Plants for iwagumi aquascapes

The species, easiest first

1. 1

   Anubias Nana Petite

   Anubias barteri var. nana 'Petite'

   • Easy
   • Low light
   • No CO2 needed
   • Max 3"

   Anubias Nana 'Petite' is a miniature selection of Nana with leaves barely the size of a fingernail, making it the go-to epiphyte for nano tanks, bonsai trees, and detailed foreground rockwork.

   $6.99 In stockCare profile →
2. 2

   Flame Moss

   Taxiphyllum 'Flame'

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

   Flame Moss is unusual among aquatic mosses for growing upward in twisting, flame-like vertical columns rather than spreading flat, giving a tank a fiery, textured look.

   $11.99 Out of stockCare profile →
3. 3

   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 →
4. 4

   Narrow-Leaf Chain Sword

   Helanthium tenellum

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

   The narrow-leaf chain sword is the fastest natural lawn for a medium-light tank: grass-like rosettes that fire off runner after runner until the foreground is a meadow.

   $6.99 In stockCare profile →
5. 5

   Peacock Moss

   Taxiphyllum sp. 'Peacock'

   • Easy
   • Low light
   • No CO2 needed
   • Max 2"

   Peacock Moss is named for the iridescent, fan-shaped fronds that fan out in overlapping tiers resembling peacock feathers, especially attractive under good light.

   $14.99 Out of stockCare profile →
6. 6

   Pearl Weed

   Hemianthus glomeratus

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

   Pearl Weed is the shape-shifter of aquascaping: trimmed hard it creeps into a tight carpet, left taller it builds dense bright-green mounds and hedges, all on tiny paired leaves.

   $6.99 In stockCare profile →
7. 7

   Rotala Rotundifolia

   Rotala rotundifolia

   • Easy
   • Medium light
   • CO2 beneficial
   • Max 20"

   Rotala rotundifolia is the standard background stem of nature-style aquascaping: fast, forgiving, and quick to form the soft pink-orange bushes seen behind iwagumi stone work.

   $5.99 In stockCare profile →
8. 8

   Staurogyne Repens

   Staurogyne repens

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

   Staurogyne repens is a compact, slow-growing bush plant that stays under a few inches — the easiest path to a structured green foreground without committing to a true carpet.

   $6.99 In stockCare profile →
9. 9

   Cryptocoryne Parva

   Cryptocoryne parva

   • Medium
   • Medium light
   • CO2 beneficial
   • Max 3"

   Cryptocoryne parva is the smallest of the crypts, forming tight little rosettes of narrow green leaves just a couple of inches tall — one of the few crypts usable as a true foreground plant.

   $6.99 Out of stockCare profile →
10. 10

    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 →
11. 11

    Micro Sword

    Lilaeopsis novae-zelandiae

    • Medium
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 3"

    Micro Sword forms a grassy foreground carpet of short, flat blades — broader and a touch more lush-looking than hairgrass — spreading by runners across the substrate.

    $6.99 Out of stockCare profile →
12. 12

    Monte Carlo

    Micranthemum tweediei 'Monte Carlo'

    • Medium
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 2"

    Monte Carlo is the most achievable true carpeting plant: round, bright-green leaves that creep along the substrate and form a dense lawn.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
13. 13

    Pogostemon Helferi (Downoi)

    Pogostemon helferi

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

    Pogostemon helferi, known as Downoi, forms low star-shaped rosettes of crinkled, wavy-edged leaves that make an unmistakable foreground accent.

    $10.99 Out of stockCare profile →
14. 14

    Riccia

    Riccia fluitans

    • Medium
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 2"

    Riccia is technically a liverwort, and it leads a double life: left alone it floats as a tangle of bright forked ribbons, but tied over flat stones under strong light and CO2 it becomes the famous pearling 'Riccia stone' carpet that Takashi Amano built nature aquascaping around.

    $6.99 Out of stockCare profile →
15. 15

    Rotala 'H'ra'

    Rotala rotundifolia 'H'ra'

    • Medium
    • High light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 16"

    Rotala 'H'ra' is the color-upgraded form of Rotala rotundifolia, shifting orange-red under high light where the standard species only blushes pink.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
16. 16

    Dwarf Baby Tears

    Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba'

    • Advanced
    • High light
    • CO2 required
    • Max 1"

    Dwarf Baby Tears is the iconic iwagumi carpet — the smallest-leaved aquarium plant in the trade, forming a dense lawn of millimeter foliage that pearls with oxygen under bright light.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
17. 17

    Glossostigma

    Glossostigma elatinoides

    • Advanced
    • High light
    • CO2 required
    • Max 1"

    Glossostigma is one of the smallest carpeting plants, forming a low lawn of tiny paired round leaves that hugs the substrate when conditions are right.

    $6.99 Out of stockCare profile →