11 Plants Your Guppies Will Love In Their Tank

Plants are a critical part of your guppy tank—they just love the plants! Besides simulating their natural habitat, plants help clean and oxygenate the water. More importantly, mossy plans or those with lots of leaves provide guppy fry with places to hide and cover from adults until they grow up.

This article will walk you through how to choose plants for your guppies and my favorite choices.

What Plants To Guppies Like?

Guppies love to have plenty of aquatic plants to hide, play, and rest in. Any of the plants listed below would make an excellent addition to your guppy tank.

Last update on 2023-05-31 / Commissions Earned / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

How to Choose Plants For a Guppy Tank

Here are some major factors that you should be on the lookout for when choosing plants for a guppy tank.

Light Levels

When picking out plants for Guppies, you need to make sure that your aquarium’s conditions are suitable for the plant. For example, some plants need high light levels to survive and grow properly, while others prefer low light levels.

Simply ask yourself if your tank has low, medium, or high light levels, and double-check that your plant of choice can survive in your tank.

Lots of Cover

Even though plants aren’t necessary for guppies, your fish can really benefit from the cover, especially if they’re breeding. Plants provide baby guppies with areas of cover, so they’re most likely to survive marauding adults.

Dense plants provide baby guppies with lots of hiding spots, so they can stay there and hide from adults until they’re grown up. Also, plants help keep the water clean and well-oxygenated. 

Ease of Care

Listen, it’s difficult enough to take good care of your guppy tank, so having plants that are easy to take care of would be a blessing. I’m in favor of hardy plants that I don’t have to fuss over because they can survive in most water types and low temperatures.

11 Live Plants For Guppy Tanks

If you don’t know where to start, here are my all-time favorite plants for guppies to make your choice a little easier.

1. Java Moss

• Growth Rate: Fast
• Max Height: 5” in height and width
• Light Demands: Low to medium
• CO2: Not required
• Difficulty: Easy

Java Moss is definitely the way to go for aquarists who just want to throw a plant into the tank and call it a day. This hardy plant provides lots of hiding spaces for baby guppies to grow, making Java Moss the perfect plant if your guppies are constantly breeding.

Even though this fast-growing and oxygenating plant can grow under any light level, I strongly recommend leaving it in low to medium light because high proportions of light might cause Java Moss to grow too dense, which might lead to the growth of algae.

Pros:

• Easy to take care of
• Oxygenates the water
• Can survive in most light conditions
• Hardy plant
• Suitable for any tank size

Cons:

• Might grow algae if the light is too strong

Last update on 2023-05-31 / Commissions Earned / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

2. Flame Moss

• Growth Rate: Medium to fast
• Max Height: 4”
• Light Demands: Medium
• CO2: Not required
• Difficulty: Easy

Much like Java Moss, Flame Moss is great for breeding guppies because it provides the fry with many hiding spots from the adult fish. If you don’t like how fast the Java Moss grows, you’re in for a treat because Flame Moss grows at a medium rate.

Additionally, Flame Moss is great because it’s an easy plant to take care of. Looks-wise, this plant grows horizontally to look like dark green flames, which is where the name came from.

Pros:

• Easy to care for
• Grows upwards into the shapes of flames
• Offers excellent coverage for fry

Cons:

• Can grow bacteria if exposed to too much light

Last update on 2023-05-31 / Commissions Earned / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

3. Christmas Moss – Vesicularia Montagnei

• Growth Rate: Slow
• Max Height: 2”
• Light Demands: Medium
• CO2: Not required
• Difficulty: Medium

As the name implies, Christman Moss has branches that grow to look like Christmas Trees. When compared to Java Moss, Christmas Moss tends to be denser and grows much slower. Still, it offers excellent coverage for baby guppies to survive.

However, there’s a considerable difference between Java Moss and Christmas Moss when it comes to the amount of care required. The latter plant requires a bit more love and attention to grow. Also, Christmas Moss requires a little trimming every now and then to keep the plant healthy.

Pros:

• Offers great coverage
• A perfect plant for creating moss carpets and walls
• Adds beautiful rich color to the tank

Cons:

• Requires moderate care

Last update on 2023-05-31 / Commissions Earned / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

4. Anacharis Elodea Densa

• Growth Rate: Medium to fast
• Max Height: 8”
• Light Demands: Medium
• CO2: Not required
• Difficulty: Easy

Also known as Brazilian Taer Weed, Anacharis Elodea is the perfect background plant for a guppy tank. This fast-growing plant can get up to 8-inches tall with dark green stems and lots of leaves. These leaves make the perfect shelter for guppies to lay eggs and for the fry to grow and hide.

When it comes to taking care of Anacharis Elodea, it’s important to know that it won’t stop growing; you’ll have to keep trimming the plant regularly, or it’ll simply take over the tank. Besides, the plant would love some liquid fertilizer.

