Let us say you just got yourself a new aquarium, but you feel something more is missing and it is not the fish.
Well, having the carpet plants is a great way of ensuring you have a nice looking aquarium today.
There is always a catch with these aquarium plants. It is possible that at times you end up having trouble growing them.
No beginner wants that.
It is the reason we have come up with a list of the best aquarium carpet plants. Even if you have a low tech aquarium, you should find that it is easy to grow these plants today.
Table of Contents
The 8 Best Aquarium Carpet Plants for Beginners
1. Java Moss
This is definitely one of the common aquarium plants that you can find on the market today. People love it simply because it is low maintenance.
You will not have to do much to keep it growing. It is also difficult to kill, so no worries about diseases eradicating it easily.
For a carpet plant, it has to grow faster. Well, you are in luck with this plant. It does not take long to see it all over the aquarium.
If you want it to look even better, you could attach it to a rock. It should easily crawl over the surface giving you a nice carpet to admire in the aquarium.
You could find some people using it to breed certain types of fish in the aquarium. The uses of the plant are just numerous.
2. Dwarf Baby Tears
If you want something that looks different, then this is it. From the name, you could see that this is a different plant in terms of looks.
It is commonly a favorite carpeting plant thanks to its high growth rate. It is also tough and can help you in covering your aquarium quite easily.
A bonus for using this plant is that it gives off oxygen. You can now be sure that your fish will have enough dissolved oxygen thanks to such plants.
The beautiful little leaves are just a conversation starter. Many would want to know more about the plant from the moment they see them.
When it comes to lighting, this plant will grow better in bright lighting conditions. Having a brighter light means you get more compact growth. Other than carpeting, you can use the plant for decoration, and substrate covering.
3. Dwarf Hairgrass
There are always endless possibilities when it comes to carpeting your aquarium. This plant is here to do that job for you easily.
If you are a beginner, this plant is the best thing you will ever have to grow in your aquarium.
It does not need a lot when it comes to growing and maintenance. You simply have to do some basic maintenance and it will grow amazingly.
As part of maintenance, you have to make sure to give it bright lighting conditions. This helps it grow faster and cover the aquarium. It will also grow well to give an amazing contrast in the dark sand or soil in the aquarium.
As for water preferences, you will get that this plant will tolerate most environments without a problem. This is good as you can grow in different areas around the world and it will still flourish easily.
4. Marsilea Minuta
This is another top aquarium plant you could use today if you are looking to make it look better.
It gives you the carpet look that many people are always looking for. We have it on this list also because it is easy to grow.
Many people who have tried it always end up with positive reviews of how it has been an easy journey for them. It might need a bit of trimming to control its growth, but that is part of the fun involved in growing it.
It has a good tolerance, so you do not have to worry about where to grow it. This has helped many people to keep growing it in various water environments and it does quite well.
Other than carpeting, you could use it for decoration, accenting the various hardscape such as rocks, and more.
5. Sagittaria Subulata
You might find it being called SS in some articles or review. It is another great plant you could use for making the aquarium look great.
It has its roots in South Africa but has now spread to the entire world.
It is a fast-growing plant, there is no doubt about that. You can expect to see long thin green leaves that look like grass. You are always going to love what it looks like once it has grown to maturity.
Since it might grow taller, a bit of trimming is needed to keep the plant in check. Do not worry about that as it will always be easy. Apart from trimming, there is no major maintenance that is needed when it comes to growing this plant.
It is easy to access the plant from various stores as it is cheap and available now. You should have no reason why your aquarium does not look good.
6. Glossostigma Elatinoides
The name is quite long, so we are going to refer to it as GE. This plant is native to Australia and New Zealand.
You can now find it is popular around the world bring so much joy in the hearts of aquarists. They get to use this fast-growing plant to carpet their aquariums with ease.
For it to from the best carpet, make sure to give it bright light. It can as well as grow in the low light conditions, but it will be growing towards the light source upwards rather than outwards. Once you get your light right, the other maintenance needs should be a breeze for you.
The plant still has many other benefits for the aquarium other than just making a plush carpet for you. It will help in cleaning the water as it needs a lot of CO2. You can be sure that more oxygen would also be produced important for the fish.
7. Hemianthus Callitrichoides
This one also has quite a long name, so we will refer to it has HC from the initials.
HC has been around for a while now and it can be traced to Cuba. It is a rare plant, so do not expect it to be in most aquarist stores.
Well, that might change in the future thanks to the growing popularity of the plant. People love it as it is a very fast growing carpet plant you can use today.
It is not just about growing fast but also growing outwards. You always want to have a plant that will easily grow outwards to form a carpet.
The HC plant also grows a few inches apart. This is good so that you can have a solid carpet. It looks impressive once it has fully formed the carpet.
