What kind of plants do you use in freshwater aquariums?

I was told that live plants will help reduce the nitrates/nitrites in my goldfishes' aquarium (10 gall.-just two little goldfish). Which plants should I start with and how do I tend to them? Thank you!

What kind of plants do you use in freshwater aquariums?
Live plants do not do well with goldfish as they will tear them up by the roots and potentialy destroy them entirely. The only live plants that may work with goldfish are some of the aquarium mosses such as taiwian moss and java moss.



You say you have two "little" goldfish in a ten gallon? If you don't know already I must inform you that these "little" goldfish will soon be very large and will require a 15-20 gal for one of them. For two you would be much better off with a 30 gal minumum. They will be OK in the ten gal for a little while, but not long because they grow very quickly and if you leave them in the tank while they grow it could stunt their growth wich is very unhealthy for the fish.
Reply:you can use java fern and anubias with goldfish. i like to give them extra inexpensive plants as salad greens too. water sprite and anacharis are good choices.



plants won't reduce ammonia but they can help keep ammonia from building up. they will reduce nitrites but actually help create nitrates.



your best bet is really increasing the size of the tank -- just two little goldfish can make a lot of ammonia.
Reply:If you only have gold fish I would stick with plastic plants. There is a large variety out there now that look real in the water. Gold fish are messy fish and need to be cleaned alot. Even in a filtered tank. This cleaning disrupts the plants and they don't do well.