If you are new to the aquarium hobby, but looking to make your tank look nicer and make your aquarium flourish, you should check out this list of three of the best aquarium plants for beginners. Well, these are what have worked best for me anyway.
Let’s take a look.
The Best Aquarium Plants for Beginners Require Little Care
By the “best aquarium plants for beginners,” I mean plants that require little care and can flourish in your freshwater fish tank.
If you have scrolled through social media looking at planted tanks, you’ve most likely seen some beautiful yet complex planted fish tanks – tanks that required a lot of time for design, and set up, and require time for care.
I consider those elaborate types of tanks to be art. I mean, just look at them.
In this blog though, I want to talk about some easy to care for plants. These are plants that any beginning aquarist can benefit from and most likely have success with.
The Benefit of Aquarium Plants
So what are the benefits of aquarium plants?
Well, they look good of course. I mean, everybody likes pretty plants. Additionally, plants add hiding places for many types of fish and even dwarf crayfish.
But, they don’t just make your tank look better, aquarium plants also help keep your tank cleaner and healthier for your fish.
They do this by absorbing toxins like ammonia and providing oxygen to your tank. Ammonia is toxic to fish in an aquarium.
A List of Aquarium Plants for Beginners
1. Hornwort
Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demursum) is a plant that is indigenous to New Zealand. Hornwort is a fast-growing plant and needs little care.
However, you will find that as it grows, you will need to trim the long strands of this plant.
One cool thing about hornwort is that as it grows, you can trim the stems, bundle them up, and place them back in the aquarium or in another aquarium.
Hornwort is a great plant that beginning aquarists can use to give their fish cover.
2. Anubias
Anubias (Anubia Nana) is another great aquarium plant for beginners. These are sturdy plants and require little care.
Anubias produce hardy bright green leaves that not only look nice but also provide great hiding spots for fish.
Like many plants, anubias do well with a little light throughout the day.
3. Java Fern
Java ferns are found in Southeast Asian countries.
Java ferns are simple to set up. They are usually sold in small plots and can simply be laid on top of the substrate in a fish tank. Talk about plants that require little effort.
Java ferns do well with a little light, are hardy, and also provide aquariums with the health benefit of detoxification and oxygen production.
Anacharis
Anacharis is a beautiful plant for aquariums. It’s indigenous to parts of South America and can be found in countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, among others.
Anacharis is often sold in pet stores to new aquarists.
Although this is a great-looking plant, and can really make your aquarium pop, it’s not one of the best aquarium plants for beginners.
Its stalks can become brittle and easily break. Usually, when this happens, you’ll find traces of this plant all throughout your aquarium and in your filter.
Anacharis is not something that I’d recommend to beginning aquarists.
Buying Aquarium Plants
When purchasing plants for your aquarium, make sure that you buy from a reputable seller.
Also, when buying any aquarium plants, you have to be careful. It’s not uncommon for pest snails like Malaysian trumpet snails, ramshorn snails, and others to either catch a ride to your aquarium or lay their eggs in aquarium plants that are sold in pet stores.
Although snails can be beneficial in minimal capacities, an overpopulation of pest snails can be a real pain.
However, there are steps you can take to both lower your chances of inadvertently placing snails in your fish tank, controlling snail populations, and getting rid of pest snails all together.
For prevention and controlling pest snail populations, you can use fish like the yoyo loach and assassin snails. These guys can be a great pest control crew for any fish tank.
Lighting and Aquarium Plants
Hornwort, anubias, and Java ferns all do well with moderate lighting, like most plants. It’s suggested that you give your plants 8 to 12 hours of light per day.
You’ll want to use an LED light if possible. They work best for plants.
If you purchase a more advanced LED light like a Hygger aquarium light, you can have more control over your light settings.
These types of lights allow you to select light colors and set timers.
Aquarium Plants for Beginners: A Recap
Aquarium plants can provide lots of benefits to an aquarium and its inhabitants. But some plants can require a bit of work and aren’t ideal for beginning aquarists.
However, some of the best aquarium plants for beginners are ones that require little to no care.
Plants like hornwort, anubias, and Java ferns are easy to care of. And, they also do a great job of absorbing toxins like ammonia and providing your fish tank with oxygen.
When shopping for aquarium plants, it’s important to shop with a reputable source; and it’s also important to be on the lookout for pest snails.
Pest snails can make their way into your tank through new plants. Although pest snails can quickly become an unsightly nuisance, they can also be managed with fish like the yoyo loach and the assassin snail.