Best Aquarium Plants for Beginners: Easy Species and Their Care Needs

Where sources differ, each is shown; check your state’s rules first (below).

How to read the care fields

Aquarium Co-Op, an aquarium retailer, labels “Low Light 10-20 PAR”; Aqueon, an aquarium equipment maker, heads its low-light plant tables “20 – 30 PAR”. Tropica, a Danish aquarium-plant grower, and Buce Plant, an aquarium-plant retailer, use words; Tropica’s difficulty is an icon. Inch conversions are ours.

Start here: attach them or set them down

No planting in the substrate; every source rating their difficulty calls them easy.

1. Java fern (Microsorum pteropus)

• Light: low (Tropica; Co-Op: 10-20 PAR); low to medium (Buce Plant).
• Growth rate: slow (Tropica); slow to moderate (Buce Plant).
• Placement: on a root or stone (Tropica); midground to background (Aqueon).
• Difficulty: easy (Tropica, Co-Op, Buce Plant).
• CO2 need: low (Tropica); none (Co-Op); not required (Buce Plant).
• Size: about 6-12 in (15-30 cm, Tropica); 3-5 in (Buce Plant).

Tropica: “If planted in the bottom, do not cover the rhizome because it will rot.”

2. Anubias nana (Anubias barteri var. nana)

• Light: thrives in shady places (Tropica); low, 10-20 PAR (Co-Op); low to moderate (Buce Plant).
• Growth rate: “grows slowly” (Tropica); slow, “1 leaf every 2-4 weeks” (Buce Plant).
• Placement: best on a stone or tree root (Tropica); foreground to midground (Aqueon).
• Difficulty: easy (Tropica, Co-Op, Buce Plant).
• CO2 need: none (Co-Op); not required, “Beneficial for faster growth” (Buce Plant).
• Size: about 2-4 in (5-10 cm, Tropica) tall; 3-5 in (Buce Plant).

Tropica: “If planted on the bottom the rhizome must not be covered because it tends to rot.”

3. Java moss (sold as Vesicularia dubyana or Taxiphyllum barbieri)

• Light: low to medium (Buce Plant).
• Growth rate: moderate to fast (Buce Plant).
• Placement: “Anywhere in tank, attached to hardscape” (Aqueon); a foreground cushion or on wood and stone (Buce Plant).
• Difficulty: easy (Buce Plant).
• CO2 need: optional (Buce Plant).

4. Marimo moss ball (Aegagropila linnaei)

• Light, CO2, growth rate: low, low and slow (Tropica).
• Placement: “Place directly on substrate; do not bury”, foreground to midground (Aqueon).
• Difficulty: easy (Tropica); Co-Op calls it “the world’s easiest aquarium “plant,””.
• Size: about 1-4 in (3-10 cm, Tropica) wide; “2 to 5 inches in diameter” (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).

Tropica calls it “not really a plant, but a ball of algae” that “must be turned regularly to keep it in shape.” In 2021 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) reported zebra mussels in marimo balls sold in stores; it says “The moss ball itself is not found to be invasive.” Anyone who recently bought them “should inspect them for zebra mussels. If there is any sign of invasive mussels, decontaminate and destroy them” with its Destroy, Dispose, Drain steps, which cover the tank water too, and report finds to the state natural resource agency and the USGS. Its destroy methods include freezing it in a sealable plastic bag “for at least 24 hours” or boiling it “for at least 1 full minute”. FWS: “Never dispose contaminated moss balls in drains, waterways, or gardens. Moss balls must be destroyed and disposed of in a sealed container in the trash.” It notes that “Several states restrict or prohibit the sale of moss balls”.

Add next: rooted plants and fast growers

Crypt, sword, vallisneria and dwarf sagittaria go in the substrate, and Co-Op pairs each with root tabs. Buce Plant rates hornwort’s light need medium to high.

5. Cryptocoryne wendtii ‘Green’

• Light: low (Tropica; Co-Op: 10-20 PAR); low to medium (Buce Plant).
• Growth rate: medium (Tropica); slow to moderate (Buce Plant).
• Placement: midground (Co-Op); foreground to midground (Aqueon, Buce Plant).
• Difficulty: easy (Tropica, Co-Op, Buce Plant).
• CO2 need: low (Tropica); none (Co-Op); optional (Buce Plant).
• Size: about 4-12 in (10-30 cm, Tropica); “about 6-8 inches” (Co-Op).

Co-Op says crypt leaves “may melt when suddenly moved to a new environment”; to help them recover, “leave the roots planted in the ground and make sure to provide nutrient-rich planted tank substrate or Easy Root Tabs.”

6. Amazon sword (sold as Echinodorus grisebachii ‘Bleherae’, E. bleheri or E. amazonicus)

• Light: low (Tropica); low to medium, 10-35 PAR (Co-Op); moderate (Buce Plant).
• Growth rate: fast (Buce Plant).
• Placement: background (Co-Op, Buce Plant); midground (Aqueon).
• Difficulty: easy (Tropica, Co-Op, Buce Plant).
• CO2 need: low (Tropica); none (Co-Op); optional (Buce Plant).
• Size: about 8-20 in (20-50 cm, Tropica); “20 inches tall or more” (Co-Op).

Tropica: “A nutritious bottom promotes growth, but the plant needs pruning to prevent it depriving plants underneath of light.”

