# Which Aquatic Plants to Avoid?



## jazz298 (Jul 29, 2007)

I have recently found out some of the plants I have bought for my tank are not fully submersible. Can anyone list off any more that should be avoided.


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## frozenbarb (Feb 8, 2007)

Then that wouldn't make them aquatic plant :-D

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php?category=11

plants that are non aquatic


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Mondo grass, Aluminum plant, any kind of bamboo, any kind of palm, Alternanthera bettzickiana (red, green, or gold hedge), spider plant, Dracena, dragon's tongue, purple krinkle, any philodendron, Lycopodium (ground pine) Selaginella, Japanese rush (Acorus sp.) Spathiphyllum sp. (Brazilian sword), Alternanthera sessilis, and many more. 

Sometimes people will try to sell any old weed.


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## jazz298 (Jul 29, 2007)

Ya I know that wouldn't make them aquatic, but they are sold as being aquatic, why do you think i asked the question

Thank you HeyPK, for a good answer I was looking for its much appreciated


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## ed seeley (Dec 1, 2006)

Greenline Aquatic Plant, a plant supplier over here, breaks their catalogue down and has a section of plants that are 'Species suited to emerse growth' 
http://www.aquaticplants.eu.com/acatalog/Basic_Products.html. Talking to the guy, he sells them because people want them for tanks with herbivorous fish, but he makes sure they know they won't survive by putting them in a section like this! Got to admire that as he's not trying to tell anyone they'll grow underwater for ever, but he's offering them to those who still want them.

There are pictures of most of them too to help you identify them in the LFS.


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## Fortuna Wolf (Feb 3, 2007)

Oh yeah, some might say, avoid riccia, 
I say avoid the floating Utricularia species, they'll get into everything. 
There's some terrestrial habit Utricularias which grow like say, Marsilea that are quite nice I hear.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Yes, that is another whole category of dubious plants---plants that are aquatic, but are hard to get rid of. _Utricularia gibba_ is almost as bad as hair algae, intertwining with other plants. _Eleocharis vivipara_ is also like that. I may be the only one, but I think that _Hemianthus micranthemoides_ is almost as hard to get rid of as duckweed, as it grows well floating and can grow from the tiniest fragments, and, if you don't keep up with it, you will soon have a solid mat covering the surface and shading out everything underneath.


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

Really? I've kept HM in tanks for years without any problems at all. It stays where I put it and I don't ever need to pull more than a stray stem or two from the surface. I wonder what the difference is.

I'd add many mosses to the list. I used Taiwan moss in my 180g and am now regretting it. Little bits and pieces come loose with every trim and they like to grow in and around other foreground plants. I recently pulled up my mat of HC to find that 80% of it had actually been replaced by the moss. No wonder it didn't look as good as I remembered.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

All plants that grow very easily with little care are weeds, almost by definition. Any of them can dominate an aquarium if given half a chance. But, if you do the necessary pruning, all of them can be very nice plants. So, I think it depends entirely on whether you enjoy pruning as often as twice a week or whether you prefer things that grow slowly, giving you time for other activities. And, I like using the plantfinder here as a guide for what plants are good to use - I enjoy just going thru it to see what I can learn.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

I agree with guaiac about HM. I've had it for years without any more invasiveness than any other plant. Mosses, however, do break off and will re-attach whereever it settles.


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## jazzlvr123 (Apr 29, 2007)

I aggree about the riccia I have a heavily scaped riccia tank and it is impossible to get rid of all the Utricularia gibba in there, once you have it, its there for good, not only becuase it is so invasive and gets into everything, but when you try to pull it all out, if you miss just one "bladder" on the plant, it will grow out to another big stringy chain until you sit down and do anothing Utricularia gibba "weeding" if you will, I do this Weeding about once every week or two


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