Low-maintenance aquarium plants

The species, easiest first

1. 1

   Amazon Sword

   Echinodorus amazonicus

   • Easy
   • Medium light
   • No CO2 needed
   • Max 20"

   The Amazon Sword is the classic centerpiece plant: a big, hardy rosette that anchors the back of a community tank.

   $6.99 In stockCare profile →
2. 2

   Anubias Afzelii

   Anubias afzelii

   • Easy
   • Low light
   • No CO2 needed
   • Max 14"

   Anubias afzelii is a tall, slender Anubias with long lance-shaped leaves, giving a more upright silhouette than the rounder barteri types.

   $6.99 In stockCare profile →
3. 3

   Anubias Barteri

   Anubias barteri var. barteri

   • Easy
   • Low light
   • No CO2 needed
   • Max 16"

   Anubias Barteri is the full-size cousin of Anubias Nana, with broad, leathery leaves on longer stalks that make it a genuine centerpiece epiphyte rather than a foreground accent.

   $7.99 In stockCare profile →
4. 4

   Anubias Congensis

   Anubias barteri var. congensis

   • Easy
   • Low light
   • No CO2 needed
   • Max 14"

   Anubias Congensis grows long, narrow, slightly arched leaves on upright stalks, giving it a more elegant, vertical look than the rounder Barteri.

   $7.99 In stockCare profile →
5. 5

   Anubias Hastifolia

   Anubias hastifolia

   • Easy
   • Low light
   • No CO2 needed
   • Max 16"

   Anubias hastifolia is one of the larger Anubias species, with distinctive arrowhead- or halberd-shaped leaves that lend an architectural look to bigger tanks.

   $6.99 In stockCare profile →
6. 6

   Anubias Nana

   Anubias barteri var. nana

   • Easy
   • Low light
   • No CO2 needed
   • Max 6"

   Anubias Nana is a slow-growing epiphyte with thick, dark, nearly indestructible leaves.

   $7.99 In stockCare profile →
7. 7

   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 →
8. 8

   Anubias Nangi

   Anubias barteri var. nana x Anubias gilletii

   • Easy
   • Low light
   • No CO2 needed
   • Max 8"

   Anubias 'Nangi' is a hybrid with elongated, pointed leaves and a compact, mid-sized habit that sits between the tiny nana and the larger species.

   $7.99 In stockCare profile →
9. 9

   Broad-Leaf Chain Sword

   Helanthium bolivianum 'Latifolius'

   • Easy
   • Medium light
   • No CO2 needed
   • Max 6"

   The Broad-Leaf Chain Sword is a small, grassy sword that spreads by runners into a low foreground-to-midground meadow, with leaves wider and a touch taller than its narrow-leaf relative.

   $6.99 In stockCare profile →
10. 10

    Bucephalandra

    Bucephalandra sp.

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

    Bucephalandra is a slow-growing Borneo epiphyte prized for its iridescent blue-green sheen and compact size.

    $6.99 Out of stockCare profile →
11. 11

    Crinum Calamistratum

    Crinum calamistratum

    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 24"

    Crinum calamistratum is a bulb plant that sends up long, narrow, deeply crinkled dark-green leaves that twist and sway like ribbons, making a striking low-tech centerpiece.

    $13.99 Out of stockCare profile →
12. 12

    Cryptocoryne Balansae

    Cryptocoryne crispatula var. balansae

    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 16"

    Crypt Balansae brings height to a low-tech tank with long, ruffled, strap-like leaves that sway in the current.

    $9.79 In stockCare profile →
13. 13

    Cryptocoryne Lucens

    Cryptocoryne lucens

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

    Crypt Lucens is one of the smallest cryptocorynes — narrow, glossy green leaves rarely topping four inches — making it the easiest path to a planted foreground without carpet-plant demands.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
14. 14

    Cryptocoryne Lutea

    Cryptocoryne lutea

    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 6"

    Crypt Lutea is a slightly taller, darker cousin of Crypt Wendtii with smooth olive-green leaves on upright stalks — equally bulletproof in low light without CO2.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
15. 15

    Cryptocoryne Wendtii

    Cryptocoryne wendtii

    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 6"

    Cryptocoryne wendtii is the definitive low-light midground plant, forming slow, dense rosettes in green, bronze, or red depending on the variety and light.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
16. 16

    Dwarf Sagittaria

    Sagittaria subulata

    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 6"

    Dwarf Sagittaria is the low-tech answer to a grassy foreground: tougher than hairgrass, happy without CO2, and tolerant of hard, alkaline water.

