Aquarium plant lookup

How to use the plant species lookup

Type a common name or scientific name into the search box. Results appear as you type — select a plant to load its full care profile. You can search by common name ("java fern"), partial name ("anubias"), scientific name ("Microsorum pteropus"), or alias ("DHG" for Dwarf Hairgrass, "HC" for HC Cuba, "vals" for Vallisneria).

The database covers 140+ commonly kept aquarium plants. If a species you grow is not listed, use the feedback link in the data sources panel to request it.

What the care parameters mean

Light shows whether the plant needs low, medium, or high light intensity. Low-light plants — anubias, java fern, most mosses — thrive under modest LED setups and are ideal for low-tech tanks. Medium-light plants need a reasonable output but are still manageable without CO₂. High-light plants need strong, even illumination; without it they stretch, pale, and underperform even with CO₂ injection.

CO₂ follows the Tropica three-tier system. None means the plant grows well without any CO₂ addition. CO₂ fertilisation (beneficial) means growth is noticeably better with CO₂ injection, targeting roughly 15–20 ppm, but the plant survives without it. CO₂ system (required) means the plant genuinely needs pressurised CO₂ injection at 20–30 ppm to grow properly — without it, it will slowly decline. Note that all plants benefit from some dissolved CO₂; the distinction is whether they need active injection to thrive.

Temperature is the preferred range for long-term healthy growth. Most tropical aquarium plants do well between 22–28 °C, but some temperate species (hornwort, willow moss) prefer cooler water and will struggle in a warm tropical setup.

pH and hardness matter most for demanding plants. Softwater acidic conditions (pH 5.5–6.5, 0–4 dH) are needed by specialist plants like HC Cuba, glossostigma, and tonina. Most community plants are tolerant of a wider range. Note that CO₂ injection lowers pH — this interaction is intentional in planted tanks.

Growth rate indicates how quickly the plant produces new mass under good conditions. Slow-growing plants need pruning less often but are more susceptible to algae overgrowth if nutrients are unbalanced. Fast growers are effective at consuming nutrients and outcompeting algae, but need regular trimming.

Placement describes where in the aquascape the plant is typically used: foreground (carpeting or small accent), midground, background (tall stem or rosette plants), floating (surface), or attachment (tied or glued to hardscape like wood or rock).

Difficulty reflects how tolerant the plant is of suboptimal conditions. Easy plants are suitable for beginners with basic setups. Medium plants benefit from CO₂ and good lighting but are not demanding. Advanced plants require optimised parameters, consistent CO₂, and experience to keep in good health.

What species are included

The database covers the most commonly kept aquarium plants across all major groups: anubias and java fern (easy attachment plants), cryptocorynes (shade-tolerant rosette plants), echinodorus sword plants, vallisneria, hygrophila and bacopa stem plants, ludwigia and rotala (colour stem plants), foreground and carpet plants (hairgrass, HC Cuba, monte carlo, glossostigma), mosses (java moss, christmas moss, flame moss, phoenix moss), floating plants (hornwort, frogbit, duckweed, water sprite), and bulb/rhizome plants (aponogeton, nymphaea lotus, crinum).

Care data is cross-referenced with Tropica, Flowgrow, and Aquatic Plant Central. CO₂ tiers follow the Tropica classification.

If a plant shows CO₂ as required, use the CO₂ cylinder runtime estimator to plan your cylinder supply. For substrate depth guidance by species placement, the substrate calculator calculates bag counts for your tank footprint and target depth.