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After perfectly setting up a stunning planted aquarium, the next thing that comes across our mind is, what are the best fishes to keep in a planted aquarium?
Maybe that's the reason why you are reading this article, right? Well, you can't put all types and species of fish in your planted aquascape as some fish are too large, some create excessive waste inside the tank, and some fish will eat your aquarium's plant.
Therefore, choosing the most appropriate fishes for the planted tank is a tricky task. Don't worry! In this article, I will help to pick the best fishes to keep in your lovely aquarium.
Top 10 best fishes for planted aquarium.
Let's see the name and descriptions of the fishes that will suit your aquascape aquarium without any issue.
1. Tetras This beautiful fish is the most common aquarium fishes that are used worldwide for good reasons. First of all, these small fishes have an eye-catching appearance, which makes your planted aquascape look gorgeous. In addition to that, this species of fish loves to live social life and doesn't harm the aquatic plants of your tank as they are carnivorous.
There are several versions of tetras fish available in the marketplace. I would recommend choosing among Gold tetra, Rummy nose tetra, Neon tetra, Cardinal tetra, and Serpae tetra. To ensure a standard living environment for these fishes, your aquarium should contain at least 5 gallons of water. Also, Tetra fishes prefer 6.5 or 7 pH and 70-80F warm water.
2. Livebearers Livebearers are special types of aquascape fish that keep the eggs within their body while giving birth to free-swimming young fish. Mollies, swordtails, platies, and guppies are harmless for any planted fish tank. They will love your java moss plants as their babies can hide behinds these weedy plants.
These types of species like 7-8 pH of acidic water. However, they will proliferate in an aquarium which is rich in mineral and carbonate. The sizes of these fishes are small (1-3 inches), and your tank must contain at least 10 gallons of water for this fish to survive.
3. Killifish You may not be familiar with this good-looking fish that can add value to your aquarium. They love to eat insects' larvae, thus keeping your planted fish tank from harmful insects, which could damage the tank's aquatic plants' growth.
Moreover, they can peacefully stay with other small or large species of fishes in your aquarium. They demand a slightly lower water temperature than other fishes. You have to arrange at least 5 gallons of soft water to your planted tank to give these fish species a better place to live and grow.
You can add Banded panchax, Bluefin Notho, and Lyretail Panchax to your planted aquascapes. Their average size is 2-inch, and you can easily take good care of them.
4. Dwarf Chiclid This is a small-sized fish of the Chiclidae family, specially called "Dwarf" by the fishkeeping hobbyist for its tiny size. However, they love to live in aquaria with plenty of plants, and that's the reason thousands of planted fish tank owners widely use it.
The grouping fish enjoys soft water with 4 -7pH of acidic water. Their average size is 3 inches, and your tank must contain at least 10 gallons of water.
Blue ram is the most popular Dwarf Chiclid, which is available in the market. Yes, big Chiclids are very aggressive and eat plants, but these small Dwarf Chiclids show entirely different characteristics. So, you don't need to worry.
5. Gourami This species of fish is worldwide famous as a planted aquarium fish for its peaceful nature. They love to play and swim on the top part of the tank water, and they need an aquarium heater like other tropical freshwater fish.
You can provide prepared food for them. By the way, they also eat small live food and keep your aquariam clean.
However, you need to put Dwarf Gourami in your tank to stay on the safer side as normal Gourami can grow very large, causing imbalance to your small to medium sized aquariums.
Dwarf Gourami grows up to 3-inch and makes your aquascape further extraordinary and live without hampering your carefully placed exotic plants.
6. Rasboras If you want a colorful, peaceful, schooling fish for your medium to small-sized planted tank, then these rasboras will be your best choice. They are close to Koi, Goldfish, and barbs as Rasboras are from the Cyprinidae family, and they don't grow larger than 4 inches.
But if you like further smaller Rasboras, then Scissortail, Lambchop, Lampeye, and harlequin will be suitable for you as their average size is 2-inch.
This species can survive in a 5 gallons tank and 4 - 5 pH water condition, plus you won't face any problem maintaining these easy-to-care fishes.
When you put them in your planted aquaria with adequate light fixtures and dark substrates, these fishes look magnificent in the eye.
7. Angelfish You will find angelfish in almost 90% of aquascapes around the world. Every fishkeeper loves this classic fish as they increase the aesthetic of the aquarium. These colorful fishes love to eat and move around by forming a team.
They can be easily maintained and don't cause any damage to plants and other fishes. They can survive in challenging water conditions and 4-5 pH acidic water.
However, they need at least 55 gallons of aquaria as they grow 8 inches long. Also, they prefer 75-80F temperature.
8. Dwarf Catfish Usually, catfish are big fishes with slow movement, but Dwarf catfish are small, friendly, and plant safe, which are suitable for planted fish tanks. These appealingly colored species are the best aquascaping fish for the ground or bottom part of the tank.
You can easily maintain them as their average size is only 2 inches, and they need 10 gallons of water to survive.
9. Discus If your aquascape is big or your aquarium can hold at least 100 gallons of water, then these fishes are perfect for your tank. They are vividly colored with a unique appearance, which enhances the overall beauty of the big-sized aquaria.
They live peacefully with Tetras and don't cause any destruction to the aquatic plants. They prefer low pH water.
10. Guppys These fish species will live peacefully in your aquarium if your tank is equipped with a heater. They seem stunning, hardy, and help aquatic plants to grow nicely. They don't like the high flowing water and also don't school in the aquarium.
Let's bring life to your planted aquarium!
An aquascape with plenty of gorgeous species of fish takes an aesthetically pleasing appearance. As a proud owner of such a fantastic aquarium, you must ensure that your plants and fishes get a healthy and favourable living environment.
And you should only choose those fishes which won't spoil your lovely aquatic plants. I believe by now you have understood what the best fish are to keep in a planted Aquarium.
Therefore, put these above-mentioned fishes in your aquaria, considering their water condition and volume.