    $6.99 Out of stockCare profile →
17. 17

    Fissidens Nobilis

    Fissidens nobilis

    • Easy
    • Low light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 3"

    Fissidens nobilis grows in flat, feathery fronds that look less like typical aquarium moss and more like miniature ferns carpeting a stone — among the most refined textures available for hardscape.

    $13.99 Out of stockCare profile →
18. 18

    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 →
19. 19

    Green Ozelot Sword

    Echinodorus 'Ozelot Green'

    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 18"

    The Green Ozelot Sword is a hardy hybrid sword with green leaves scattered with dark maroon-brown spots, giving a centerpiece plant a patterned, almost leopard-print look without demanding equipment.

    $7.99 In stockCare profile →
20. 20

    Java Fern

    Microsorum pteropus

    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 13"

    Java Fern is one of the most forgiving aquarium plants available: it grows in low light, needs no CO2 or substrate, and is ignored by nearly all livestock.

    $10.99 In stockCare profile →
21. 21

    Java Fern 'Trident'

    Microsorum pteropus 'Trident'

    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 8"

    Java Fern 'Trident' is a finely branched cultivar whose narrow leaves split into multiple finger-like lobes, giving a softer, more fern-like texture than the standard plant.

    $6.99 Out of stockCare profile →
22. 22

    Java Fern 'Windelov'

    Microsorum pteropus 'Windelov'

    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 8"

    'Windelov' is a Java Fern selection whose leaf tips split into delicate, antler-like crests, giving it a softer, lacier silhouette than the plain species.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
23. 23

    Java Fern Narrow-Leaf

    Microsorum pteropus 'Narrow'

    • Easy
    • Low light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 10"

    Narrow-Leaf Java Fern carries slim, upright blades a fraction the width of the standard plant, reading as finer and more orderly while keeping every bit of the species' toughness.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
24. 24

    Kleiner Bar Sword

    Echinodorus 'Kleiner Bar'

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

    Kleiner Bar is a compact, narrow-leaved sword whose new growth flushes red and copper, staying smaller than the big Amazon-type swords so it fits midground positions in moderate tanks.

    $8.99 In stockCare profile →
25. 25

    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 →
26. 26

    Red Ozelot Sword

    Echinodorus 'Ozelot'

    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 18"

    Red Ozelot Sword is prized for its dramatic foliage: reddish-brown leaves freckled with darker maroon spots, like an animal print, that hold up well even in moderate light.

    $7.99 In stockCare profile →
27. 27

    Red Rubin Sword

    Echinodorus 'Red Rubin'

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

    Red Rubin Sword is a large rosette plant whose broad lance-shaped leaves emerge deep wine-red and mature to a reddish-bronze, making it a striking centerpiece for bigger tanks.

    $8.99 In stockCare profile →
28. 28

    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 →
29. 29

    Echinodorus Fancy Twist

    Echinodorus 'Fancy Twist'

    • Medium
    • Medium light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 14"

    Fancy Twist is a hybrid sword grown for its dramatically curled and rippled leaves, with new growth flushing pink or red over a green, lightly speckled base.

    $7.99 In stockCare profile →
30. 30

    Lagenandra Meeboldii 'Red'

    Lagenandra meeboldii

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

    Lagenandra meeboldii 'Red' is a crypt relative with thick, leathery leaves that flush reddish-pink to copper, offering a slow, low-light alternative to demanding red stem plants.

    $8.99 Out of stockCare profile →
31. 31

    Red Flame Sword

    Echinodorus 'Red Flame'

    • Medium
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 14"

    The Red Flame Sword is a compact hybrid sword whose leaves are heavily mottled with deep red and burgundy over green, putting sword-plant color at a midground scale.

    $8.99 In stockCare profile →
32. 32

    Aponogeton Boivinianus

    Aponogeton boivinianus

    • Advanced
    • High light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 24"

    Aponogeton boivinianus is a Madagascar bulb plant whose dark green leaves carry a distinctive deeply textured, embossed surface, making it a dramatic background specimen.

    $6.99 Out of stockCare profile →
33. 33

    Cryptocoryne 'Pink Flamingo'

    Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Pink Flamingo'

    • Advanced
    • High light
    • CO2 required
    • Max 8"

    Cryptocoryne 'Pink Flamingo' is a striking pink-to-magenta crypt that, unlike most easy Cryptocoryne, genuinely needs high light, CO2, and rich nutrients to hold its color and grow well.

    $19.99 Out of stockCare profile →