Lucky Bamboo

The Banana Plant is a unique, eye-catching aquarium plant famous for its cluster of thick, banana-shaped root tubers that store nutrients. It initially produces light green, heart-shaped submerged leaves and will rapidly shoot lily-like pads to the water surface if allowed. To maintain bushy submerged growth, surface-reaching leaves should be routinely trimmed.

Glossostigma elatinoides, commonly known as Glosso, is a classic and highly popular aquarium carpeting plant native to the swamps and bogs of Australia and New Zealand. Prized for its ability to form a dense, bright green mat along the aquarium floor, it is often a centerpiece in high-tech nature aquariums. It is a demanding plant that requires intense lighting and carbon dioxide supplementation to creep horizontally; without these, it tends to grow leggy and vertical. Frequent trimming is necessary to prevent the carpet from overgrowing itself, which can lead to the lower layers dying off and the mat detaching from the substrate.

Red Mangroves are primarily grown in open-top aquariums, sumps, or refugiums where their intricate root systems grow submerged while the foliage remains emersed above the water line. They require high light on their leaves and strict maintenance, such as regular misting with freshwater to wash excreted salt from their foliage, but reward keepers with excellent natural filtration and a highly authentic biotope environment.

Amazon Frogbit is a highly popular, fast-growing floating aquarium plant characterized by its smooth, round leaves and long, fuzzy trailing roots. It excels at absorbing excess nutrients from the water column, making it a great natural filter. The dense root system provides excellent refuge and grazing surfaces for fry and shrimp. It requires calm water surfaces, as excessive surface agitation or water resting on the tops of its leaves can cause rotting.

Barclaya longifolia, commonly known as the Orchid Lily, is an elegant bulbous aquatic plant native to Southeast Asia. It features long, undulating, ribbon-like leaves that can display striking shades of olive green to vibrant red, often with bright pink or red undersides. Known for its delicate foliage, it requires a nutrient-rich substrate and may occasionally enter a natural resting phase where it sheds its leaves. It is highly prized by aquascapers for midground to background placement but needs protection from herbivorous fish and snails due to its highly palatable, fragile leaves.

A relatively compact water lily from South America featuring bright green, slightly ruffled underwater leaves. It stays smaller than the popular Tiger Lotus, making it an excellent centerpiece for midground or background placement in aquariums. Like most lilies, it is a heavy root feeder that thrives in nutrient-rich substrates. To maintain a bushy, submerged growth form, any leaves that attempt to reach the surface should be pruned regularly.