Freshwater

While you’re checking out a shop’s tropical plants, see whether they are
being kept in warm tanks. If they’re kept in cold water, they probably won’t
survive very long after you place them in your home aquarium.
Substrate for rooting
Live plants prefer a one- to two-inch deep substrate that consists of fine
gravel or coarse sand ( 1 ⁄16 inch to 1 ⁄8 inch is great). This type of substrate
allows water to move through plant roots so that they can gather nutrients. It
also provides plants with the space they need for their roots to fork out as
they grow.
Filtration
Clean water is very important for successful plant growth in your aquarium.
Dirt and debris settle on the surface of the leaves and clog the plant’s pores.
Keep plant leaves clean by gently brushing them with a soft toothbrush that
you keep for plant aquarium use only. If your aquarium water gets too dirty,
the amount of energy-giving light is drastically reduced. Water changes and
vacuuming the water help correct the problem.
Try to use filtration that doesn’t pump tons of air bubbles into the water,
which drives out the CO2 your plants need. A power filter or canister filter
would be the best bets for a plant-heavy tank setup.
Feeding
Chapter 16: Live Plants for Freshwater Aquariums
The tap water in your aquarium doesn’t have the necessary trace elements
and nutrients your plants need for proper growth. You can put tablets and
liquid feeders (which provide nutrients, found at your local pet shop) in the
gravel near the plant’s roots for fertilization — best done after a water
change. You can also place a single cutting in the center of a plug, which provides
nutrition on a continual basis. You then bury the plug in the gravel.
Here is a good site to take a look at plugs:
www.aq-products.com/Catalog/Plants/Plant%20Plugs.htm
Do not use household plant fertilizers in your aquarium because they contain
extremely high amounts of phosphates, which are bad for fish.
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