How to Grow Freshwater Aquarium Plants

Real plants do wonders for aquariums, providing fish with oxygen and even food.
They keep the water chemistry more balanced, and provide scenery for you and hiding places
for fish and other tank inhabitants.
They're easy to care for, too.
Aquarium plants are part of our biological filtration.
They do this by helping to remove harmful ammonia.
Many aquatic plants will help remove ammonia but not nitrites.
Some aquarists use this information in natural aquariums.
When planting aquatic plants, we can create new underwater worlds, or try to imitate nature.
Select the plants you want to grow.
It pays to do a bit of reading at this point, so check out aquarium forums and other sources
of information.
Consider the tank size, the scene you wish to produce and the size you want your plant
to be.
Remember, plants grow!
Want something with lots of leaves, or more of a moss?
How about something your fish will be able to eat?
You can find tiny, dwarf aquarium plants that grow only an inch or two tall, or obtain much
larger plants for larger tanks.
Plants can carry physical inhabitants from snails and shrimp to bacteria and diseases.
Always look for a source that seems to practice good tank hygiene.
Most aquarium plants prefer to live entirely submerged, so don't let them dry out.
If your tank is not quite ready or if you want to grow more of your plants than will
fit in a tank, use a bucket or bin of water.
Anchor the plants.
Depending on the plant, this may be mostly an aesthetic matter, to keep them from bobbing
around loose.
For mosses, consider tying them loosely with string to a rock until they become established.
In general, do not bury the rhizomes, which usually are thicker and greener than roots
or stem, in gravel, as burying them can cause the whole plant to quickly die, also try not
to bury the crown just above the roots on other plants that need to be in the substrate
. Provide light.
Aquarium plants, like any others, require light for photosynthesis.
Check the light requirements of the plants you are choosing, many require high amounts
of added light.
Plan to light your tank with a fluorescent or LED tank light.
Add fish.
While not strictly required, fish waste will help to nourish the plants.
The plants, in turn, will keep the water conditions better for the fish by absorbing carbon dioxide
and releasing oxygen during the daytime, at night the plants of course give off CO2.
Some plants are good at removing ammonia or nitrites.
If you don't have fish already, wait a week after adding the plants before you introduce
them to the lush environment you're creating.
Change the water periodically.
Plants do not need water changes the same way that fish do, but it is still a good idea
to change the plant water when changing your fish water.
Do not siphon in your plant bed, as you may kill and injure them.
Run your siphon over the top of the soil in which the plants are planted, and make sure
you don't damage them.
Remove algae.
Algae growing on tank walls or on plant leaves competes with plants for light.
You can remove algae manually by scrubbing or scraping the walls of your tank weekly
when changing the water and rubbing the plant's leaves gently between your fingers.
The far easier method, though, is to let your tank's inhabitants do the job for you.
Shrimp and several catfish eagerly feed on algae and can help to keep your tank far cleaner
with little or no effort on your part.
Divide or prune the plants if they outgrow your tank.
Depending on your tank and your plants, you may find you have too much plant soon.
Choosing slow-growing plants can help keep them small, but it can also mean having less
plant and waiting longer for your plants to fill out.
Find the right balance for your tank.
A natural biotope allows to optimally adjust water quality and maintain it permanently
without much care effort.

How to Grow Freshwater Aquarium Plants

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