Plants in a freshwater aquarium or nano aquarium are essential.  Underwater plants are not just important visual components of a decorative aquarium. Living aquarium plants produce oxygen for aquatic life such as fish, prawns and crabs via photosynthesis. In addition, they filter out waste products such as nitrogen from the water for their own metabolism and regulate the water quality. By removing nutrients from the water, water plants prevent the propagation of algae. Dense vegetation with aquatic plants also serves as a hiding place and thus contributes to the welfare of aquatic animals. Discover aquarium plants such as Anubias, Cryptocoryne, Echinodorus, Vallisneria and many more in our online shop.

Thanks to the large variety of aquarium plants, you have a design tool at your disposal that you can use to create a spatial effect while also concealing technical components such as filters. Pay attention to the height of growth when inserting the aquarium plants. With a planting plan, you save yourself the tedious reorganisation of plants later on. Approximately 60 percent of the soil area should be planted. Aquatic plants are usually available potted in rockwool substrate. Remove as much rockwool as possible before planting, and shorten roots that are too long if necessary. First press the plant deep into the soil base, then carefully pull it up a little so that the roots are aligned downwards. For stem plants, remove the lower leaves and press the stems individually into the plant bed. The aquarium should be filled with water, at least so high that the plants are covered according to their height. Start with the foreground planting and fill up the aquarium in stages.

When plants become discoloured and don’t thrive in the aquarium, this is often due to over- or under-supply of nutrients or problems with lighting. Aquarium fertilisers can remedy such deficiencies by helping you to further optimise the nutrient content of the water.

The aquarium is like a garden: occasionally plants have to be pruned, especially if they threaten to overshadow other plants. You should cut back stem plants as soon as they reach the surface of the water. Use sharp scissors to cut them back to about ten centimetres, and you can continue to cultivate the cut stems as offshoots. For rosette plants, cut off older leaves at the base only occasionally to preserve the shape.