Benefits of Live Plants in an Aquarium

Incorporating live  aquatic plants inside your aquarium provides benefits beyond their aesthetically pleasing look. Besides delivering vibrant and natural decoration, the benefits of live plants in an aquarium are chemical, biological and physical. In order to maintain a truly thriving environment, it’s essential to have living plants.

1. A Natural Chemical Filtration System:

All live plants act as a natural filtration system when they are added to an aquarium. They take on the role of removing potentially toxic waste such as nitrates produced by decaying matter and waste excreted by fish. One of the benefits of incorporating  live aquarium plants is that they will help keep your aquarium inhabitants healthy by removing toxins from the aquarium water (not to mention that they will provide a vibrant and lively scene to feast your eyes upon).

2. Algae Reduction:

If you’ve ever owned an aquarium, you know better than most  how persistent and frustrating algae growth can be. When you add aquatic plants (particularly faster-growing stem plants) into your aquarium, you actually will starve the algae, limiting its growth or altogether eliminating it, because the plants will outcompete the algae for nutrients. Although algae reduction is one clear benefit of having live aquarium plants, make sure you’re doing regular tank maintenance such as water changes to remove nuisance algae from your aquarium. You also can help your plants in their fight against algae by introducing algae eating snails, like nerite or mystery snails, or fish such as plecos.

3. Oxygenating the Water:

Through the  process of photosynthesis, live plants  release oxygen into the water column while at the same time they consume the carbon dioxide that the fish produce through their respiration or that is produced by waste/decomposing organic matter in the aquarium. Properly oxygenated water allows your fish to flourish and is yet another benefit of live plants in an aquarium.

4. Make Your Fish Feel at Home:

By providing your aquarium critters with beautiful, living plants, you’re making an environment that looks more natural, makes your fish feel more secure and generally promotes their happiness. Providing a secure environment is another benefit of adding live aquarium plants. The plants will provide hiding places for your fish and make their life more exciting and fulfilling. While not necessary to ensure their well-being, some hobbyists try to re-create natural biotope aquascapes for the  fish they keep. If you are open to this challenge, you may need to do some research to find out what types of aquatic plants one would expect to find in their natural habitat. Then, work on incorporating them into your home aquarium. Whether or not you decide to re-create a natural biotope aquarium, having aquarium plants in your aquarium will benefit your fish, provide more stable aquarium ecosystem and make your home aquarium more esthetically pleasing.

5. Strong Root System:

Often forgotten benefit of live plants in an aquarium is the plant’s - or to be more precise their root system’s - impact on the  aquarium substrate. Strong root system will prevent the anaerobic processes from  taking place within the substrate and will stop the build up of potentially toxic gases which, if released into the water column, could put your tank inhabitants’ lives at risk.

The benefits of live plants in an aquarium are endless.  Modern Aquarium is here to help make your aquarium thrive, not only by providing top of the line aquatic plants and products but also by keeping you informed about the best aquarium practices. A beautiful aquarium is a healthy aquarium and we aim to provide you with all the necessary resources to keep yours thriving.