Pros:

• Gets rid of toxins in the water
• Can grow in most water conditions
• Looks great as a background plant

Cons:

• Needs regular trimming

Last update on 2023-05-31 / Commissions Earned / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

5. Water Sprite (Ceratopteris Thalictroides)

• Growth Rate: Fast
• Max Height: 13.5”
• Light Demands: Medium to high
• CO2: Not required
• Difficulty: Easy

Water Sprite is one of the prettiest aquarium plants, thanks to its bright green color. You can let the plant float in the water or use sand or gravel as a substrate. Even though Water Sprite doesn’t really need fertilizer, you can really boost its growth and health by adding liquid fertilizer.

It’s also known as Water Fern, and it’s one of the most popular aquarium plants because it’s versatile and simple to care for.

Pros:

• Easy to maintain
• Offers great coverage for fry
• Can be left to float or planted
• Prevents the growth of algae

Cons:

• Grows too large to be used in small tanks

Last update on 2023-05-31 / Commissions Earned / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

6. Water Wisteria

• Growth Rate: Fast
• Max Height: 20”
• Light Demands: Medium to high
• CO2: Not required
• Difficulty: Easy

Being one of the most versatile plants, Water Wisteria is also a hardy plant that’s so easy to care for. This plant can be used as a carpet or a background plant, whichever look you prefer.

Did I mention that Water Wisteria helps clean the water? Because it does! Besides, this bright green plant creates many hiding spots for fry.

Pros:

• Hardy plant
• Can be placed as carpet plants or left to float
• Helps keep the water clean

Cons:

• Needs decent lighting

Last update on 2023-05-31 / Commissions Earned / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

7. Java Fern – Microsorum Pteropus

• Growth Rate: Fast
• Max Height: 14”
• Light Demands: Low
• CO2: Not required
• Difficulty: Easy

If you can’t keep up with fast-growing plants, you’ll love Java Ferns for your guppy tank. This plant loves low or moderate lighting because having strong lights might cause the plant to go brown instead of its beautiful green color.

If you decide to go for Java Fern, I strongly recommend getting multiple plants to provide as many hiding spots as possible for baby guppies to survive adults.

Pros:

• Beginner-friendly
• Can survive in most water conditions

Cons:

• You need multiple Java Ferns for fry

Last update on 2023-05-31 / Commissions Earned / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

8. Java Fern Microsorum Bundle – 4 Species (Trident, Windelov, Narrow Leaf, Philippine)

If you loved Java Ferns, but you want a bit more variety than having the same plant over and over again, you have to take a look at this bundle.

You’ll be getting four different species of Java Fern: Trident, Windelov, Narrow Leaf, Philippine. All these species require very similar tank conditions to grow, so you can put your mind at rest.

Pros:

• Multiple species of Java Fern
• All species require similar tank conditions

Cons:

• Not suitable for nano aquariums

Last update on 2023-05-31 / Commissions Earned / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

9. Greenpro Anubias Nana Potted

• Growth Rate: Slow
• Max Height: 7.5”
• Light Demands: Low
• CO2: Not required
• Difficulty: Easy

One of the easiest plants to take care of, the Anubias Nana is perfect for most guppy tanks out there; it requires low lighting, and that’s about it. This African plant provides baby guppies with lots of hiding spots, thanks to its many leaves.

Additionally, this plant helps oxygenate your tank and clean the water, providing your guppies with excellent water conditions for them to grow and thrive.

Pros:

• Helps clean the water
• Requires very low maintenance
• Oxygenates the water

Cons:

• Turns brown if exposed to too much light

Last update on 2023-05-31 / Commissions Earned / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

10. Anubias Bundle – 4 Species (Barteri, Wrinkle Leave, Cogensis, Hastifolia)

This found-in-one bundle is for those who want the most variety of plants possible in their tanks. These four species of Anubias plants are perfect for most freshwater aquariums with low lighting.

All these species help oxygenate the water by converting extra CO2 into oxygen. Additionally, they’re all easy to take care of. In this bundle, you’ll be getting Barteri, Wrinkle Leave, Cogensis, and Hastifolia.

Pros:

• Low maintenance plants
• A great four-in-one bundle
• Oxygenate the water

Cons:

• Can’t stand intense lighting

Last update on 2023-05-30 / Commissions Earned / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

11. 10 Species Live Plants Package

Who said you have to settle for just one or two types of plants? With this bundle, you’ll be getting ten different species of plants that can all grow in freshwater aquariums with moderate to intense lighting.

Each species has its own color and look, which can really boost your aquarium’s overall look. Besides, your guppies will love the plants, especially baby guppies, thanks to how many hiding spots they’ll find.

I strongly recommend this bundle if your tank is of size 30 gallons or bigger, so they can all grow comfortably.

Pros:

• A bundle of ten species in one
• A variety of colors, shapes, and heights

Cons:

• Only for 30-gallon tanks or larger

Last update on 2023-05-30 / Commissions Earned / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Which Plant Will You Pick For Your Guppy Tank?

As you’ve seen throughout the article, guppies can live with many different types of plants, which can make the choice harder for you.

If your guppies are breeding, it’s important to have plants where the fry can hide until they grow up.

All in all, your plant choice depends heavily on your tank conditions in terms of size and lighting. All of the plants I mentioned are simple to care for and easy to grow out. However, keep in mind that they can always do better with CO2, some fertilizer, and regular trimming.

Last update on 2023-05-31 / Commissions Earned / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API