Importance of aquarium plants: Aquarium with live plants gives a very natural look to your tank, which you and your aquatic pets will enjoy. Plants are necessary for the health of your fishes and significantly improve the quality of water. Even just a few floating plants can make huge positive impact on your fish. I have outlined few key benefits of live plants in any aquarium:

1. Shelter/hiding place): Plant creates a natural environment for your aquatic pets and provides shelter or hiding place to fishes. Hiding places are very important for babies, weak, newly introduced, pregnant fish. Not having enough hiding place can stress out your fish and thus making it more susceptible to disease. Few fishes are very territorial and hiding place can reduce a lot of conflict between your tank mates. Though you can create a hiding place by artificial decorative plants, live plants are a better option as they aren't hard and don't have sharp edges like plastic plants. Apart from this, plastic plants do not provide any of the benefits described below..

2. Natural Aeration (live plants are excellent oxygen source): During photosynthesis plants absorb carbon dioxide and wastes releasing oxygen to the water. In a fish only aquarium, you need to maintain the high oxygen level in water by an air pump with an air-stone so fish can breathe, whereas in a planted aquarium, the live plants provide all the oxygen your fish will ever need through photosynthesis. For a well planted tank, with few fishes in it, there is no requirement for an air pump. By avoiding air pump, you can save on your electric bill and avoid noise and vibration of the pump.

3. Natural Filtration: In a fish only aquarium the filtration process is completely dependent on the artificial filtration systems which can be classified into three components of filtration:
o Mechanical filter (Power filter, sponge filter) which removes the suspended particles
o Chemical filter (via carbon) which removes chemicals
o Biological filter (growing useful bacteria on the filter media like sponge)

The biggest drawback for the above filter is, you need to clean the filter media on a regular basis lacking which the effectiveness drops significantly. However in a planted aquarium, plants can handle chemical and biological filtration fairly well. They absorb harmful chemicals (produced by fish waste, unconsumed food) and provide a perfect medium for beneficial bacteria to grow on you tank.

4. Excellent food source: In a fish only aquarium, the only food source is what you feed them (except algae eaters, who can live on algae). That means the fish are entirely dependent on you and the food you give them. If you don't make wise choices and vary their diet, they may not be as healthy and can become more susceptible to disease. Also, if you forget to feed them, they have no alternative food sources. In a planted aquarium, the fish have a choice. Plants are an excellent food source for your herbivorous (vegetarian) fishes and most fish will pick at the leaves and dead or dying plant matter if no other food is available. It also helps to vary their diet. Many fish are omnivorous and need to eat plant material.

5. Algae Control: Algae is often a problem in fish only aquarium. In a fish only aquarium, to control them you need algae eaters to eat all the algae or clean/scrape you tank glass periodically. The root cause of algae is, there are nutrients in the water and light for algae to grow. In a planted aquarium, plants can out-compete algae and use up all of the nutrients in the water. For a well planted tank you will never algae issue and will always have clearer water.

6. Breeding ground for insects: Plants provide shelter for insects and worms, which are treats for your carnivorous fish.

Requirements of your Aquarium plants
Just like fishes, aquarium plants have got their requirements. Just like you take extreme care while you select your fish based on water parameter, community and compatibility with other tank mates, you need to do some research while selecting plant species and make sure they meet your water conditions in your fish tank. Lighting is the most important prerequisite for successful plant growth. Most important thing for planted aquarium is to provide adequate aquarium lighting for plants. Read my article on the website for Aquarium lighting. Though not recommended for beginners, don’t be afraid to experiment on trying different lighting. Other critical factors are water PH, temperature and substrate. So it is very important to pick compatible plants. You can find most of the aquatic plants and their environment in the Information center section of our website. Also remember, some of your fish can eat aquatic plants or dig out them from substrates so try to avoid such combination of fish and plants. Though you can use normal sand (only after proper cleaning), the easiest way is to buy specialized plant substrates from your aquatic store.

Potting your plants: Though you can plant most of plants in aquarium substrate, I would recommend potting them for one primary reason, “potted plants are easier to shift or rearrange at a later stage without disturbing their roots”.

Potting your plant is not difficult. Take any kind of pot (plastic or clay, glass or porcelain). You can use your house hold pots or buy them from nurseries. If you are using plastic pots, check if they are toxic for your pets. Do not re-use pots utilized for any medicinal or chemical purpose. Get some pure soil (with no fertilizer or compost) and mix it with little water and bring it to the consistency of modeling dough. This will remove any air trapped inside the soil, which may come out later and create a mess. Now fill the pot near half and make a small planting hole using any stick or finger. Place the plant carefully without damaging its roots and close the hole using your fingers. Then fill the remaining pot with your aquarium substrate (pebbles/decorative stone). Please do not bury the whole plant inside the soil. If the plant is too deep then position it by pulling the plant gently outward such that you can just see the starting point of the root (few plants has crown or onion like root bulb). If everything goes well in 3-4 weeks time you will see the new leaves on your plants.

Tips for maintaining planted aquarium: It’s easy to maintain a planted tank if you remember few basics
--> Carefully select only compatible plants (consider tank water parameter and type of fish)
--> Do not put too much of floating aquarium plants, so plants at the bottom of aquarium can get enough light.
--> Regularly trim your plants, remove any dead, dying or damaged leaves.
--> Plants usually try to recover the damaged leaf instead of sprouting a new one so trimming the damaged one will force the plant to begin a new growth.
--> Regularly add aquarium plant fertilizer according to the instructions on the bottle.
--> Do a 10% water change every week. Adding CO2 will enhance the colour and health of your plants but this is not for beginners

Note:
--> Plants have their limits of filtration, so it’s a good practice to have a back up filter to provide mechanical and biological filtration.
--> Chemical filtration in the form of carbon will remove beneficial compounds and fertilizers needed by plants so it not advised to use in a planted aquarium.

Many fish keepers perceive that keeping live plants in an aquarium will require more maintenance. But the fact is, once you know how to setup and maintain a planted tank, it’s relatively easy to maintain and your pets will love a planted tank. If you find my article useful, please leave your comments and rate this article.

Good Luck
Deepak
I Love My Fish Tank