Easy aquarium plants
Easy aquarium plants for beginners: every plant here is rated easy by its source, so it should keep growing without special care. For a first tank with the light it came with and no CO₂ system, the safest picks are the ones that also take low light and need no added CO₂, such as java fern, anubias nana, java moss and Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green'. A plant is listed as easy only when its source gives easy without a range; a plant rated easy to moderate is listed as medium.
- Plants
- 52
- Height
- 0–20 in (1–51 cm)
- Water temperature
- 50–86 °F (10–30 °C)
- Type
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15 Rosette plant
14 Rhizome plant
12 Stem plant
8 Moss
1 Bulb plant
1 Liverwort
1 Thallus (leafless mat)
All 52 easy aquarium plants
How to choose
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Start from your tank, not the plant. With a basic kit light and no CO₂, filter this page by low light and CO₂ not needed; what remains fits that setup on its sources' own ratings.
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Easy is not the same as low light. Some easy plants still expect medium or high light, and the light field on each card says which.
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Decide where the plant goes. Java fern, anubias and bucephalandra are tied to rock or wood, which suits sand or gravel; crypts and dwarf sagittaria are planted in the substrate and do better with root tabs in plain gravel.
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Pick the growth rate you want. Slow plants such as anubias suit a tank you want to leave alone; fast stems such as water wisteria fill a new tank quickly but need trimming.
Compare side by side
| Leaf color | Placement | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| African water fern | Rhizome plant | 4–8 in (10–20 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Midground, Background, On rock or wood | |
| Amazon frogbit | Rosette plant | – | Medium–high | Easy | Floating | |
| Anubias barteri | Rhizome plant | 4–6 in (10–15 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Midground, Background, On rock or wood | |
| Anubias coffeefolia | Rhizome plant | 4–6 in (10–15 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Foreground, Midground, On rock or wood | |
| Anubias congensis | Rhizome plant | 6–8 in (15–20 cm) | Low | Easy | Midground, Background, On rock or wood | |
| Anubias hastifolia | Rhizome plant | 6–16 in (15–41 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Midground, Background, On rock or wood | |
| Anubias nana | Rhizome plant | 3–5 in (8–13 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Foreground, Midground, On rock or wood | |
| Azolla | Stem plant | 0–1 in (1–2 cm) | Medium–high | Easy | Floating | |
| Bacopa caroliniana | Stem plant | 4–12 in (10–30 cm) | Medium–high | Easy | Midground, Background | |
| Bacopa monnieri | Stem plant | 4–12 in (10–30 cm) | Medium–high | Easy | Midground, Background | |
| Banana plant | Bulb plant | 4–6 in (10–15 cm) | Medium | Easy | Foreground, Midground, Floating | |
| Bolbitis heteroclita | Rhizome plant | 2–4 in (5–10 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Foreground, Midground, On rock or wood | |
| Bucephalandra 'Black Pearl' | Rhizome plant | 2–3 in (4–8 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Foreground, Midground, On rock or wood | |
| Christmas moss | Moss | 1–3 in (3–8 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | On rock or wood | |
| Cryptocoryne lucens | Rosette plant | 3–5 in (8–13 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Foreground, Midground | |
| Cryptocoryne parva | Rosette plant | 2–4 in (5–10 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Foreground, Midground, Carpet | |
| Cryptocoryne spiralis 'Red' | Rosette plant | 5–10 in (13–25 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Midground, Background | |
| Cryptocoryne undulata | Rosette plant | 4–8 in (10–20 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Midground | |
| Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Brown' | Rosette plant | 4–8 in (10–20 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Foreground, Midground | |
| Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green' | Rosette plant | 4–8 in (10–20 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Foreground, Midground | |
| Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Pink Flamingo' | Rosette plant | 2–6 in (5–15 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Foreground, Midground | |
