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Aquarium plants for nano tanks

In a nano tank — five to ten gallons — scale is everything: a plant that reads as 'compact' in a 40-gallon becomes a hedge in a cube. The species here stay at eight inches or under at maturity, so even the tallest of them works as a nano background. Slow growers and epiphytes earn extra credit in small tanks, because in five gallons a fast stem plant needs trimming weekly just to keep the water surface visible.

45 species match, 26 in stock at AquaticMotiv

The species, easiest first

  1. 1Amazon Frogbit

    Amazon Frogbit

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

    Amazon Frogbit floats rosettes of round, lily-pad leaves with long feathery roots that shelter fry and shrimp while stripping nutrients from the water column.

    $7.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  2. 2Anubias Nana

    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 →
  3. 3Anubias Nana Petite

    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 →
  4. 4Anubias Nangi

    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 →
  5. 5Broad-Leaf Chain Sword

    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 →
  6. 6Bucephalandra

    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 →
  7. 7Christmas Moss

    Christmas Moss

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

    Christmas Moss grows in neat, triangular fronds that overlap like fir branches, making it the tidier, more sculptural alternative to Java Moss.

    $5.99 In stockCare profile →
  8. 8Cryptocoryne Lucens

    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 →
  9. 9Cryptocoryne Lutea

    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 →
  10. 10Cryptocoryne Wendtii

    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 →
  11. 11Duckweed

    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 →
  12. 12Dwarf Lobelia Cardinalis

    Dwarf Lobelia Cardinalis

    Lobelia cardinalis 'Dwarf'
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 6"

    The dwarf cardinal plant grows rounded, almost succulent bright-green leaves on stout upright stems — the classic plant for the Dutch 'street', a diagonal walkway of identical plants through the foreground.

    $4.99 In stockCare profile →
  13. 13Dwarf Sagittaria

    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 →
  14. 14Fissidens Nobilis

    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 →
  15. 15Flame Moss

    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 →
  16. 16Giant Duckweed

    Giant Duckweed

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

    Giant Duckweed is the larger cousin of common duckweed, with rounder fronds up to about a quarter inch across and several trailing roots beneath each, making it easier to net out than tiny Lemna.

    $7.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  17. 17Helanthium Bolivianum 'Quadricostatus'

    Helanthium Bolivianum 'Quadricostatus'

    Helanthium bolivianum 'Quadricostatus'
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 6"

    Helanthium 'Quadricostatus' is a small chain-sword that sends out runners to form a bright green grassy carpet in the foreground or midground.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
  18. 18Java Fern 'Trident'

    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 →
  19. 19Java Fern 'Windelov'

    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 →
  20. 20Java Moss

    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 →
  21. 21Juncus Repens

    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 →
  22. 22Ludwigia 'Super Red Mini'

    Ludwigia 'Super Red Mini'

    Ludwigia palustris 'Super Red'
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 8"

    Super Red Mini is a selected form of Ludwigia palustris that stays small and turns a deep blood-red with far less effort than classic high-tech reds.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
  23. 23Narrow-Leaf Chain Sword

    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 →
  24. 24Peacock Moss

    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 →
  25. 25Pearl Weed

    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 →
  26. 26Red Root Floaters

    Red Root Floaters

    Phyllanthus fluitans
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 1"

    Red Root Floaters are the showpiece floating plant: under strong light the leaves flush deep red and the trailing crimson roots match.

    $10.99 In stockCare profile →
  27. 27Salvinia Cucullata

    Salvinia Cucullata

    Salvinia cucullata
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 1"

    Salvinia cucullata is a floating fern whose paired leaves fold upward into little cupped pockets, giving it a distinctive bead-like texture quite different from the flat, hairy Salvinia minima.

    $8.99 In stockCare profile →
  28. 28Salvinia Minima

    Salvinia Minima

    Salvinia minima
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 1"

    Salvinia minima is a small floating fern whose fuzzy, water-repellent leaf pairs spread into a quilted surface mat — large enough to net out easily, unlike duckweed, but just as effective at shading and nitrate export.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
  29. 29Salvinia Natans

    Salvinia Natans

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

    Salvinia natans is a floating fern with paired oval leaves covered in tiny water-repellent hairs that keep it riding high and dry on the surface, shading the tank and exporting nutrients fast.

    $4.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  30. 30Staurogyne Repens

    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 →
  31. 31Water Lettuce

    Water Lettuce

    Pistia stratiotes
    • Easy
    • Medium light
    • No CO2 needed
    • Max 3"

    Water Lettuce floats velvety, ribbed rosettes with long feathery roots that fish fry and shrimp treat as nursery habitat, while the plant itself strips nitrates faster than almost anything else in the tank.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
  32. 32Weeping Moss

    Weeping Moss

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

    Weeping Moss is named for its drooping, teardrop-shaped fronds that hang downward, making it the go-to moss for creating a weeping-willow effect on tree-style hardscape and the undersides of branches.

    $5.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  33. 33Cryptocoryne Parva

    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 →
  34. 34Dwarf Hairgrass

    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 →
  35. 35Hydrocotyle Tripartita

    Hydrocotyle Tripartita

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

    Hydrocotyle tripartita is a fast, versatile creeper with small three-lobed, clover-like leaves on wiry stems that can be grown as a low foreground carpet, a midground bush, or trailing over hardscape.

    $6.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  36. 36Hygrophila Araguaia

    Hygrophila Araguaia

    Hygrophila lancea 'Araguaia'
    • Medium
    • Medium light
    • CO2 beneficial
    • Max 8"

    Hygrophila 'Araguaia' is an unusually small, slow Hygrophila with narrow lance-shaped leaves that turn bronze, copper, and red-brown under strong light.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
  37. 37Lagenandra Meeboldii 'Red'

    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 →
  38. 38Micro Sword

    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 →
  39. 39Monte Carlo

    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 →
  40. 40Pogostemon Helferi (Downoi)

    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 →
  41. 41Riccia

    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 →
  42. 42Willow Moss

    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 →
  43. 43Cryptocoryne 'Pink Flamingo'

    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 →
  44. 44Dwarf Baby Tears

    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 →
  45. 45Glossostigma

    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 →

Narrow it to your exact tank

The plant finder ranks these against your tank size, light, CO2, and goals — with honest care expectations.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the best plants for a 5 gallon tank?

Build around epiphytes on small hardscape — Anubias petite types, Bucephalandra, a moss — plus a compact crypt or two. They grow slowly, stay in scale, and leave swimming room, which is the scarcest resource in five gallons.

Can I grow a carpet in a nano tank?

Yes, and nanos are actually good at it: shallow water means more light reaches the substrate. The usual carpet rules still apply — strong light, and CO2 for the demanding species — but the short light path works in your favor.

How many plants fit in a nano tank?

Fewer, larger gestures beat variety: three to five species is plenty in ten gallons. Crowding many species into a small footprint reads as clutter and forces constant editing as they grow into each other.

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