There is nothing better than having live aquarium plants in your fish tank at home to provide your fresh water fish with an environment as close to their natural habitat as possible. Many an aquarium plant has to take root in the substrate. But you also have live aquarium plants that float in your fish tank.

- Floating aquarium plants provide quite a few benefits.

- Most floating aquarium plants are extremely good at adding oxygen to the water.

- Next, they give cover to fish that swim at the upper level.

- Floating aquarium plants also serve as a hiding place for young ones and offer space for new eggs to attach to plants.

Among the most often used floating live aquarium plants we have:

1. Crystalwort: Scientifically called Riccia fluitans, Crystalwort is a floating aquarium plant that is bright green and grows very thickly. It is very much like Java moss. The leaves give shade to the aquarium fish which dislike too much light and provide cover to the baby fish. If a lot of light is made available, this plant grows pretty quickly.

2. Hornwort: Scientifically named Ceratophyllym Demersum, hornwort is a live aquarium plant well known for its oxygenating capabilities. Its stems are bushy with plentiful leaves that are narrow and grow round the stem in a spiral. Although you can root this plant in the substrate it grows extremely well when left loose to float. It is quite tough and grows as long as two feet.

3. Water Sprite whose scientific name is Ceratopteris, comes in a range of different types. It grows easily in various light settings and can reach a length of twenty inches. It has a strong stem and leaves that are slightly lobed and grows like a mat when floating.

4. Azolla is popularly know as floating fern or fairy moss, Azolla is a small plant that flourishes into a mat of dainty leaves. Most commonly planted in ponds in the backyard, it grows well in your fish tank at home using suitable water and lighting conditions.

5. Anachris is scientifically called Egeria Densa. It’s the most popular due to its easy growth, durability and fast proliferation. Bright green leaves grow in spirals and look beautiful. It also provides a little snack for the fish.

Source for your favorite planted for your tank today. If you need some quick guide, read up on how to setup planted tank here.

David
AquaticMagic ~ Grow Happiness

Unlike most other living beings that survive on oxygen, aquatic plants essentially live on CO2. As they don’t get enough of it in tanks, we have to inject it there. Another essential item for the aquarium plant survival is light because that is the medium thru which they process their food. This process is called Photosynthesis. NO light means no photosynthesis and thus no food for your plants and their eventual death. So we have to maintain a balanced diet by adjusting these two elements.

As in the case of humans, a deficient diet reflects on their health, so is the case with aquatic plants. In both the cases we look for symptoms to know which nutrient is deficient. If you are already handling plants you might have observed that a low growth is generally caused by insufficient light or co2. In such plants it becomes a bit too difficult to realize other deficiencies as the symptoms are not so apparent. On the other hand in high growth planted tanks with lots of light and plenty of co2, aquatic plants grow so fast that there is a depletion of nutrients.

So far we have not been able to develop a scientific system to accurately measure the quantities of nutrients present in a given aquarium plant. So, we go by the Symptomatic Treatment. Before proceeding further, it will help you know that some of the nutrients are mobile while others are immobile. Mobile means that the plant can reclaim nutrients from old leaves and move them towards producing new leaves. Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium magnesium and zinc come in this category. Deficiency of these nutrients appears on old leaves. But immobile nutrients cannot be moved from older leaves. Immobile nutrients comprise of boron, calcium, copper, iron, manganese and sulfur. Deficiency of these nutrients will appear on new leaves.

At times one warning signal may be indicative of deficiencies of more than one nutrient while at other times one insufficiency may disguise the other one. Since leaves are the most visible, you should look for signs of deficiencies around those on the aquatic plant. Next you should observe if the leaves being affected are new or the older ones.

The above observations coupled with a study of the following table may prove to be a good helping hand for you in your analysis of the aquarium plant-related deficiencies.

Any matching symptoms for your aquatic plants? It’s time to get some fertilizers for your plants!

David
AquaticMagic ~ Grow Happiness

As we have discussed earlier on on the beauty of moss in your aquarium tank, we shall shift our focus to larger tank here.

For larger tanks, moss decorations need not be the feature. With their minuscule size and ephemeral nature, these could be used to highlight greens of a large tank to create the impression of a giant forest or a mountain-scene by making use of rocks along with. Remember the trick with larger tanks is its sheer size and not moss. It’s the utter size of the tank and not the moss that awes viewers. Java Moss will solve the purpose for most of such tanks, as it gets conventional to the profile of the background plus the ease with which it can be profiled.