| Dwarf hairgrass (Eleocharis parvula) | Rosette plant | 1–2 in (3–5 cm) | Low–high | Easy | Foreground, Carpet | |
| Dwarf sagittaria | Rosette plant | 4–12 in (10–30 cm) | Medium | Easy | Foreground, Midground, Carpet | |
| Egeria densa | Stem plant | 4–12 in (10–30 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Midground, Background, Floating | |
| Fissidens fontanus | Moss | – | Medium | Easy | Foreground, On rock or wood | |
| Flame moss | Moss | – | Low–medium | Easy | Foreground, Carpet, On rock or wood | |
| Hornwort | Stem plant | 6–15 in (15–38 cm) | Medium–high | Easy | Background, Floating | |
| Hygrophila corymbosa 'Siamensis' | Stem plant | 6–12 in (15–30 cm) | Medium–high | Easy | Midground, Background | |
| Java fern | Rhizome plant | 5–20 in (13–50 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Midground, Background, On rock or wood | |
| Java fern 'Narrow' | Rhizome plant | 3–5 in (8–13 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Midground, Background, On rock or wood | |
| Java fern 'Trident' | Rhizome plant | 2–8 in (5–20 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Midground, On rock or wood | |
| Java fern 'Windelov' | Rhizome plant | 3–5 in (8–13 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Midground, On rock or wood | |
| Java moss | Moss | – | Low–medium | Easy | Foreground, On rock or wood | |
| Juncus repens | Stem plant | 4–12 in (10–30 cm) | Low–high | Easy | Foreground, Midground | |
| Jungle val | Rosette plant | – | Medium–high | Easy | Background | |
| Lobelia cardinalis | Stem plant | 4–12 in (10–30 cm) | Medium–high | Easy | Foreground, Midground | |
| Ludwigia arcuata | Stem plant | 10–20 in (25–51 cm) | Medium–high | Easy | Midground, Background | |
| Ludwigia palustris 'Super Red' | Stem plant | 7–19 in (18–48 cm) | Medium–high | Easy | Midground, Background | |
| Marsilea hirsuta | Rhizome plant | 1–2 in (3–5 cm) | Medium–high | Easy | Foreground, Carpet | |
| Peacock moss | Moss | – | Low–medium | Easy | Foreground, Carpet, On rock or wood | |
| Pearl weed | Stem plant | 2–6 in (5–15 cm) | Medium–high | Easy | Foreground, Midground, Background | |
| Red root floater | Rosette plant | 1–4 in (3–10 cm) | Low–high | Easy | Floating | |
| Riccardia chamedryfolia | Liverwort | – | Medium | Easy | Foreground, Carpet, On rock or wood | |
| Salvinia natans | Rhizome plant | 2–3 in (5–8 cm) | Low–high | Easy | Floating | |
| Spiky moss | Moss | – | Low–medium | Easy | Foreground, Background, Carpet, On rock or wood | |
| Subwassertang | Thallus (leafless mat) | – | Low–medium | Easy | Foreground, On rock or wood, Floating | |
| Vallisneria spiralis | Rosette plant | – | Medium | Easy | Background | |
| Water lettuce | Rosette plant | 3–6 in (8–15 cm) | Low–high | Easy | Floating | |
| Water sprite | Rosette plant | 6–15 in (15–38 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Background, Floating | |
| Water wisteria | Stem plant | 8–20 in (20–51 cm) | Low–medium | Easy | Midground, Background | |
| Weeping moss | Moss | – | Low–medium | Easy | Foreground, Carpet, On rock or wood | |
| Willow moss | Moss | – | Low–medium | Easy | Foreground, Carpet, On rock or wood |
Values marked like this (estimated) are estimates.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best aquarium plants for beginners?
Plants rated easy that also grow in low light without added CO₂: java fern, anubias nana, java moss and Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green' are all in that group in this catalog, with the sources for each rating on the plant page.
Are easy plants good for beginners?
Easy means the source expects the plant to grow without special care. For a first tank, combine this filter with low light and CO₂ not needed to match a simple setup.
Do easy aquarium plants need fertilizer?
Plants that feed from the water, such as java fern and anubias, use a liquid fertilizer; root feeders such as crypts benefit from root tabs in sand or gravel. The fertilizer guide lists which plants feed which way.
Why does a plant page say the sources differ on difficulty?
When two sources rate the same plant differently, the plant page shows both ends of the range. This page lists the plant by its main source's rating, so check the plant page before buying.
Why is my new easy plant melting?
Plants grown out of water at the nursery often drop their old leaves while they switch to growing underwater. Crypts are known for it. Healthy roots or rhizome usually regrow new leaves; the guide to aquarium plants turning brown covers the causes.