Discover the Magic of Low-Light Plants for beginners

Introduction:

Keeping a perfectly planted aquarium is a dream for many hobbyists. But many are not able to attain it easily or without spending money. In this article, we will see some of the easy ways to keep a planted aquarium in perfect condition without spending much money on high-valued equipment. Here are our top 8 low-light plants that can be used in a semi-planted aquarium or a fully planted tank.

We will divide the article into two as, low-light plants with planted aquarium soil and without planted aquarium soil.

 

Plants with soil: –

These plants are called epiphyte plants. Epiphyte plants can grow on any surface like a rock or driftwood. These plants are easy to keep at the same time easy to maintain. All you need is a decent light that’s around 6500k to 7000k and lumen depending on the volume of water. These plants can grow easily under normal white spectrum LED lights like Dophin G series LED and SUNSUN ADS series LED lights, both brands are good in quality at an affordable price.

Anubias Sp:

A graceful and simple aquatics plant for both beginner and pro hobbyists. Under perfect lighting and perfect CO2, these plants can grow fast and spread across your hardscape easily. They need a pH of 6.5 and TDs between 100 ppm-120 ppm. With a weekly 20-30% water change. They come in various sizes and with different leaves.

Some common anubias plants that can be found easily in the market are

1. Anubias nana gold
2. Anubias barteri
3. Anubias Barteri var. Glabra
4. Anubias coffeeholic
5. Anubias lucy

 Bolbitis heudelotii: 

Commonly known as African water fern, it can grow up to 15 cm tall and will grow well under perfect lights and CO2. Preferably a soft and slightly acidic water.

 Java Ferns: These are semi-aquatic plants native to Southeast Asian countries, they don’t demand much light but under a spectrum of 6500 they will do well. The only thing to be noted is ferns are basically from cold water so one has to maintain a temp of at least 25c for the plant to grow well and thrive. Co2 is must.

Bucephalandra SP:Shortly known as “Buce” well most of the buce is head to keep because they demand good WRGB lights with good CO2 and temperature below 25c. In our experience, one plant that can be easily with perfect light, CO2, and fertilizer is “Bucephalandra Green pigmy” If one can be able to perfect condition as mentioned above it’ll be easy to keep this plant in an aquarium.

 

Plants with soil: – 

There are so many steam plants that can be kept easily, but below is a list of plants that are easy for a beginner to start with.

 Vallisneria Sp.

              

An easy plant that comes to every hobbyist’s mind when some ask for an easy plant to keep in an aquarium is Vallisneria sp. Vallisneria Sp nana, Vallisneria Sp gigantea, Vallisneria sp spiralis are very common in hobby. They thrive well in any given light and plant substrate. They even do well in a normal river sand with added nutrition supplements. They don’t demand Co2 but under perfect light and Co2 with a very basic fertilizer, you can see these plants growing fast and lush in a short period. The only thing to be noted is they normally grow very tall so these plants can be a good addition to tall aquariums. It can be a good background plant that will look like a curtain.

 

Hydrilla         

Commonly known as waterthymes, they are widespread in different parts of the world. They thrive well in both cool and warmer temperatures. A very easy plant next to Vallisneria can be kept by a beginner. They do well in normal light with a small amount of fertilizer in an aquarium. It Can grow long about 1-2m in an aquarium.It will be a good background for plants

 Hygrophila Sp.

Commonly known as Swamp weeds, the name suggests that these plants spread well and fast. There are around 80 different hygrophila, but the most commonly available ones are hygrophila polysperma, hygrophila Pinnatifda, Corymbosa, and hygrophila Difformis. These need low light with good plant soil and Co2 to grow well. Their plants can do well in both regular and shallow-sized aquariums and grow very fast. Can be a good background plant

Cryptocoryne sp.

These plants are widely spread across India, Southeast Asia, and Guinea. Very good-looking plants that come in narrow and broad leaves with different color patterns. Can be a good addition in an aquarium as foreground or mid-ground plants and spread well with perfect lights, Co2, and soil. Very common Crypt in the hobby are Cryptocoryne Wendtii, Cryptocoryne Wendtii Tropica, Cryptocoryne Axelrodi, Cryptocoryne lucens, and Cryptocoryne parva.

 Hope this article is useful and don’t forget to give your comments if you have any other plants that can be kept in an aquarium that are easy for entry-level hobbyists do mention that in a comment.

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