Unpretentious aquarium plants: varieties, selection and care

A home aquarium with no vegetation looks dull and imperfect. Representatives of the flora will help to correct the situation. Today there are a large number of plant species for artificial ecosystems, which are characterized by unpretentiousness and extreme endurance.

Provided that plants or fast-growing algae are selected correctly, the aquarium gives the impression of a magical underwater world that can calm, as well as tune in to positive emotions. Flora helps maintain water balance within an artificial ecosystem and makes its conditions as close to natural as possible.

In addition to the fact that the vegetable aqua corner contributes to the normal life of the inhabitants of the reservoir, it has the following advantages:

• releases oxygen and also provides natural filtration;
• promotes the disposal of waste products of living beings, as well as water purification;
• its foliage absorbs mineral elements that provide fortification of freshwater;
• serves as food for fish, provided that they lack what a person gives;
• The vegetation in the aquarium is a place to lay eggs and also a hiding place for fish.

There are practically no drawbacks in aquatic plants that do not need special care. However, a person should remember that, like other representatives of the flora, they need optimal growing conditions that need to be created... The unpretentiousness of these plant species is expressed in the absence of the need for bright lighting, the supply of carbon dioxide, as well as fertilizing them with special fertilizing.

The list with the names of unpretentious aquarium plants is quite extensive. You can select flora for the foreground, background of the aquarium and its central part. Some groundcover specimens are sensitive to light, however, most are shade-loving, including reds, greens, and others.

The most unpretentious representatives of aquarium vegetation are considered below.

Many aquarists do not like the fact that the walls of their artificial ecosystem are attacked by algae that they have to fight. But there are those whose presence makes the underwater world more interesting and mysterious, for example, a cladophore.

This type of filamentous algae is able to form entire colonies, which together look like a green ball. This plant is to the liking of small fish, as they receive nutrients from it. Cladophora needs clean, transparent water with neutral to medium hardness.

This decorative representative of the flora is considered one of the most popular. He is able to endure insufficient illumination, various indicators of acidity and temperature of the environment. It has the ability to exist not only in water, but also on land, as well as being attached to objects with a fishing line.

Representatives of this subgroup have the opportunity to exist on the surface of the water. Their roots hang down into the water column, due to which they absorb the substances necessary for existence. Floating plants are able to bloom and during this period decorate the ecosystem with a unique look. The most interesting representatives include duckweed and floating riccia.

The winged Thai specimen is characterized by beautiful embossed leaves that resemble willow in appearance. Growth in such a fern is usually slow, but after a while, thickets of bright green color can be seen in the aquarium. A similar bush can be placed near walls, corners, in the background.

The Indian fern has openwork dissected light green foliage. Due to the good development of the rhizome, this type of fern is able to turn into a bush.

The plant has the ability to live in both tropical and cold climates. Hornwort is a plant that floats on water or grows attached to decor. This type of vegetation increases its size at a high rate, thereby providing protection to the inhabitants of the aquarium.

Representatives of this group of green plants can have different sizes, shapes, colors. Most often in an artificial ecosystem, you can find the following floral vegetation:

• hygrophila - this hardy plant species is characterized by its large size, therefore it can be used to decorate the tank;
• lemongrass - in bright light, this plant acquires a bright pink color, it looks out a little from the water column, therefore, it gives the artificial reservoir a special mystery.

In order to revive the central part of the aquarium, you can use the spreading vegetation in the form of the Amazonian echinodorus, anubias. Swamp Ludwigia and Indian Rotala can also decorate the aquarium system with their brightness.Each of the above representatives of the flora is characterized by an interesting shape, color and appearance.

In order to choose aquarium vegetation, beginners should remember that it must meet a number of characteristics.