Now if can get some animals with the same cultural background as the moss, the two will go together exceedingly well. Think of slightly silver colored Cyprinids (rasbora, barbs, danios, minnows, sharks) racing around in the upper half portion of your tank. These will be thankful to you if you provided them with moss, for both love swift currents and come from nearly the same environments; yes I am referring to Asia. Without intermingling with the mosses they continue to race around thus imparting that feel of expansiveness to your aquarium.

Should you need something larger for the sake of aesthetics you could try one of the not so often noticeable shrimp, like Amanos or “wild-form” neocaridina denticulata. Amanos are nice because they are big, clear, and even if you have Java only you don’t have to worry about their insatiable nibbling.

General tips:
Explore the possibility of getting Mini Pellia (ricardia sp) that gives you a good option of trying a few combinations with moss. Its smaller size and not so bright green color makes mini pellia a nice combination worth attempting with the bigger taxiphyllum/vesicularia (example: Java/Singapore) species to make dark and vivid combinations.

Position the plants separate in a large enough area. Places where you grow the smaller, not so bright ricardias would appear  “darker,” whereas the places with the larger mosses impart brightness around them.

White sand contrasts really well with moss, and can award the tank a neat look. It would look all the more eye catching with moving water. Moss is quite a flexible medium and encourages you to keep experimenting.

David
AquaticMagic ~ Grow Happiness

Once your tank is assembled and the contents of your aquarium are going strong and healthy, your natural tendency is to make it attractive to catch anybody’s eyes. A proper combination of colors and moving objects would draw viewers’ attention. Of course you have to maintain a balance of all the items and colors lest it gives an uneven and patchy look. Aquatic moss is a very convenient and affordable item for being incorporated in your menu of items that you may choose to enhance the looks of your aquarium.

It is a very natural phenomenon for the eye to catch movements. But a small tank with a heterogeneously large variety of living beings will distract the eyes as they get drawn to contrasts.

On the other hand choosing a species of fish that interacts and goes around the moss will make an eye-catching view. Fish like Apistograma jells well with moss to give that feel of a real tropical forest.

Small sized fish too can be very prompting for the viewer, for it almost compels the viewer to get drawn to it to observe its smaller details like those small spots or thin colored and curved lines along its body. But to get that attention, it has to be colorful.

You can well imagine how effective or shall we say, defective a brown rams horn snail can be! Small size and bright color makes a perfect combo to attract viewers. Crystal Red Shrimp or other shrimp with stripes or an assortment of spots makes an ideal choice. As they relate very well with the moss, their proximity to it gives you an opportunity to show case your moss too, though primarily one gets drawn to them due to colorful stripes.

Let me remind you once again to desist from overcrowding your tank with a diversified variety. This is not only unhealthy for fish but also prompting for the viewer to mark the differences.

Shrimp also associate well with moss as most of the caridina species prefer cooler temperatures, and slight movement of water. Their continuous picking at moss is helpful as it prevents debris from remaining stuck on it, and also helps thwart algae. But be warned that the larger shrimp like Amanos, may tear apart the more delicate foliage of some of the newer varieties of moss species like Christmas Moss or Fissidens.

If you find this article interesting, read on for more…

David

AquaticMagic ~ Grow Happiness

It is not difficult to deduce why most aquariums have aquatic plants. Having aquarium plants in your aquarium not only adds to its aesthetic beauty but also creates an environment closer to the natural habitat of your pet fish. A lot of species of fish feel secure and comfy when there are plants to hide around and there are some that will just not thrive in the absence of plants. Some species of fish live around rocks and feel safe among rocky and cave-like structures. If you find that the fish are damaging your plants by feasting on them or uprooting them, try using rocks and some bits of wood. Or perhaps you could select floating aquarium plants that don’t need to go into the substrate or plant hardy aquarium plants that grow pretty fast and are none the worse after being nibbled at.

Aquatic plants maintain the quality of water in the tank besides beautifying it and providing shelter to your fish. Just as plants and fish exist together in the wild waters and maintain the ecosystem so also they bring the same benefits while living together in an aquarium. The waste matter let out by the fish serves as a manure to the plants. Thus, instead of floating around in the tank and causing harm to your fish, it will be put to good use if you have live aquarium plants in your tank. However, you must make sure that you trim the plants on a regular basis and remove the dead or rotting parts so that the water does not get polluted. The live aquarium plants use carbon dioxide thus maintaining a healthy level in the tank and produce oxygen which is crucial for the fish. The plants are also home to a variety of micro organisms which help maintain the water content. Having live aquarium plants leaves very few nutrients for the growth of algae.

