Cold water aquarium plants

The species, easiest first

1. 1

   Anacharis

   Egeria densa

   • Easy
   • Low light
   • No CO2 needed
   • Max 36"

   Anacharis is the classic coldwater workhorse — fast, cheap, and content from an unheated goldfish tank to a tropical community.

   $5.99 In stockCare profile →
2. 2

   Duckweed

   Lemna minor

   • Easy
   • Low light
   • No CO2 needed
   • Max 1"

   Duckweed is the fastest nutrient exporter in the hobby: a film of pinhead-sized fronds that doubles in days, starving algae and feeding herbivorous fish in the process.

   $5.99 In stockCare profile →
3. 3

   Golden Lloydiella

   Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea'

   • Easy
   • Medium light
   • No CO2 needed
   • Max 12"

   Golden Lloydiella carries round, butter-yellow leaves up sturdy stems — an instant color contrast against standard green plants without any of the demands of red species.

   $5.99 In stockCare profile →
4. 4

   Hornwort

   Ceratophyllum demersum

   • Easy
   • Low light
   • No CO2 needed
   • Max 40"

   Hornwort is less a plant you grow than a green engine you deploy: rootless, indestructible across a 35-degree temperature range, and so fast-growing it routinely out-eats algae in new setups.

   $5.99 In stockCare profile →
5. 5

   Java Moss

   Taxiphyllum barbieri

   • Easy
   • Low light
   • No CO2 needed
   • Max 4"

   Java Moss is the workhorse of aquarium mosses: it survives almost any light, temperature, and water chemistry, and anchors itself to stone, wood, and mesh.

   $4.99 In stockCare profile →
6. 6

   Juncus Repens

   Juncus repens

   • Easy
   • Medium light
   • CO2 beneficial
   • Max 8"

   Juncus repens is a true aquatic rush — stiff, grassy blades that creep and angle through the midground, adding a wild meadow texture no stem or carpet plant replicates.

   $6.99 In stockCare profile →
7. 7

   Ludwigia Palustris

   Ludwigia palustris

   • Easy
   • Medium light
   • CO2 beneficial
   • Max 10"

   Ludwigia palustris is a compact, small-leaved red stem that colors up at lower light than almost any other red plant — solid medium light produces rusty red tops even without CO2.

   $5.99 In stockCare profile →
8. 8

   Dwarf Hairgrass

   Eleocharis parvula

   • Medium
   • Medium light
   • CO2 beneficial
   • Max 4"

   Dwarf Hairgrass forms the classic grassy lawn of iwagumi layouts, spreading by runners into a field of fine green blades.

   $4.99 In stockCare profile →
9. 9

   Ludwigia Arcuata

   Ludwigia arcuata

   • Medium
   • High light
   • CO2 beneficial
   • Max 12"

   Ludwigia arcuata trades the broad leaves of its relatives for fine needles that turn coppery orange-red under strong light, giving a delicate texture few red plants offer.

   $6.99 In stockCare profile →
10. 10

    Willow Moss

    Fontinalis antipyretica

    • Medium
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 4"

    Willow Moss is a coldwater moss with larger, darker, keeled leaves arranged along trailing stems, giving a coarser, more cascading look than Java or Christmas moss.

    $6.99 Out of stockCare profile →