1. A hardy plant must adapt to living in water with a wide variety of parameters.... The hardness coefficient in this case can be from 4 to 20. The representatives of the flora also do not impose requirements for the water temperature, which is very comfortable for the aquarist who knows little in this matter.
2. Attitude towards illumination or, more precisely, to its lack. Many aquariums are equipped with low light intensity lamps, but this does not affect the growth and development of plants.
3. Resistance to abrupt changes in conditions. If you do not pay attention to your aquarium for a long time, then acidity will change in it. After cleaning, you can notice that there is a jump in the pH level, extremely unpretentious plants can withstand this.
4. No need for ongoing care. Plants of this type are able to survive, even if they are in shade for a long time, without mineral fertilizers, dense plantings.
5. Pest resistance. A hardy plant will die very slowly, so if you take the right measures, you can bring it back to life.

Unpretentious aquarium vegetation should be selected taking into account the conditions of its future maintenance.

• The dimensions of the aquarium. It is not worth planting a plant that can grow to a huge size in a tank of small volume, since in the future this may become an obstacle to the normal life of the fish.
• Types of living beings who live in an artificial ecosystem.
• Illumination and temperature conditions of the aquarium.
• Water parameters.

According to most budding experts, aquarium vegetation is a lot of hassle. However, this judgment does not apply to unpretentious underwater greenery. To make green spaces (just like fish) feel great, it is worth creating certain conditions for them. The optimal microclimate of an artificial ecosystem is achieved by selecting suitable illumination, substrate, water parameters and types of fertilizing.

To plant such representatives of flora in the ground, you do not need to do anything special. - enough elementary planting activities. To do this, only the root system without a stalk is immersed in the soil, which subsequently takes root. To revive the central part of the aquarium, it is worth planting sprawling large bushes, for example, the Amazonian Echinodorus, Anubias or Vallisneria. It is better if the soil for such plants is nourished, the greens can live in shade, in water with any acidity.

Greenery in an artificial home ecosystem looks very nice, but it can be diluted with red bushes. This option will add originality and brightness to the tank. Many colorful plant species live in medium to bright lighting conditions, but are picky about the acidity of the water. In the background, it is worth planting tall, unpretentious plants, which cover the aquarium equipment in the form of filters, heaters.

For in order for the vegetation in the aquarium to please the human eye for a long time, it requires both macro- and microelements... Nitrates, phosphates and sulfates naturally enter the aquarium water. If there are too many of these substances, it can cause the algal bloom process.Copper, manganese, zinc, iron are required for underwater flora representatives a little, since an overabundance can lead to negative consequences.

Aquarium vegetation not only makes the tank with fish uniquely beautiful, but also emphasizes the brightness of its inhabitants. With the maintenance of underwater greenery and its independent cultivation, each aquarist has the opportunity to create unique interiors of an artificial ecosystem by combining different types of plants.

The breeding methods of representatives of the underwater flora are different.

1. Vegetative. In this case, a young plant is formed from the vegetative parts of the body of the maternal representative.
2. With the help of child elements. A subsidiary plant is usually called something that was formed from an adventitious bud, which arose on the maternal organ. After the young representatives have their own leaves and roots, they can be separated from the main one, otherwise it will fall off by itself, float to the water surface. The strengthening of the young daughter takes place in the substrate.
3. Layers. This type of young plant is able to form on creeping shoots. It can arise both in the leaf sinus and in the form of a lash of several internodes. With the help of layering, representatives of the flora that float on the water surface also reproduce.
4. Cuttings. These are parts of the shoots that are inherent in plants with long stems. The stalk, which is separated from the base with a sharp object, must have 3 knots. It should be planted in the substrate. In this way, vegetation that floats in the water column has the ability to multiply.
5. With the help of the genitals. This type of procreation refers to flowering plants that eventually produce seeds.

Newbies who have bought their first aquarium and introduced the inhabitants into it may see the incompleteness in the design of the tank. The emptiness and lifelessness of the species can be corrected by planting unpretentious aquarium vegetation.

Such representatives of the flora are considered a real salvation for an inexperienced aquarist, since they do not need complex care measures and special indicators of the aquatic environment and soil. Plants that thrive in low light and varying temperatures are commercially available in a wide variety and are inexpensive.

You can learn how to care for an aquarium with live plants by watching the video below.