Creating a beautiful aquascape with live aquarium plants is a goal for many people who keep aquariums.
Not only do planted aquariums look good but they help to create a far more natural and healthy environment for our fish.
Plants consume nitrates, phosphates and other excess nutrients caused by fish and food waste helping to keep your water chemistry in balance and prevent algae from gaining a foothold.
Not all aquarium plants are easy to grow, as some have special lighting and other requirements but the ones listed below are the best live aquarium plants for beginners as they will thrive in a wide range of conditions.
Table of Contents
Best Live Aquarium Plants For Beginners
Amazon Sword
- Placing: Background
- Difficulty: Easy
- Height: 20-50cm
- Width: 25-40cm
- Lighting: Low – High
- PH: 5.5-8.0
- Fertiliser: Root tabs
A very popular and hardy aquarium plant, the Amazon Sword will thrive in most water and lighting conditions.
It prefers a nutrient-rich substrate so it is recommended that you add a root tab fertiliser close to its roots. The Amazon Sword can get very large so regular pruning will be required.
When first planted in an aquarium the leaves may initially melt back but they will regrow as the plant adjusts to its surroundings.
If doing well the plant will propagate by sending out rooting shoots that take hold and new plants grow. These can be removed or re-planted in a suitable spot if space allows.
Java Fern
- Placing: Mid – Background
- Difficulty: Easy
- Height: 15-30cm
- Width: 20cm+
- Lighting: Low – High
- PH: 5.0-8.0
- Fertiliser: Water column
A very popular choice for beginners, the Java Fern has stunning deep green leaves that are perfect for the middle and background areas of an aquarium.
Whilst they can be grown on the substrate provided the rhizome is not fully submerged, they prefer to be attached to driftwood or rocks.
They can be purchased this way or it’s a simply matter of tying them to the driftwood or rock with cotton thread or fishing line. After a few months, the roots will take hold and the ties can be removed.
A slow-growing plant that draws its nutrients from the water column.
Bacopa Caroliniana
- Placing: Mid – Background
- Difficulty: Easy
- Height: 10-30cm
- Width: 3-4cm
- Lighting: Medium – High
- PH: 5.0-8.0
- Fertiliser: Water column
Easy but slow-growing, the Bacopa Caroliniana is a popular mid to background aquarium stem plant.
Best planted in groups of 6 – 10 stems directly into the substrate, Bacopas benefit from regular water column fertilisation.
As the stems grow they can be easily trimmed from the top and the trimmings replanted elsewhere.
Anubias Nana
- Placing: Foreground
- Difficulty: Easy
- Height: 5-15cm
- Width: 8cm+
- Lighting: Low – High
- PH: 5.0-8.0
- Fertiliser: Water column
A beautiful small aquarium plant ideal for the foreground, the Anubias Nana can be grown on the substrate provided the rhizome is not fully submerged, but it can also be attached to driftwood or rocks.
Very hardy and will tolerate a large range of water and lighting conditions.
Vallisneria Spiralis
- Placing: Background
- Difficulty: Easy
- Height: 50cm
- Width: 5 -15cm
- Lighting: Low – High
- PH: 5.0-8.0
- Fertiliser: Water column
The Vallisneria Spiralis is a very fast-growing and easy to care for aquarium plant. Its twisted green leaves quickly form a jungle-like background to your tank
It propagates by sending out rooting shoots that take hold and new plants grow. Regular pruning is required or it will soon take over the whole aquarium.
Crypt Wendtii
- Placing: Foreground – Mid
- Difficulty: Easy
- Height: 10-15cm
- Width: 10-15cm
- Lighting: Low – High
- PH: 5.0-8.0
- Fertiliser: Root tabs
A great space filler for the foreground or middle of an aquarium, the Cryptocoryne Wendtii is a great plant for beginners.
It prefers a high nutrient substrate so a root tab fertiliser is recommended.
Propagation is by sending out rooting shoots that take hold and new plants grow. These can be removed or replanted as space allows.
Marimo Moss Ball
- Placing: Foreground
- Difficulty: Easy
- Height: 2 – 6cm
- Width: 2 – 6cm
- Lighting: Low – High
- PH: 5.0-8.0
- Fertiliser: Water column
Marimo Moss Balls are perhaps the easiest plants to have in your aquarium. Just toss them in and that’s it.
They look great placed among rocks or driftwood or simply resting on the substrate.
They are actually neither a moss nor a plant but a naturally occurring ball of cladophora algae. You should turn them over on a regular basis so that all sides of the ball get access to light.
For more information on How To Start A Planted Aquarium follow that link.
Find Great Live Aquarium Plants on eBay
Fertiliser For Your Aquarium Plants
Whilst all the plants above will do well in a wide variety of water and lighting conditions, we recommend adding a fertiliser to give them the best chance.
For a water column fertiliser we recommend:-
 | Seachem Flourish | Check pricing on eBay >> *Free UK Delivery |
For a root tab fertiliser we recommend:-
 | Seachem Flourish Tabs | Check pricing on eBay >> *Free UK Delivery |
Live Aquarium Plants For Beginners FAQs
Is it better to have live plants in a fish tank? – Yes, not only do they look better than plastic plants but they improve the water quality and help reduce nuisance algae.
Live plants consume excess nitrates and phosphates thereby out-competing any algae.
How do you introduce live plants to an aquarium? – Planting live plants is relatively easy. If they come with a weighted strip attached, simply push this into your substrate and then smooth over the surface.
If the plants are in pots, you can just place these on top of the sand or gravel but it is better to remove the plant from the pot and then push it directly into the substrate. Add a weighted strip if required.
See our guide on How To Start A Planted Aquarium for more information.
What is the most hardy aquarium plant? – Amazon swords, Java Ferns, and Anubias are among the most hardy and easiest for beginners to grow.