Freshwater Plants

Aquarium plants are just like any plant you would keep in your home or in your garden in that they need three things to survive: light, food, and water. Hopefully there is enough water in your tank. If not, you may have bigger problems than just your plants not doing well. Some plants that we sell are not true aquatics and do not like to be completely submersed. We keep those plants in the Betta systems so they can stick up out of the water.

Different plants need different types of fertilizers. Stem plants, floating plants or plants attached to rocks or wood do best with a liquid fertilizer while plants with a heavy root system do best with a tablet fertilizer or a clay-based substrate additive. Pretty much all plants will benefit from CO2 injection, but only a few actually require it for success. Even then, extra mineral fertilizers and lighting are usually need to gain the full benefit of CO2 supplementation.

Check if the lighting on your tank has the correct spectrum or intensity for the types of plants you want to grow. Many plants that like low light levels can also grow under high light, but the reverse is rarely true. Because most bodies of freshwater are murkier, more shaded, and shallower than saltwater habitats, the lighting requirements tend to be lower.