Animal-World > Freshwater Fish > Aquarium Plants > Aquarium Plant Selection

Selection and Planting of
Freshwater Aquarium Plants

   Several things should be taken into consideration when choosing which plants you want, as well as what type of environment you should provide for them:

Starting a new plant aquarium:
   When first starting up a new aquarium it is best to choose hardy plants that root quickly because the biological system is not yet established and broken in. Plants that are fairly sensitive will have a hard time and may die easily.
   Algae also tends to grow quickly at first before the aquarium is broken in. Hardy plants are better able to cope with this fast algae growth. It is a good idea to purchase algae eaters immediately as well to help keep down the algal growth.
   After the aquarium is effectively broken-in, about 4-6 weeks, the hardy plants can be replaced with the less hardy plants. The more sensitive plants will have a much easier time in an aquarium that is already established.

Selecting your plants:
   When deciding what plants to put in your aquarium, you should take into account a few basic things.
  Plants characteristics: First, research how large different plants can get and their water requirements (i.e. pH, temperature, water hardness, light, etc). Obviously, you don't want to buy large plants for a small aquarium or small plants for a large aquarium. You also want to try to buy plants that have similar water requirements so that they will all thrive equally well in the environment that is provided. Also, keep in mind that you may not want fast-growing plants together with slow-growing plants because faster growing plants can use up the nutrients so quickly that the slower growing plants don't receive adequate nutrients.
   Compatibility: Another consideration is what fish and plants are compatible. Once again, you want to make sure that the water requirements are similar for both the fish and plants so that it is not difficult to meet the needs of all the organisms in the aquarium.
   Visual effects: On the visual side, try choosing different plants that have different colors and structures, such as red and green plants and broad leaf and skinny leaf plants. Also try using foreground, midground, background, and even floating plants. This will help contribute to the visual attractiveness of the aquarium.

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Purchasing your plants:
   When actually purchasing the plants, try to find healthy, young ones. Signs that they are not healthy include brown and yellow leaves, holey or transparent leaves, missing leaves, bent stems, and white or damaged roots.
   Most plants sold in pet stores are in pots or are sold in floating bunches. For transport home, they should be placed in plastic bags with air and moisture, or wrapped in moist newspapers. This will keep them from drying out and getting damaged.

Preparing your plants for the aquarium:
   Once home, thoroughly rinse off the plants. Take them out of any containers, remove rubber bands, and cut off any dead roots, stems, and leaves.
   Often new plants will contain snails. For normal aquariums it is not necessary to remove them, if however you are using a slow-release fertilizer, you will want to remove any Malayan snails. If you plan on having a strictly plant aquarium, you will want to remove all snails.

Planting your aquarium:
   In new aquariums make sure the water is around room temperature before planting. Cold water shocks and stresses most aquarium plants.
   Rosette Plants: If there is a lot of root growth, cut up to half of them off because this stimulates new root growth. Then simply make a hole with your finger in the substrate and place the plant firmly in it. Fill in the hole and make sure that a small part of the root is visible above the substrate.
   Stem Plants:You don't usually want to plant stem plants because their roots grow at their nodes and because they are more sensitive. So simply by clipping them to the ground or tying them to a piece of wood or rock with some thread, and then allowing them to root by themselves is a good alternative.
   Bulbs and Tubers: Bulbs and tubers should have about half of the bulb covered by the substrate.
   Ferns and Mosses: For rhizomes, make sure that the roots are planted as deeply as possible, at an angle, and with no roots above the substrate.
   Floating Plants: Floating plants do not need to be planted at all, they should just be placed on top of the water, without trimming their roots.
   Leave room between newly planted specimens so that they will have room to grow. A good idea is to provide newly placed plants with nutrient tablets. Place the tablets in the soil right next to, or below their roots. This will provide them with an immediate source of nutrients.

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Author: Jasmine Brough.

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