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Animal-World > Freshwater Fish > Aquarium Plant Care

Guide to a Planted Aquarium		Aquarium Plants
Plant Descriptions - Structure Planting the Aquarium Planting Mediums - Substrates Feeding and Maintaining Plants	Lighting, Heating, and Filtration Water Maintenance for Plants Plant Propagation Plant Diseases and Parasites	Ferns and Mosses Rosette Plants Stem Plants

Freshwater Aquarium Plants
Selection, Maintenace, & Care

Plants help make an aquarium healthy, lively and beautiful to look at.

Aquarium plants can serve as food for aquatic life, provide hiding places for fish, or just add to the decoration and design of the aquarium.

Besides being pleasing to look at and enjoy, and providing a comfortable environment for the inhabitants, plants also perform vital functions to the well-being of the aquarium. They do helpful things such as breaking down waste materials, producing oxygen for fish to breathe, and absorbing the carbon dioxide that the fish release.

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The Purpose of Plants in the Aquarium

Having plants in aquariums is one of the most beneficial things you can do to make aquariums healthier, more stable, and simply more beautiful.

Besides providing a more physically enriched environment, aquatic plants perform important natural functions; they produce oxygen which the fish breathe, absorbe the carbon dioxide that fish produce, and they help in the breakdown of waste materials.

Plants use several things in a process called photosynthesis to provide themselves with food and energy. These include light (normally sunlight), water, and carbon dioxide. During photosynthesis oxygen is released as a by-product, which is then breathed in by the fish. Photosynthesis only occurs during the daytime however (when sunlight is available), and so proper lighting must be supplied.

Because they also absorb the carbon dioxide that fish breathe out, plants help keep the concentration of carbon dioxide in the water down. Plants also respire, the process of taking in oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide, but this occurs continuously day and night.

Lastly, aquarium plants help in general maintenance of the water. They can help keep the water clean by absorbing waste materials emitted by the fish, as well as harbor bacteria on their surfaces that absorb waste material as a food source. Some plants can even keep the waste material on the bottom of the aquarium from decaying by emitting small amounts of oxygen from their roots.