What are your favorite aquarium plants?

[fishywoo]

Just curious, what are your favorite aquarium plants and why?

I'm finding that my favorites are ones that do well in my aquariums. Easy ones, Java fern and Hornwort. I love the way they look and fill out.

The ones that are more difficult I have a rough relationship with. Lol

 

[kallililly1973]

The ones that stay alive and thrive are my favorite

 

[Fishfur]

The ones that stay alive and thrive are my favorite

Same here. Hard to love a plant that just doesn’t thrive.

 

[_Fried_Bettas_]

There are so many neat plants, but it all depends on what kind of tank I'm putting them in. I love anubias and Java moss in a low-light tank, and Java ferns only slightly less.

In a higher light, CO2 setup, it is easier to say what I don't like. I don't like narrow stem plants because they are so much work to keep looking good. Most other plants have their place.

I have also gotten to hate Amazon Sword plants. I don't keep large tanks, and that is the only place to put them. They are so common that almost everyone keeping planted tanks ends up with one at some point. The problem is that they grow close to 2 feet tall and more than a foot wide, and people put them in 10-gallon tanks.

 

[Thunder_o_b]

I do not run Co2, but even if I did I believe it would still be the Madagascar Lace plant. They are a bit of work with having to remove them during their dormancy stage. But to my eye they are the most beautiful of the aquatic plants.

They actually flower for me

 

[ProudPapa]

Crypts, and I didn't even have to think about it. Most varieties are hardy and undemanding, and they come in numerous sizes, colors, and leaf shapes.

 

[_Fried_Bettas_]

Crypts, and I didn't even have to think about it. Most varieties are hardy and undemanding, and they come in numerous sizes, colors, and leaf shapes.

I must agree quite a bit with this, as I have a tank with all crypts except for one other plant. They are one of the few that can do just fine in a low-light setup but also thrive with more light and CO2. Even when they grow quickly under those conditions, they don't require a lot of work to maintain.

 

[BlueRaccoon]

I've had the most success with anubias. They are slow growers, but they don't require much of anything, and they are tough leaves and you can wipe the leaves off.

 

[JustAdam8]

I recently got a Hygrophila 'Compact and it has become one of my favourites. Seems to be doing really well and provides lots of hiding places! I also really like the look of the Mayaca Sellowiniana

 

[bgarthe]

Although I no longer have it, my favorite(after many years of growing it) is Hygrophylla angustiflora (Hygro Willow) which is easy to grow, propagates well, doesn’t take over, allows for fish to swim through its stems and…..most important for me…..it ebs and flows/moves with the water current really nicely. I’d better sign off and not think abt it too much as it would look superb w my 50+ Cardinal Tets and 17 Kubotai Rasboras in the 75g tank.

 

[ruud]

Rotala rotundifolia
Myriophyllum Guyana
Nesaea pedicellata 'Golden'
Buces and crypts
Micranthemum monte carlo for hardscape
Mosses (e.g. Riccardia chamedryfolia) with CO2

Tomorrow the list looks different....

 

[GlennO]

In lower light (no CO2) tanks I like some Val and water sprite as a background. They are hardy and contrast well with each other. Then just some crypts in the mid/foregound.

 

[Lucifer]

Blyxa japonica & hydrocotyle tripartita are two and even the humble pearl weed

 

[Mudminnow]

I've probably had Cryptocoryne wendtii and Hygrophila difformis in more of my aquascapes than any other plants. Therefore, I think they might be my favorites. They've become my go-to plants, because they look nice and they've thrived in pretty much any tank I've put them in.

 

[chromedome52]

As a breeder, I don't do a lot of planted tanks. Over the years I've had some odd plants here and there, but most of my preferred plants are functional for breeding purposes: Guppy Grass, Java Moss, Riccia, floating water sprite all are very useful in breeding non-cichlids.

However, I did have one plant that was not a floater that I used for a couple of tanks and some photo backgrounds. It was a large windelov Java Fern. People say you can't plant a Java Fern into the substrate, but that's not exactly accurate. You can push the roots into the substrate, but you have to keep the rhizome above the surface. If the plant has long enough roots, this can work out pretty well.

 

[tinylostwine]

I don't have a favorite per sey but echinodorus big bear does extremely well in my black water aquariums and it has a nice mix of colours also fancy twist is doing very well and has a lovely wine colour (these are hybrid and not natural occurring plants); some of the less common crypts i've come to like like various nurii rosen culvture as well as red affinis (sold in usa as pink jacobi) (see attached) and there are a few very uncommon crypts i like like cordata simmens and striolata:

 

[kallililly1973]

Currently and lately jungle Val’s seeing it’s taken over both of the tanks!!

 

[Fishguyforsure]

My favorite plant is anarchis bunch it branches out over the entire tank and the fish love to swim through it. My angelfish loves hiding in the 18” long stems
My tank pics

Bettas running through the vines of a fairy tale waiting for them to come home

 

[kansas]

I had a pretty good crop of vals that faded away when I mixed RO and tap water to cut the TDS in half

 

[kallililly1973]

That’s

such a cool tank

Thanks it’s 2 different tanks a 55 and a 40 B

 

[DaveKS]

I had a pretty good crop of vals that faded away when I mixed RO and tap water to cut the TDS in half

Mulder chart can help clear that up, probably.



First off follow the red arrows pointing away from Ca at top of chart. What this means is high levels of Ca in water interferes with the uptake of the elements on other end. If you increase Ca you should also increase those other elements proportionally.

You can get a rough gauge of Ca/Mg in tank with a simple GH test kit even though it won’t reveal the actual ratio of Ca/Mg in tank.

Rest you have to rough calculate in your head using the data sheet of fert your using. It’s fuzzy math at best.

 

[Redshark1]

Hygro - I just love the green and the ease of maintenance. I just cut it down to the substrate every two months.

 

[DaveKS]

Wow that’s cool

My tank pics

A wild grove of rotala like that is so satisfying as well as a major waste nutrient sink.

 

[BlackOsprey]

Crypts, anubias, subwassertang, tiger lotus, and larger species of floating plants are my go-to staples. Every planted tank I own has at least 2 of these, mostly because I just keep planting new tanks with the trimmings and runners from older tanks.

I also really like pearlweed, but I've had a really hard time finding any for sale lately. I have 3-4 stems barely holding on right now.