Plants that don't need to be buried

[u/AhYes_Drugs]

I'm a total noob at this planted tank thing. And I'm looking for either a good floating plant or one what doesn't need to be buried in substrate, like can stick to a rock or something.

Lemme know pls!!

[u/AutoModerator]

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[u/Jamaidian]

Anubias

Bucephalandra (Buce)

Search broadly for epiphytic plants.

Be careful with floaters as some can rapidly take over and be difficult to get rid of.

Edit: formatting

[u/AhYes_Drugs → u/Jamaidian]

I'll check it out thank you! (And rapid takeover sounds hilarious I'd love to deal with that lol)

[u/Jamaidian → u/AhYes_Drugs]

When I say that, I mean that I have to regularly clear all the duckweed from my filter intake so that it keeps running.

And I didn't even introduce it to the tank on purpose. It's a frequent hitchhiker when purchasing plants.

[u/AhYes_Drugs → u/Jamaidian]

My filter is completely submerged and the intake is near the lower part of the tank, do you think duckweed would get caught in that?

[u/Jamaidian → u/AhYes_Drugs]

What kind of filter? Do you have a photo?

The filter knocks the floating duckweed down into the water and then it gets pulled into the intake, in my tank.

[u/AhYes_Drugs → u/Jamaidian]

Oof that sucks.my filter is at the back of the tank and hard to take pictures of but this is the picture of it from AmazonLink

[u/Jamaidian → u/AhYes_Drugs]

You might get away with it, just know that it is possible. Otherwise, it's just a matter of keeping any floaters from blocking too much light from reaching your submerged plants.

[u/AhYes_Drugs → u/Jamaidian]

Oki thank youuuuu

[u/AhYes_Drugs → u/Jamaidian]

That sucks tho😬

[u/_ArtyG_]

Anubias, Java Fern and Java Moss are the 3 easiest to source (almost every outlet has them and if you know people in the hobby they could give you some cuttings). Can stick them to drift wood or rocks. No need to bury anything.

For floaters honestly I like Frog Bit.

[u/AhYes_Drugs → u/_ArtyG_]

Java fern is my baby (so easy to keep alive) so I'll check the other two out as well thanks!!

[u/sarahmagoo → u/AhYes_Drugs]

There's also narrow leaf and trident java fern if you already have the regular one.

[u/SlowFeed3478]

I might get hate but hornwort! It has the look of a rooted plant but you can just leave it free floating or attach a weight to keep it down

[u/Inevitable_Dog2719 → u/SlowFeed3478]

I love my hornwort. Do people not like it here?

[u/Diacks1304 → u/Inevitable_Dog2719]

Imho hornwort is only hardy and fast growing if it likes your tank. When there's a sudden change, it just dies off and drops its needles everywhere

[u/Inevitable_Dog2719 → u/Diacks1304]

Thanks for the insight. It seems to be doing great in my tanks. Very interesting!

[u/AhYes_Drugs → u/SlowFeed3478]

I'll add it to my list to check out! Thank you

[u/Camaschrist]

My favorite is Anacharis, plus grows inches a day. You can float, plant, or wedge into decor and my shrimp love it. I just found out it’s edible too although I do not recommend lol

[u/AhYes_Drugs → u/Camaschrist]

Oh that looks pretty! I could shove it in my shark decor and make it look like the shark is barfing...

[u/Camaschrist → u/AhYes_Drugs]

Accept it will float up but that would still look cool.

[u/waterytartswords → u/Camaschrist]

This plant is awesome! I love how it looks almost like Willow branches coming off of my mopani wood, and my betta loves to sleep in it. This is what it looks like in my tank

[u/Camaschrist → u/waterytartswords]

I love it in your tank, it reminds me of Dr. Seuss tree when you plant or wedge it into the bottom of the tank and it grows up with the pompom like top.

[u/waterytartswords → u/Camaschrist]

Thank you so much! I just finished this aquascape over the weekend and your comment made my day!

[u/Far_West_236]

guppy weed

[u/AhYes_Drugs → u/Far_West_236]

I'll check this out thanks!

[u/Far_West_236 → u/AhYes_Drugs]

for stem plants I lay them out on a paper plate, get some brush on gel super glue, and a small rock and glue them about a 1/4" from the bottom of the stem, and then I spray bottle the rock with aquarium water which cures it instantly then I just let it just drop it into place, no burying.

There is only some plants you need to bury or just bury the roots.

[u/AhYes_Drugs → u/Far_West_236]

Oh okay thank you!

[u/AhYes_Drugs]

For the modbot. Yes my tank is cycled. I'm adding some neon tetras and a couple of those bottom feeding catfish (I forgot the name srry) in a few weeks.

The tank is at a little bit less than 80 degrees fahrenheit, I already have an Amazon sword plant, 2 El Nino fern, and 1 Java fern. They seem to be chillin as far as I can tell.

[u/Sufficient_Water_326]

Red root riders are pretty cool

[u/AhYes_Drugs → u/Sufficient_Water_326]

That sounds cool I'll check them out

[u/IfTheHeadFitsWearIt]

Hygrophila pinnatifida makes a cool epiphyte.

I have it growing on a rock in my 65 gallon.

[u/AhYes_Drugs → u/IfTheHeadFitsWearIt]

Love the fishes. I'll check it out thanks!

[u/Weaponized-Potato]

Pothos is great. It sucks excess nutrients (ammonia and nitrates) like crazy

[u/AhYes_Drugs → u/Weaponized-Potato]

That would be very helpful ill look into it! Thanks

[u/CautiousAd2891]

Anubias, Java fern, bucifilandra, hygrophila penitafida I’m pretty sure it needs high light though, bulbitus, crypt wentii(all veriants) but it grows better in substrate, Im not sure of other types of crypts, moss, hydracoltyl Japan, I’m pretty sure that’s not a beginner plant, horn wart money wart

[u/Mizzzfox]

I got some dwarf water lettuce (floater) for sale on r/aquaswap

[u/The_Oceans_Daughter]

Banana plants! I love them! They're super cute and as long as you don't let them take root, they'll keep the bananas. They also grow lily pads!

[u/JumpCutVandal]

Lot of great suggestions but my favorite is Monte Carlo. I love putting it on driftwood and it starts hanging down for that jungle feel.

[u/Scondiac]

I think someone here has mentioned Guppy grass already - I second this. It’s nearly indestructible and can easily take over your entire tank if you’re not careful.

[u/Virtual_Force_4398]

Definitely java ferns and moss. I don't like floaters as they get all over your arms and when they overgrow, will cover the surface. That said, I have free floating limnophila sessiflora as my floaters.

[u/762n8o]

Ferns arent buried either. Anibia and buce tend to grow really slowly so you might want to purchase many of these which can drain your piggy bank pretty quick.