How To Choose Suitable Plants for Your Aquascape

Like a beautifully landscaped garden, an aquarium with a pleasant aquascape adds an aura of calm and lushness to your living environment. It also makes an interesting piece of living art.

When planning an aquascape, the first thing to do is to sketch it out on paper. Naturally, plants are the most basic decorative element for building an aquascape. Do not select plants based solely on your preferences—take into consideration of their shapes, sizes and colors, and how compatible they are when placed together in a group.

Selecting The Best Aqua Plants for Your Aquarium

Design and Decoration: Generally, small and narrow leaves work better in an aquarscape. However, by using plants of contrasting colors, sizes, and textures you can make your aquascape more interesting and aesthetically appealing. Those with larger leaves go well with fine-leafed ones, smooth-leafed plants go well next to those with crinkled leaves, and so on.

To create a more interesting background, place tall plants of contrasting shades next to each other, instead of using plants in one predominant color throughout. This helps to make each species stand out.

In the mid-ground, use slow growing plants that offer different shades and textures. Alternatively, create a focal point in this section by arranging a plant group with driftwood or rocks.

You can leave the substrate foreground bare, cover it with plants of one color, or use a combination of two plant species of different colors. You can read more on decorating aquarium tips here.

Comparability: You also have to consider how compatible the plants are with the fish population in your aquarium. How do the fish move about in the aquarium? For example, are they top-level, mid-level or bottom-level swimmers? Some fish like to rest on bare substrate while schooling fish need some open areas to swim together.

You shouldn’t have the surface of the water covered with a mass of floating or trailing plants if you keep top-level swimmers. If you have fish that are shy in nature, you definitely want to create a few planted areas where they can hide or feel protected.

How Light and Water Conditions Affect Aquatic Plants

Certain species of plants prefer low light levels while others thrive better with higher light levels. To prevent algae from growing on the leaves of slow growing plants, place them in a shaded part of the aquarium, either in the corners that do not get as much light or under the taller plants.

Like fish, different plant species also react favorably or unfavorably when kept in water with varying pH levels and temperatures, so do find out more about them beforehand.

The Price of Maintaining Aquatic Plants at Their Best

How much time can you afford to spend on maintaining your plants? If very little, then you might want to go with low maintenance plants, such as the slow growers (stem plants are fast growers), which will be more manageable.

The best time to trim your plants is during water changes as it will be easier to do so when the tank is partially filled with water.

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