Fishes / Getting Started
Live plants do more for a tank's stability than most beginners expect, absorbing nitrate and other nutrients, producing oxygen, and giving fish natural cover that reduces stress. The species below tol
Live plants do more for a tank's stability than most beginners expect, absorbing nitrate and other nutrients, producing oxygen, and giving fish natural cover that reduces stress. The species below tolerate a genuine beginner's learning curve without demanding CO2 injection or intense lighting.
Attaches to driftwood or rock rather than needing to be planted in substrate, and tolerates a wide range of lighting and water conditions. Slow growing but genuinely difficult to kill, making it a sensible first plant.
Similar in care to java fern, attaching to hardscape rather than substrate, with thick, sturdy leaves that most fish leave alone. Its slow growth means less maintenance, though it also means patience is required to see a mature look develop.
Extremely hardy and useful for softening hardscape or providing cover for fry and shrimp. It tolerates low light and minimal nutrient dosing, and can simply be tied to wood or rock with thread until it attaches on its own.
A genuine substrate-rooted plant that still tolerates moderate light and basic fertilisation, giving a beginner a taste of true planted-tank keeping without the demands of more delicate species. It benefits from a nutrient-rich substrate layer or root tabs.
Tall, grass-like, and fast growing once established, useful for absorbing excess nutrients quickly in a newer tank. It spreads via runners and can become a genuinely lush background planting with very little intervention.
Water lettuce and duckweed both grow quickly with minimal care and help control algae by outcompeting it for nutrients, though duckweed in particular spreads aggressively and is worth introducing in a controlled amount rather than a generous handful, since removing excess later is considerably more work than adding more.
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