by Ben Walker

Created on: October 15, 2009   Last Updated: October 16, 2009

There really is no "best" aquatic plant that you can use in your aquarium. It is all based on what you are looking for and your aquarium set-up and needs. Some aquatic plant species even remove nitrates from the water column! Here is a list of plants that are on top in popularity and ratings in their own categories.

Beginner Plants:

Species from the genus Echinodorus, like Amazon Swords (Echinodorus bleheri) are great plants for beginners to live plants. I always suggest, though, that beginner aquarists start off with fake plants, silk or plastic, and once they are firm in their aquarist skills, they can move on to more challenging fish to keep, and live plants. Always make sure you are ready for the switch to live plants, and new fish, too. Java Ferns (Microsorium pteropus) make great beginner plants for low-light set-ups. Although they grow relatively slowly, they are very hardy and will take on almost whatever a beginner throws at it. Also, great beginner plants come from the genus Cryptocoryne, more specifically, the green and red forms of C. wendtii. Even though there are some problems with Crypts, like melting from Excel and Cryptocoryne Disease, I decided to throw them in this article because of their low light needs and little attention requirements. Of course there are more aquarium plants for the average beginner, but the one listed above are the most common and most likely you will find in your local fish store (please do not buy plants and fish from a chain store like Petco, Petsmart, etc. as these specimens are not given enough care and are likely to be of worse quality.)

Top Beginner Plant: Java Fern (Microsorium pteropus)

Foregrounds, Carpets, and Mosses:

Depending on the size of your tank, necessary size of the foreground plant differs. For example, Sagittaria Subulata (Narrow-Leaf Sag.) might be a foreground plant in a large tank, but may be a middle-range plant in a smaller sized tank. Some of the best foreground plants are the many kinds of Hairgrass. These are fast growers, require only some attention and will soon be a colorful ribbon of green life added to your aquarium J. Carpets are one of the hardest looks to accomplish but are very aesthetically pleasing. One of my favorites is Dwarf Baby Tears (Hemianthus callitrichoides), it covers the substrate with small little clover-like leaves turning the substrate a lush green. Carpet plants do need high lighting or else they will try to grow up to the lighting making it a forest, not a carpet.

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>