The benefits of live plants in your aquarium

If we’re totally honest, there’s just something that hits a little different about the look and feel of a planted aquarium. The look is great and there can be numerous benefits for your tank. 

Today, we’re going to discuss some of the benefits associated with using live aquarium plants and why they might be best for your tank. Let’s jump right in!

Natural filtration

We talk about bulkhead bio balls and all sorts of filtration media on this blog, but perhaps the best chemical balancer of all are natural plants. They help remove potentially toxic waste like nitrates as well as filtering out waste excreted by fish. This leads to a far healthier, vibrant looking environment.

Reduced algae

Cleaning algae will be a consistent, persistent problem that you’ll encounter as a tank owner – no matter how large or small your aquarium is. Live plants (particularly stem plants) do a great job of limiting its spread as they frequently will out-compete the algae for the nutrients it needs in order to grow and spread. The other immediate benefit for the owner is that means you’ll spend significantly less time on maintaining your tank – which is always a good thing!

Happy fish

Real live plants help fish feel more at home and in addition to a gorgeous, vibrant aesthetic appeal; fish will be a whole heck of a lot happier. Plants provide fish with security, places to hide, and contribute greatly to their overall health. The more similar your tank and plants are to the natural biome of the fish, the more stable the ecosystem you’ll have. 

Aeration

We often use mechanical bubblers to increase oxygen levels in a fish tank. With plants, that’s not a concern as they add more oxygen to the tank than any bubbler could. Oxygen is critical to the overall health and well-being of your fish. 

Some things to keep in mind

Live plants need food. There are a wide range of plant food options for you to choose from, but just like your fish, you’ll have to feed your plants. In addition – certain species of fish may feed on particular plants – so keep that in mind when considering what kinds of plants to purchase. In addition – you may need to invest in some special lighting or have regular access to sunlight. Your plants need light in order to flourish!

As you can see – live plants provide a wide-range of benefits to not only the aesthetic appeal of your tank, but it’s actual health as well. If you have questions or have never used live plants in a fish tank before and don’t know where to start – give us a call and we’ll be happy to give you some advice. Until then – good luck!