Freshwater Aquarium Plants – What to Consider
What is an aquarium without plants?
Your fish need a place to feel at home and the best way to do that is to decorate your tank with plants that would normally grow where your fish come from.
It is important to remember to use a variety of colors and textures when landscaping your aquarium.
Plants are essential for a healthy aquarium.
They provide oxygen in the water, they absorb the carbon dioxide put off by the fish and they help keep the chemistry of the water in balance.
Aquarium plants also compete for nutrients with algae, thereby keeping its growth to a minimum.
There are some things you’ll need to attend to in order to maintain healthy aquarium plants.
Plants need the right lighting.
Most aquariums are not set up with enough lighting to keep plants happy.
The general recommendation is to provide 2 watts per gallon. Use a color temp or a K bulb to provide enough light.
Next, your freshwater aquarium plants need a good substrate.
This is the soil in which the plants are anchored.
By using a clay or specialty substrate that provides nutrients like phosphorus, nitrogen and sulfur will help your plants succeed.
When planning your planting, you will need background, middle ground and foreground plants.
Background plants are tall and are useful for hiding heaters, hoses, filters and so on.
They usually grow quite fast. Bunch plants often work well in the background.
Bunch plants include anacharis and cabomba, among others.
Other background plants include Amazon sword plant, java fern and corkscrew vallisneria.
Middle ground plants are of medium size and they fill in between the foreground plants and the background plants.
They do a good job of hiding the stems of the background plants.
Madagascar lace, ludwigia and melon sword are good choices for middle ground.
Foreground plants are low growing and small.
Some form a carpet like covering of the substrate.
Many require very bright light. Java moss, micro sword, dwarf baby tears and moss balls work well in this position.
Every aquarium needs a specimen plant or two.
These are usually decorative plants that draw the attention of the viewer.
Contrast plants provide a change in color or texture.
For example, if most of your plants are green, adding a red leaf variety would provide a good contrast and add visual interest.
If you choose varieties that propagate quickly, be prepared to do some pruning occasionally.
An overgrown tank is not attractive.
Plants must be kept in check to look their best and show off your fish.
Some plants propagate by runners, some spread by rhizomes under the surface of the substrate.
Adventitious plants produce baby plants from their branches that then detach and drift away to settle in another spot.
When you set up your plants, let them grow for a few weeks before you add a few starter fish, such as white clouds.
After the white clouds have been in the tank for a month or so, you can add other fish.
The starter fish help start the ecosystem in the tank between the plants and the fish.
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