Floating Aquarium Plants for Your Freshwater Aquarium - By: Andrew Bartlett

A well-planted and well-balanced freshwater aquarium can be a thing of beauty indeed. When considering which live plants to add to the tank, one often overlooked but very useful group is floating aquarium plants.

Floating plants can serve a number of purposes in an aquarium. One of the best applications is for breeding fish in your aquarium. Many species of fish use the cover of the plants to breed in and provide a safe place in which to lay eggs. The plants provide cover for the newborn (or newly hatched) fry. It is absolutely critical for the tiny baby fish to have somewhere that they can hide; otherwise they most likely will eaten by other fish in the tank.

Some types of floating plants in the aquarium provide food for certain herbivore fish species. The plants also can reduce the light intensity in the tank, which can be a good or a bad thing depending on the types of fish and plants growing below. It sometimes is necessary to thin out and remove some of the plants on the surface if they are too prolific.

Another reason to add some floating plants to the tank is simply for the decorative aspect. Many plant species are quite intricate and beautiful; others actually will produce small flowers in your aquarium.

The following list provides a good start for someone looking to add some floating plants to their tank:

Crystalwort (Riccia fluitans) – A popular floating plant that has a branching, forked structure. It will form dense mats that are very good for sheltering fry and for the labyrinth fish (bubble nesters) to spawn in. This plant will do well in lower light or shaded areas of the tank.
Floating Fern (Salvinia auriculata) – Another plant that is a popular plant for fish to hide and spawn under, this plant has oval leaves and is quite hardy. However, it can grow somewhat out of control and shade out other plants below it.
Duckweed (gen. Lemna) – Duckweeds are often seen in ponds and if left unchecked can cover the surface of a tank very quickly. They are a small, bright green plant that some fish like to eat. When it grows too heavily and must be removed, the excess plants can be dried and fed as an algae substitute.
Java Moss (Vesicularia dubyana) – Can be planted or allowed to float. It has a branching, almost fuzzy appearance. It is an undemanding plant that if left alone will form dense mats.
Egeria Densa – Not a floating plant per se, but it can be left to float in the tank and will do quite well. It can handle a wide range of water temperatures and when well- established, can be cut and replanted throughout the tank. It is a very attractive emerald green color with dense leaf growth along the stem.

These are just a few of the many wonderful floating plants available for your freshwater aquarium. The list covers a wide range of appearances and leaf shapes and all of the plants on this list are generally hardy and easy to grow.

About the Author

Andrew Bartlett is an aquarium enthusiast with over 30 years of experience and a particular affinity for freshwater aquarium plants. He gladly shares more aquarium information at his website http://www.thefreshwateraquariumguide.com.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Andrew-Bartlett/100818

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