have a regular maintenance schedule and regularly dose fertilisers into your aquarium, you will have great success with the following aquarium plants.

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1. Amazon Sword (Echinodorus amazonicus)

This is a heavy root feeder that can grow up to 20 inches in the right conditions. unlike some other aquatic plants the amazon sword absorbs its nutrients from the roots in the substrate. Therefore you either need to have a dirt substrate or use root tabs which can be found at your local fish store or online retailers. This plant requires moderate lighting and can tolerate a range of temperature from 72-82° F as well as a range of pH 6.5-7.5. This plant is best placed towards the back of the aquarium as it grows tall and could block your view if placed at the front of the aquarium.

2. Anubias- All varieties

This plant comes in a variety of colours, sizes and leaf shapes. The most common form is Anubias nana. Anubias is great for anyone that does not want to invest in high tech substrate, but still have a natural looking aquarium. I have seen some beautiful aquariums that are just planted with Anubias.

This plant is unique because it does not need to be placed in the substrate as it can gather nutrients from the water column.. This Plant grows from a rhizome which can rot and kill the plant if placed under the substrate. The best way to use Anubias is to attach it to hardscape (rocks or wood) with the temperature between 72-82° F. One of the main attractions of Anubias is that is it slow growing and easy to propagate plant. This plant will not take over your tank and you can get a lot of plants from one by cutting the rhizome in half and then attaching to a different piece of hardscape.

3. Java Fern (Microsorum pteropus)

This plant is very similar to Anubias the way that it gets its nutrients from the water column and grows from a rhizome. This plant also comes in a variety of specimens from narrow leaf to trident strains. Again this is a great option if you do not want to invest in substrate.

Java fern thrives when attached to rock or wood with a temperature from 68-82° F. This plant grows around 8 inches tall and can tolerate low to moderate lighting conditions. This plant can be placed in the mid ground or foreground of an aquarium depending on the height of the hardscape it is attached to.

4. Dward Sag (Sagittaria subulata)

This is arguably one of the hardiest aquarium plants there is. I have seen videos of people growing this plant in plastic buckets, outdoors over winter, and it thriving. This plant has been called bulletproof by hobbyists for many many years. If you are looking for a quick spreading foreground plant that does not need a high tech substrate or high light.

To have success with this plant you will need to supply nutrients through the roots via root tabs or substrate. This plant propagates by sending out "runners" essentially cloning itself but staying linked together. When this plant has been established for a few years it can create an immense carpet and root system. This plant requires moderate lighting with a temperature range of 72-82° F.

5. Star grass (Heteranthera zosterifolia)

Potentially the fastest growing aquarium plant you can find. I have had great success with this plant in the most basic aquariums, with moderate light and basic substrate. You could start with one 10cm stem of star grass and cut it in half once a day for a week and your tank could be over run. This plant needs constant propagation as the leaves towards the bottom can die once the plant gets taller as the lower leaves struggle to get light. I found most success propagation this plant just below the live leaves and the re-planting that stem.

Star grass requires moderate light with a temperature range of 68° to 86°F and a PH range of 5.5 to 9.0.

All of the above plants do not require c02 injection or high tech substrate. These plants can all be grown with either root tabs or liquid fertilisers. I would recommend doing some extra reading into each type of plant to see what type of fish they can be kept with. I would also recommend investing in high quality lighting for your aquarium. High end lights usually have intensity adjusters on so you can manually control how intense the light is.

I would love yo hear from you if you have had any success with the plants we mentioned above, or if you have any other plants that you think should be on this list.

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