Slow-growing aquarium plants

The species, easiest first

1. 1

   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 →
2. 2

   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 →
3. 3

   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 →
4. 4

   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 →
5. 5

   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 →
6. 6

   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 →
7. 7

   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 →
8. 8

   Bacopa Caroliniana

   Bacopa caroliniana

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

   Bacopa caroliniana is the slow-and-steady stem plant: thick succulent-like leaves on upright stalks that hold their shape between trims, ideal for orderly Dutch-style rows.

   $5.99 In stockCare profile →
9. 9

   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 →
10. 10

    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 →
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 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 →
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

    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 →
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

    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 →
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

    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 →
27. 27

    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 →
28. 28

    Alternanthera Reineckii 'Rosanervig'

    Alternanthera reineckii 'Rosanervig'

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

    Rosanervig is the variegated form of Alternanthera reineckii: the same pink-to-magenta leaves, but threaded with pale, almost white veins that read like neon under good light.

    $6.99 In stockCare profile →
29. 29

    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 →
30. 30

    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 →
31. 31

    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 →
32. 32

    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 →
33. 33

    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 →
34. 34

    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 →
35. 35

    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 →