8. Marsilea Hirsute
This is yet another fast-growing aquarium carpet plant. It is popular among many aquarium owners who have tried it.
One thing that stands out with this plant is that it is not demanding.
As a beginner, you should have an easy time growing it. There are a number of guides online that could help you out with the growing of this plant.
It is also good when it comes to tolerance. You do not have to worry about diseases or the water to grow it.
Once it is planted, it can survive different tolerances against it. Since it also grows together a lot, you should find that you end up having a neat and great looking carpet in the end.
More people love it for being hardy. This means that it does not require a lot of CO2 and nutrients. You will always have an easy time growing the plant.
How to Grow Aquarium Carpet Plants?
Carpeting plants are great for making sure that your aquarium looks good. It is the reason many people would go for them.
However, you need to know how to grow them properly if you ever want the aquarium looking good.
Start by looking for the right substrate. Some substrates might not be ideal for such plants. Based on research, it shows that you will have an easier time growing the carpet plants on fine gravel.
You could use tropical substrate or the finer powder versions of the famous ADA Aqua soil. This is normally because of the small roots of these plants. You want them to have an easy time growing from such type of soil.
The fine gravel substrate also helps with allowing the plant to grip the substrate with ease. There is no doubt that you will find it growing easily without issues. This should be good news for anyone who is a beginner and would like to try out carpet plants.
Caring is still an important part of growing carpet plants. For most plants, they will need a certain amount of light to grow appropriately.
For most carpet plants, giving them 6 hours of light daily for several weeks should get them growing well. Without proper light, some plants would grow upwards towards the light rather than outwards. This will spoil the so much desired carpet look.
Trimming is still another important part of growing carpet plants. You have to make sure there is proper trimming of the plants so that they maintain the carpet look.
Depending on the plant, some might need more maintenance than the others do. For this list, we have plants that do not need much maintenance thus great for the beginners.
Conclusion
Carpet plants are now a popular thing. You can always expect to find many people using such type of plants around the world.
If the carpet plants are cared for well, then you can always expect to have an amazing aquarium. Well, for beginners, it does not have to be hard anymore. We have come up with a list that has easy aquarium carpet plants.
You simply have to take good care of them and they will flourish. Since all of them are less demanding, you should find it possible to grow them in your aquarium today.
Excellent article, very informative. Very new to carpet plants so have found this very useful.
same hear. I heard that algae eaters like carpet plants saw i’ve started searching them up and that’s how I found the page. I have 3 angelfish, 1 pleco, 1 siamese algae eater, and 1 betta. Also I have two tanks one fifty-five gallon tank and one one point five gallon tank my betta is in the one point five gallon tank and i’m going to get a bigger tank for her.
Good article. But number 2 and 7 are the same plant. HC is the same as Dwarf baby tears!
I also wouldn’t consider “either” as beginner plants seeing how it typically takes co2 for it to carpet.
Any of these not require co2?
Java moss. Doesn’t need co2.
Also, Crypt Parv. Isn’t on the list but it will carpet as well with medium light and patience. (It’s a slow grower).
Crypt parv will still need a decent LED light and a planted aquarium substrate or fertilizers however. An appropriately sized Finnex planted plus or a fluval planted light will do the job (don’t use Marine lights, they won’t work at all. Blue is close to useless. Red and white LED’s are better)
Aquaneat is an affordable light that should do the job. But the fluval 3.0 is ideal, and if you’re trying to carpet, you really need quality equipment. I tried with diy co2 and nicrew LEDs for a year and just wasted money.
Best advice is save up, be patient, and do it right the first time.
Pressurized co2, fluval 3.0, and a dry start method for the carpet.
Google and YouTube are your friend.
thanks , i even wanted to point out the same. Also if the author could mention the temperature required for growth for each plant .
Wonderful explanation .. Thank you
But is it true that the carpet does not live more than six months?
That’s not true. With a properly balanced aquarium (balancing fertilizers, carbon supply, and lighting period) and with periodical trims, you can keep a carpet growing indefinitely. You just may need to thin it out on occasion.
I recommend looking up and researching the dry start method for carpets. Just keep in mind all carpeting plants other than crypt parv. will need a very strong light (fluval 3.0 or equivalent) and co2 injection.
If you are extremely patient (years) you can do it without co2. But for good results you’ll need to set up a co2 system. Fluval sells affordable ($75-$100) full set ups for nano tanks. If you want to assemble your own for larger tanks you can do it for as little as $200.
Best advice for a low budget is to put java moss between two pieces of plastic screen and lay it on the aquarium substrate. It will carpet with time and look great.
will cutting the carpet every once and a while help it stay alive?