From beautifying and cleaning your tank to giving your fish a place to play, plants are a must for an aquarium. While many hobbyists add artificial plants to their tanks, others wouldn’t dream of it. Live aquarium plants add an element of intrigue to both saltwater tanks and freshwater tanks for numerous reasons.
Live plants are fun to watch as they grow and change by the day, especially if they are colorful or have unique patterns. They also mimic a more natural environment for livestock, an important aspect for any aquarium. One more thing they do is oxygenate the tank more than artificial plants would — as long as you keep the algae levels under control.
SEE MORE ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ARTIFICIAL PLANTS AND LIVE PLANTS.
The best plants are easy to plant, easy to maintain, and grow slowly, as they may be difficult to tame if they spread too quickly.
For these reasons and more, following are some of the most popular types of live aquarium plants for saltwater tanks:
- Spaghetti Algae
- Shaving Brush Plant
- Green Finger Plant
- Blue Ball Algae (Ochtodes)
- Red Mangrove Propagule
- Halimeda
- Dragon’s Tongue Algae
- Red Gracilaria Algae
- Mermaid’s Fan
- Turtle Grass Shoots
Here are some of the plants that are popular for freshwater tanks:
- Java Moss
- Dwarf Baby Tears
- Marsilea Minuta
- Java Fern
- Water Wisteria
- Amazon Sword
- Pogostemon Helferi
- Anubias
- Dwarf Aquarium Lily
- Coontail
Choosing live aquarium plants for freshwater tanks or saltwater environments can be fun, but planting and maintenance does require skill and experience. If you need help adding or maintaining aquarium plants, we’re here for you.
