Wild Aquatic Plants for an Aquarium

Wild aquatic plants offer several benefits to an aquarium. They add visual beauty, keep aquarium water healthy and help keep fish happy by providing food and shelter. When harvesting aquarium plants from the wild, however, choose only beneficial species, and make sure to remove any stray snails or animals hiding in the plants you harvest. You also want to keep the overall look of your aquarium in mind when selecting plants for the background, middle area and foreground, as well as floating plants for the surface.

  1. Submersed

    • Submersed aquatic plants live completely beneath the water surface. They tend to have thin, narrow, dissected leaves that are flexible. One common, submersed aquatic plant native to North America is the Elodea canadensis, often called American waterweed. It produces small, white blossoms at the water's surface. The plant is found in silty waters rich in nutrients throughout North America.

      Coontail is called hornwort when used in an aquarium. It has a bushy leaf cluster that resembles a raccoon's tail. Hornwort is often used as a background aquarium plant, and can either be attached to the aquarium substrate or allowed to float on the surface. It is a rapidly growing, easy-to-care-for aquarium plant option--a good choice for tanks with herbivorous fish because of its unpleasant taste. It is found in the wild floating or growing in slow-moving waters.

    Floating Leaf

    • Floating leaf plants have firmer, broader leaves than submerged plants. Though the plants often are rooted in the substrate, the leaves and flowers float on the surface. Though floating plants can add beauty and balance to the look of your aquarium, having too many will block light from penetrating the surface. A common floating leaf plant found in the wild in North America is small duckweed. It inhabits ponds and lakes with calm waters, exhibiting small, flat, oval leaves that are smooth to the touch.

    Rossets

    • Often used as focal points, rosset plants are more ornamental than other aquarium plants. Sagittaria is a commonly used rosset aquarium plant for the middle or foreground of an aquarium. Dwarf sagittaria is a popular choice because it is small and easy to care for. It is found in shallow, brackish coastal waters, as well as freshwater rivers.