Aquarium plants - species
Aquarium plants – a selection of species for your aquarium
Aquarium plants are not only beautiful but guarantee a functioning aquarium. The more plants you keep successfully in your aquarium the better will it look and perform. If possible, don’t skimp on aquatic plants – you won’t regret it. If you keep fish species which like to nibble at plants, look for hardy species which your fish don’t like as much. Although an aquarium completely without plants might be possible it is significantly more difficult to maintain.
In our aquarium themed pages we show you four totally different types of aquarium with the best plants for them. See which style appeals to you:
Aquarium plants have the following features that are beneficial for your aquarium:
- They remove nutrients (nitrates & phosphates) from the water that would otherwise promote algae growth
- They reduce the number of harmful germs by producing "antibiotics"
- They work against many parasites that react to shade and thus "infest" plants instead of fish
- They produce oxygen during the day, but this can also be brought into the aquarium via a moving water surface (filter outflow, bubble stone)
- They can actively absorb toxins from the water (like medicinal herbs)
- They form a microfauna through microorganisms on the leaves that young fish graze on
- They supplement the food spectrum of many fish, even if they are not pure herbivores
Important information
Some plant species on offer are actually not unterwater plants! Many species live magnificently under water, whereas other plants are purely marsh plants, which will die sooner or later when kept completely under water. Most aquatic rosette plants are cultivated emersed (above water) and then kept in display tanks under water. That’s why they shed their above water leaves after some time to build new, sometimes also a bit different looking underwater leaves.
How do I get my plants to grow beautifully in the aquarium?
If your plants are not growing perfectly in the aquarium, this video will help you. We explain clearly and understandably what is needed for perfect plant growth in the aquarium. Heiko Blessin also explains Liebig's law of the minimum, which often makes plant growth problems easy to understand and thus easier to solve.
Selection of species
The following plants are suitable for aquariums. We divide them into foreground, midground and background plants, as well as floating plants and epiphytes.