Which Are The Best Aquarium Plants On The UK Market?
Yes, you can order live aquarium plants online. They come well packaged to survive the trip. All you need to do is transfer the plant to your aquarium and take care of it.
If you don’t want the hassle of taking care of live plants, you can also order artificial plants made with plastic. These are great if you are buying plants mostly for aesthetics.
In this buying guide, we recommend the best aquarium plants, both natural and artificial, on the UK market. We also have a few shopping tips to help you choose the best plants for your aquarium or fish tank.
If you don’t have time to read everything, here is a brief summary.
Best Aquarium Plants (UK Market)
| Image | Product | Features | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
Our Top Pick
| Aquadip Anubias Barteri Live Tropical Aquarium Freshwater Plants
| 9.4
| Check Price On Amazon |
Value For Money
| Aqua One Silk Plant Mix 2, Pack of 4
| 9.3
| Check Price On Amazon |
Low Maintenance
| DIGIFLEX Artificial Plant for Fish Tank
| 9.2
| Check Price On Amazon |
Great Variety
| Lincspplant Mixed Tropical Live Aquarium Plants
| 8.9
| Check Price On Amazon |
For Small Tanks
| biOrb Easy Plant, Small, Pack of 2
| 8.8
| Check Price On Amazon |
Features to Consider When Choosing Aquarium Plants
A. Live vs. Artificial
The first thing you need to decide is whether you want live or artificial plants. Both have their pros and cons.
Live plants look, well, real because they are. If you want realistic plant life in your fish tank, get live plants.
Live plants have other more practical benefits: they oxygenate the water, they reduce algae by taking up nutrients that algae rely on and, in an emergency, they provide a source of food for your fish (don’t worry; unless you forget to feed them, fish don’t devour aquarium plants – they’ll only nibble at them occasionally).
On the downside, live plants need a bit of work to maintain. You have to make sure conditions like temperature, light and CO2 levels are right.
There’s also a risk that the plants you’ve bought won’t grow. If not properly set in the substrate, the roots can also rot and kill the plant.
The good news is, it’s easy to find easy-maintenance, hardy aquarium plants that thrive without requiring tons of care.
But if you’d rather not take the risk, get artificial aquarium plants instead.
They are usually made of plastic and are designed to resemble the real plants as much as possible. However, you won’t find artificial aquarium plants that are as realistic as actual plants.
But the almost-real look is enough for most people. Once you put the plants into the water, it’s difficult to tell they are fake.
Artificial plants don’t need to be taken care of and they don’t die or rot. However, if you buy a low quality plant, it can fade or even start disintegrating, which will put your fish in danger.
If you have a saltwater aquarium, getting saltwater plants can be pricey. Artificial plants are a cheaper alternative.
B. Type of Aquarium
Most live aquarium plants are for freshwater fish tanks. If you have a saltwater aquarium, be careful to buy the right type of aquarium plants.
Alternatively, buy artificial plants. Most are ideal for either freshwater or saltwater aquariums.
C. Growing Conditions
If you decide to buy live plants, check their growing conditions. It’ll give you an idea of how much work you’ll need to put in to keep the plants arrive.
Different live aquarium plants vary in hardiness and tolerances. Some will survive in a wide temperature range and in fish tanks with low CO2 and light. Others require plenty of LED lighting to thrive and you have to make sure the water is within the right temperature range.
Be especially careful if you have a cold freshwater aquarium. Look for aquarium plants that can survive in low temperatures like Anubias, Java Fern and Christmas Moss.
In other words, learn what a specific type of plant needs and be ready to provide those conditions whether it’s adequate lighting, moderate CO2 levels or the right temperature.
But be careful though not to alter the right conditions for your fish.
Top 5 Reviews
1. Aquadip Anubias Barteri Live Tropical Aquarium Freshwater Plants
Anubias Barteri is a great choice if you are looking for a hardy, low-maintenance aquarium plant. It’s wide tolerance makes it a good choice for beginners as well.
This particular one sold by Aquadip grows to between 25cm and 45cm tall and can grow in poor conditions including low lighting and CO2 levels.
Providing the plant with plenty of light and the right amount of CO2 will make it grow faster and bigger.
The freshwater plant does best in temperature between 22C and 28C. So it’s not suitable or cold water aquariums that maintain a temperature below 20C.
Aquadip delivers the plant in a pot. You can put the plant in the aquarium with the pot. Cover the pot with substrate if you want to hide it.
2. Aqua One Silk Plant Mix 2, Pack of 4
If you are buying aquarium plants just for aesthetics and to give fish a place to play and hide, this pack of four artificial silk plants is perfect.
The pack includes two types of plants to add more colour and variety to your aquarium. Because they are made from fibre rather than plastic, the leaves are soft, ensuring fish don’t injure themselves.
Compared to plastic artificial plants, these silk ones look much more realistic. In the aquarium, the leaves move with the water just like real plants. Combine them with some lighting and you’ve got yourself a beautiful aquarium.
The best part is that you don’t need to worry about taking care of them. They don’t need a specific temperature, CO2 concentration or lighting. If you want zero-maintenance aquarium plants, Aqua One silk plants are a great choice.
3. DIGIFLEX Artificial Plant for Fish Tank
This is another good choice if you are looking for a zero-maintenance artificial plant. The DIGIFLEX plant is plastic, not silk so it may not look as realistic as a silk or live plant.
But once you put it in the water, it looks almost as good. At 20cm in height, the plant is fairly tall. Make sure it’ll fit in your fish tank.
The plant comes with a weighted base to keep it from floating. All you need to do is cover the bottom with substrate.
If the debris settles on the plant over time, you can remove it and wipe down the leaves with water and mild detergent.
The plastic material used for the leaves and stem is suitable for all kinds of aquarium including cold and warm water aquariums as well as freshwater and saltwater aquariums.
4. Lincspplant Mixed Tropical Live Aquarium Plants
PondPlantsUK offers a wide range of tropical plants for freshwater aquarium. There are over two dozen options including Amazon Sword, Moss Balls, Java Fern and Cabomba.
You can mix and match different varieties depending on the aquarium look you are going for. Most of the plants are available in packs. For instance, you can order 50 moss balls, 10 Amazon Sword plants or 25 Strand Ringed Ludwigia.
All plants are carefully packaged to keep them as fresh as possible during delivery.
Note that most of the plants are labelled as not safe for shrimp because of the presence of the Buprofezin, an insecticide that can kill shrimp.
5. biOrb Easy Plant, Small, Pack of 2
If you have a small fish tank, get this pack of two artificial plants from biOrb. The plants, base included, are 25.4cm tall.
If you have a larger aquarium, you can get the medium pack (35cm tall) or tall pack (45.5cm tall).
The plants are made with non-toxic plastic. In close range, it’s obvious they are artificial. But once you put them in the fish tank, they look more realistic.
Instead of a pot like most aquarium plants, the biOrb come with a smooth weighted ceramic ball at the bottom to keep the plants from floating. The small ball makes it easy to fit the plants in a small fish tank.
It’s also easier to cover up the ball with substrate.
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Jack Bennett
My name is Jack Bennett. I'm husband, father and aquarist enthusiast. I hope you will learn more about fish keeping with me.