Several species of fish will just not reproduce in an aquarium having no plants. A few species need the plants just to hide around them and feel safe. Others require leaves to fasten their eggs to. If you are bringing up the baby fish in the same tank as the adult fish, the survival rate of the young ones is found to be much higher if the aquarium is dense with plants, creating a great hiding place for them. Plants with plenty of tiny leaves should work well. Fry that has newly hatched can also use little caves, stones or any artificial decoration as a safe hiding place.

For the process of photosynthesis, plants require light. If your aquarium has only fish, you don’t need much light. But if you decide to plant your aquarium densely, you will need to enhance the lighting. Fluorescent lights work better than the normal incandescent ones. However, although they are comparatively a bit more expensive, they do not give out as much heat and save electricity. Some plants require even stronger light, but to begin with let us stick to rugged aquatic plants like Java Moss and Java Fern. These live aquarium plants can endure a varied series of pH values and water hardness.

Instead of planting Java Fern in the substrate, it is better to fasten it to a bit of rock or wood where it will start giving out roots. Java Moss and Java Fern both multiply easily. Soon you will find that little plants have appeared on the old ones. Just break them off and attach them to some support and watch them grow all over again.

Read on more about setting up a simple nano tank to fit into a small corner of your home, or even in the tidy office space.

David
AquaticMagic ~ Grow Happiness

Silk aquarium plants look pretty natural compared to years ago. This kind of landscaping uses a combination of silk ones and live plants. In these aquariums the focus is on beauty and a stagnant underwater garden.

You probably won’t want to buy aggressive fish for pets. They can’t be too large either. Some little pets like to nibble on a plant sometimes. I say let them have their snack. If it was a pet dog, you’d want him to have an occasional doggie treat.

There are hundreds of aquarium plants grown by the wonderful Asian and Africa farmers who are happy to have a market for their product. I think a novice aquarist should start with simple to care for plants. The simple ones are Vallisneria, fern Veratopteris and some like Riccia which floats on the top of the water (or you could plant them with a Riccia mesh). I especially like those as they’re very attractive.

Limit your choices for one tank to ten. Look for these features in healthy plants:

1. White or yellow root system

2. Elasticity.

4. The plant has no slime or obvious decay.

5. There should be no bent stalk due to weakened state.

If ever you are purchasing online, make sure that you pick one with Full Money Back guarantee like us.

If you want a few of the silk plants, be sure to ascertain that they have no colors that will leach a harmful substance into the water. This could be harmful to your little pets and your live plants as well. As one aquarist friend of mine phrases it this way. ”When adding plants to your aquarium, go live to keep your fish alive.”

David

When out shopping for live aquarium plants the wide range available can result in a penchant to pick a bit of everything that catches your fancy. If you have several plants of diverse types all in the same tank, they will be competing for light and food and very soon you will find that the hardiest ones have occupied most of the space causing the others to perish. Hence, control yourself and restrict your choice to about three types. You could select two aquatic plants to create a mass in the back of the tank and one for the middle.

You may use Sagittaria or Vallisneria as one of the aquatic plants to put at the back but make sure you don’t use both in the same tank as they have a tendency to vie with each other. A bushy aquarium plant in the back of the tank would look nice. You could use Hygrophila which grows very easily. However, if you are looking for something that is more decorative you can go in for Ludwigia or Cabomba-Limnophila. If you are going to have a cold water aquarium, these are your best options.

For the center, it is advisable to use a beautiful plant - Echinodorus, Aponogeton or Cryptocoryne if yours is a warm water aquarium. For a cold water aquarium, you may choose from Muphar, Ranunculus and Hottonia.

Aquatic plants should be fleshy and color-intense; don’t pick up those that are drooping and lifeless. The majority of aquarium plants are fragile when they are removed from the water and should be lifted up by using extreme care. Don’t ever lift them out from the center of the stem; the best way to pick them up is by holding them at the base, allowing them to hang down from your hand. Choose aquatic plants which are only half grown and have plenty of leaves.