7. Vallisneria

• Light: medium, 20-35 PAR (Co-Op); moderate to high (Buce Plant, V. spiralis); listed in Aqueon’s low-light tables.
• Growth rate: fast (Buce Plant).
• Placement: background (Co-Op, Buce Plant, Aqueon).
• Difficulty: easy (Co-Op); easy to moderate (Buce Plant).
• CO2 need: none (Co-Op); “Recommended (Optional)” (Buce Plant).
• Size: 8-12+ in (Buce Plant); Co-Op says it “can drape over the top”.

8. Dwarf sagittaria (Sagittaria subulata)

• Light: low (Tropica); medium, 20-35 PAR (Co-Op); moderate (Buce Plant).
• Growth rate: fast (Buce Plant).
• Placement: foreground (Tropica); midground (Co-Op); foreground to midground (Buce Plant); midground to background (Aqueon).
• Difficulty: easy (Tropica, Co-Op, Buce Plant).
• CO2 need: medium (Tropica); none (Co-Op); optional (Buce Plant).
• Size: 4-12 in (Buce Plant); Tropica says “in certain conditions it suddenly grows to a height of 50 cm” (about 20 in).

9. Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum)

• Light: low (Tropica); “low to high” (Co-Op); medium to high, “Adaptable to Low Light” (Buce Plant).
• Growth rate: moderate to fast (Buce Plant); Co-Op: “With enough light and nutrients, hornwort can easily grow 1-4 inches (3-10 cm) per week.”
• Placement: Co-Op says it “grows best as a floating plant”; floating or anchored at the back (Buce Plant).
• Difficulty: easy (Tropica, Buce Plant).
• CO2 need: low (Tropica); not required (Buce Plant).
• Size: stems up to about 31 in (80 cm, Tropica).

Regulated in New Zealand: Otago Regional Council: “Hornwort is declared an Unwanted Organism in the National Pest Plant Accord (NPPA). Any species declared a pest under the NPPA cannot be sold or be in a place where plants are being sold.”

What changes the list

• Tank size. Aqueon puts Amazon sword in its 55-gallon-plus table (small tanks: FAQ).
• Substrate. Co-Op says crypt wendtii “does prefer to feed from its roots” and, on an inert substrate, to add root tabs “every three months or so”.

From our roundups: Seachem Flourite Black Sand, which Seachem says “may be used in any freshwater aquarium and will not alter pH” (aquarium sand roundup); the 18-24 inch Marineland Advanced LED, sold “For freshwater, saltwater, and low-intensity plants”, which needs a glass or acrylic cover, per Marineland (planted aquarium light roundup); and NilocG ThriveTabs, “especially useful for rooted aquarium plants such as Amazon swords, Cryptocoryne, Vallisneria, Tiger Lotus” per NilocG; follow the maker’s directions on the package (plant fertilizer roundup).

Check the rules before you buy

Habitattitude, a campaign co-sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, asks aquarium keepers to choose plants “not considered invasive in your state” and says: “Check with your state fish and wildlife agency or natural resources agency to find out more about regulated species in your area.” Two examples:

• Hygrophila polysperma (“Miramar weed”) is listed in 7 CFR 360.200 among plants designated noxious weeds “to prevent their introduction into the United States or their dissemination within the United States”.
• Amazon frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum) is on Washington’s quarantine list, which bars transporting, buying, selling or distributing it into or within the state (state noxious weed board). California’s agriculture department rated it A in a 2015 profile: it “could form the nexus for new infestations if discarded or dispersed into wetlands”; “A-rated pests are prohibited from entering the state”.

Trimmings and unwanted plants: bag them, never release them

The Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, a Fish and Wildlife Service program, lists rehoming first in its classroom guidelines (another classroom, an aquarium, or “where possible return them to the pet store or supplier”), then: “Dispose of unwanted plants in a sealed plastic bag in the trash. These materials should not be composted because their seeds and other plant parts may spread.” It notes that “releases are illegal in most states”. For water discarded from shipped specimens, its steps sterilize it, then empty it into a toilet or sink, “never down a storm drain where it could enter and damage local waterways.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Co-Op says plants are “grown out of the water at the farm” and may “still need time to adjust to life under water.” If leaves keep dying, see our guides to why aquarium plants die and why plants turn brown.

None of these sources measures which plant takes up the most. Co-Op says “Fast-growing plants like hornwort are good at “cleaning” aquarium water because they consume waste compounds from the water”, and that vallisneria “uptakes a lot of nitrates.”

Aqueon’s table for 3-16 gallon tanks lists marimo, anubias ‘Petite’, java moss, Cryptocoryne ‘petchii’ and dwarf sagittaria.

Species regulated in your state (above). On land plants, aquariumscience.org, a hobbyist reference site, describes a typical beginner tank: “Some of the plants are terrestrial plants and die.”

Sources (12)

• Tropica (grower): Java fern, Anubias nana, Marimo, Crypt wendtii, Sword, Sagittaria, Hornwort
• Aquarium Co-Op (retailer): Java fern, Anubias, Crypt, Sword, Val, Sag, Easy plants, Hornwort, Val blog, Java moss
• Buce Plant (retailer): Java fern, Anubias, Java moss, Crypt, Sword, Val, Sag, Hornwort
• Aqueon (maker), Choosing the Right Aquarium Plant
• FWS (agency), Zebra Mussels Found in Moss Balls
• Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force (FWS program), Classroom Guidelines
• Habitattitude (campaign), Aquarium Fish
• 7 CFR 360.200 (federal rule), 2024 edition
• Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board (agency), spongeplant
• California Dept. of Food and Agriculture (agency): Limnobium laevigatum rating, 2015, rating definitions
• Otago Regional Council (NZ government), Hornwort
• aquariumscience.org (hobbyist reference), Low tech tanks

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.