Worst Aquarium Plants
From Microcosm Aquarium Explorer
- Caladium bicolor, a plant for pondside, not underwater. Seleo/GNU
- Pineapple Plant: great terrarium species. Florida Aquatic Nursery
- Purple Waffle Plant: keep roots moist, not submerged. Florida Aquatic Nursery
Species to Shun: Plants that will not thrive
By Mary E. Sweeney
There are so many aquatic plants to fill the most beautiful aquariums that I am always mystified when I see people selling and buying plants that are inappropriate for aquarium use.
One possible reason could be that the terrestrial species sold do last for some weeks in the aquarium, and the people who use them are terrified of losing the true aquatic plants that we so admire. It¹s true that when aquarium plants are mishandled some of them can die off very quickly, and after a few bad experiences, it is conceivable that the brown-thumbed aquarist would be tempted by a tough-looking Dracaena or Acorus.
Yes, they will last for some weeks, but in the end, the hobbyist would have fared better with plastic plants, because not only do these plants die off in the tank, but they make little or no contribution to the water quality for the duration and eventually rot in the water, possibly creating a toxic environment
Non-Aquatic Plant Species
This list of Plants to Avoid (or to Buy with Eyes Wide Open) is designed to help the beginning to intermediate aquarist avoid bringing home the wrong fish species.
When planting an aquarium, it is far better to provide the conditions necessary to grow aquarium plants than to try to “fake it” with terrestrials—species that are often offered for sale in or near aquarium plant displays.
- Aluminum Plant (Pilea cadierei)
- Arrowhead (Syngonium podophyllum)
- Bamboo Plant (Bamboo sp.)
- Chameleon Plant (Houttuynia cordata)
- Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema simplex)
- Club Moss (Lycopodium spp.)
- Coconut Plant (Calamus spp.)
- Dwarf Rush (Acorus pusillus)
- Dragon Tongue (Hemigraphis repanda)
- Dwarf Onion Plant (Zephyranthes candida)
- Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia spp.)
- Elephant Ear (Caladium spp.)
- Green Sandy (Dracaena borquensis)
- Hedge (Alternanthera sp.)
- Japanese Rush (Acorus sp.)
- Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon japonica)
- Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum tasson)
- Pineapple Plant (Dracaena compacta)
- Pongol Sword (Chlorophytum bichetii)
- Pothos (Philodendron spp.)
- Prayer Plant (Maranta leucoreura)
- Princess Pine (Lycopodium obscurum)
- Purple Waffle (Hemigraphis exotica)
- Red Dracaena (Cordyline spp.)
- Rush (Pontederia cordata)
- Sandy (Dracaena sanderiana)
- Scarlet Hygro (Alternanthera sessilis)
- Silver Queen (Aglaonema sp.)
- Spider Plant (Chlorophytum bichetii)
- Stardust Ivy (Syngonium spp.)
- Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus)
- Ti Plant (Cordyline terminalis)
- Underwater Palm (Chamaedorea elegans)
Note: This list is by no means exclusive. If it looks like a houseplant, it probably is one.
There are aquatic plant species that will thrive in virtually every type of aquarium. With just a little know-how, even the beginning aquarist can have a beautiful planted aquarium. The fact that some fishes will eat, unplant, or make confetti out of tender aquatic plants should not keep one from enjoying the bright greenery that makes an aquarium come to life. There are toughies in the aquatic plant world along with the delicate flowers, and even the most relentless plant-hating cichlid will not chow down on Java Moss, shred the Java Fern, nor dig up a well-planted Onion Plant. Some of the plants that are guaranteed not to thrive underwater are simply terrestrial species, but some are indeed marsh or bog plants that require high light and humidity but cannot tolerate full submersion permanently. Caladium bulbs could by some stretch of the imagination be associated with the aquarium because of the few small leaves that appear before they melt away (leaving a nice bit of a mess in their wake). Keep these garden beauties for a shady spot at pond’s edge or under a hedge, not your aquarium where they could take a few fish with them as they rot away.