A lot of aquarium plants that multiply through cuttings will have thin roots like hair coming out of the nodes where the branches grow. Select this kind as they will take root sooner. Plants having crowns should have high-quality roots which should be fleshy and hairy.

From all the aquarium plants that you would find in the stores, the ones mentioned here have been verified to be the most dependable and fascinating. Make sure you select really healthy ones and you will be on your way to having an attractive aquarium with happy fish swimming around.

Read on more if you wish to find out how to setup a planted tank.

David

In fact, moss are less sensivive to pH value as compared to the temperature. Under high temperature, the moss will suffer slow growth rate, and the color will be changed from green, to dark green or even brownish green gradually.

When the moss (including Flame moss) is placed into high pH value (or any water with higher pH value than its previous habitat), it will stop growing for about 1 to 2 weeks. Be patient and wait for it to adapt to the water condition. Once the Flame moss “get used” to the new pH value, it will continue it’s growth.

This is what we have experienced before - please feel free to comment if you have different case in your aquarium tank!

I have gotten this question from one of our readers: How to grow xmas moss in high temperature? I think it is the common interest of many people out there, so let me quickly put down a few points to address the question:

1. First of all, expect a slower growth rate of the moss (many other experts are stressing the importance of low temperature - and I do agree) - but it is not impossible to grow them in your aquarium tank, but just to expect slower growth from the aquatic moss.

2. Fix one to two extra 12V fan (those that you could find in the computer casing / chasis). You could fix the fan(s) to a large plastic clip, which you can easily clip it onto the edge of the aquarium tank.
- Make it blowing at a 45 degree onto the tank surface. It increases the water evaporation rate - and when the water atoms transform from liquid into gas - it brings away energy (in another word - heat). So, the temperature will drop at least 1 degree C.

3. Tie the moss onto driftwood or wire mesh. For some unknown reasons (perhaps the moss absorb nutrient better from those substances trapped in the wood/mesh), the aquatic moss (including xmas moss) grows faster, which could offset the slow growth rate from the higher temperature

4. Keep the xmas moss closer to the surface. I notice it with one of the tanks - that the xmas moss grow exceptionally well when I have lesser water in the tank. You could try it as well.
That’s all. All the best!

David

Aponogetons are aquatic plants that are usually grown from bulbs, even though these aquarium plants do produce seeds during their flowering season. Aponogetons are aquatic plants because these lily-like flora live only in water. While there are no known varieties of aquatic plants which are able live on dry land, the Aponogeton bulbs are not harmed by exposure to air during their dormant cycle. Because of their hardy nature, this live aquarium plant makes an excellent decoration. These aquatic plants provide habitat and shelter for tropical fish. Aponogeton Bulbs are resilient, making these aquatic plants excellent for transporting, as the bulbs will remain dormant until submersed in nutrient rich water. When Aponogetons begin sprouting, their initial sustenance comes from the bulb’s pulpy material. Aponogetons as aquarium plants don’t require a lot of care or even careful attention to the pH balance and temperature of tank water. After sprouting, provide sufficient fertilizer, and ample lighting.

Natural Enemies

While not a favored food of most fish, Aponogetons are do risk being eaten by apple snails. Most other snails ignore this live aquarium plant, a large advantage for aquatic plant growers. The danger to Aponogetons from fish comes from being crushed, knocked over, or torn up. Cichlids, koi, goldfish and larger plecostomus species in the tank could be bad news for this aquatic plant, and some varieties are occasionally nibbled by plecos, but this isn’t a common problem.

Flowering

Aponogetons are a flowering aquatic plant, many consider them to be one of the loveliest aquatic plants of all live aquarium plant decorations. Most species sprout a single flower stalk, but other varieties will fork into 2 to 5 stalks. Aponogeton flowers can be a wide range of colors, depending on the particular species, with many tiny flowers blooming from the stalk, or spike. Colors for this type of live aquarium plant range from pale blue to pink, yellow, or white.

Life Cycle

After blooming, these aquatic plants produce seeds which sink to the bottom of the aquarium and quickly form sprouts. Aponogetons anchor themselves to the substrate. Aponogetons bloom after their summer season of approximately 4 to 6 months. After this stage, Aponogetons enter a dormant stage; aquarium; on live aquarium plants such as Aponogetons, the leaves will fall off, and no additional growth will occur for approximately 3-4 months. During this stage, this variety of live aquarium plant may be transported to other aquariums.

David