10 Aquatic Plants Your Betta Fish Actually Thrive With

Bettas are often kept in these empty, sterile, boring tanks. And honestly, I'm getting tired of seeing it, y'all. So, we're going to go over the top 10 easiest plants for your betta fish tank. I see it almost every single day, people posting pictures of a beautiful betta fish sitting in a 5-gallon tank with nothing but blue gravel and maybe, maybe a plastic castle. This fish is bored, exposed, and living, quite frankly, what I would consider a miserable existence. In the wild, these fish live in thick, lush vegetation.

They want to be hidden. They want to feel covered. So, today, no fake decorations, just tools to help your tank look professional and keep your fish happy and healthy. So, let's get into it.

1. Water lettuce

Now, unfortunately, water lettuce is not going to be available in all 50 of the United States. Some of the states I've lived in, you can buy it. And some of them, it is illegal. So, if you live in the United States, water lettuce is illegal in a few different states. So, you'll want to check before trying to purchase this one. Now, these floating plants do need high light.

So, if you're using a cheap light kit, they might yellow, but oh man, the roots that grow on these things, they grow long, thick, and give your betta a private jungle to hunt through. And it is the ultimate way to fill up that top third of your tank. Honestly, if you have enough light, they might take over the entire tank.

2. Anubias

Sometimes I call this the betta fish recliner because the leaves are broad and strong enough to hold the weight of your fish. You'll see them literally park themselves on a leaf for a nap. Now, this plant only requires low to mid lighting. But be warned, if you blast this with a massive grow light, you will be scrubbing algae off the leaves every week. So, if you do have high lighting in your tank, maybe try and tuck this one into a more shaded area or possibly skip it altogether.

Just make sure you don't cover the rhizome all the way because if you do cover it, the plant will start to rot away. You can superglue it or tie it down to a rock or a piece of driftwood and just forget about it, and it'll pull the nutrients right out of the water.

3. Java fern

For your betta tank, Java fern is going to be your background workhorse. It's another low-light plant that doesn't want its feet in the dirt. So, if you have a dark corner where nothing seems to grow, this is the plant for that spot.

One thing you'll want to keep in mind is sometimes these plants will develop little black spots. You'll see the tips turn black or little brown bumps on the back of the leaves. A lot of beginners will think that this means that the plant is dying. It's not though. Those are going to be little baby plants.

These plants are awesome for producing more and more and more plants.

If you want to start learning about propagating plants, it doesn't get much easier than Java fern. Those little baby ferns will grow right out of the old leaf. And once they have roots, you can pluck them off and you've got a free plant. And who doesn't want free plants?

And this will really help you get your money's worth because you can fill up your whole tank over time. And it gives your betta a solid wall of greenery to claim as territory.

4. Amazon sword

If you want a high impact jungle look for your betta fish, you need an Amazon sword plant. Now, these plants can take up quite a bit of space and they do need medium to high lighting.

These are going to be heavy feeders through their roots. Most plants will pull from the water column, but the sword really wants its food from the ground. If new leaves are coming in pale or looking transparent, like stained glass, the plant is starving. You're pretty much going to want to shove a root tab every couple of months right under the base to help really keep this thing happy. If you feed them enough, they'll grow leaves long enough to drape over the surface, creating a canopy that makes your fish feel extremely secure.

5. Hornwort

Hornwort is the ultimate nitrate sponge and this plant will pretty much survive in any lighting conditions. It'll grow practically anywhere. This thing is a total oxygen factory. The mistake people often make is trying to plant it like a tree or where it has no real true roots.

So if you bury the base, it'll just rot and float away. Anchor it with a ceramic ring or maybe just let it float. It can be kind of brittle, so if your water changes too fast, it might drop all its needles.

Don't freak out. Just siphon them up and it'll grow back twice as thick. Do be warned, though. This plant looks awesome when it's growing well, but when it drops its needles, it sheds everywhere. I'm not going to lie, it's a mess. It's a mess. But for a nervous betta fish, a thicket of hornwort is like a wonderful warm security blanket.

6. Guppy grass

This is for that wild natural vibe in your betta fish tank. Guppy grass will prefer mid-light. If it's too dim, it'll start to get leggy, and if it's too bright, it starts to get brittle.

This plant will act as sort of a privacy screen. So, if you have a betta that's constantly stressed by his own reflection, just throw a massive clump of this in there. Problem solved. It will help break up the line of sight so that he can disappear for a minute and completely calm down. It also provides a massive surface area for good bacteria.

It's like having a second filter but made of grass. It can be very messy and fast growing, but your fish's confidence will skyrocket once they have this much cover.

7. Frogbit

Frogbit looks a little bit like tiny little lily pads. Like the water lettuce, it's a high light plant, but this one hates to get dripped on. So, if you have a lid on the tank and it keeps dripping condensation onto the leaves, they might start to turn to brown slime.

You kind of need an open top or some good airflow for this to grow properly in your tank. The roots of these plants can grow straight down, sometimes all the way into the substrate, creating a dappled lighting effect on the floor.

Your betta fish will follow the shadows around like he's in a real river. It looks high-end, and it helps keep the water clean. Just keep an eye on those roots. If they start to get into your filter, just trim them back with some scissors.

8. Java moss

Every betta fish tank needs moss, and java moss is a low-light haven. Don't just throw a clump in, spread it thin over a rock, and wrap it with some black thread. In about a month, that moss will grow through, leaving you with a lush green carpet. Why do bettas love it? It'll trap tiny microorganisms that they pick through all day long like a snack bar and it adds this sort of nice aged effect to a tank that just really gives it that extra substance. It's basically immortal. Even if it looks brown, it'll usually bounce right back with a little bit of light.

9. Pennywort

Pennywort for a betta fish tank is incredibly versatile, but it loves mid to high light. You can plant it, but personally, I prefer to let it float. When it reaches the surface, the leaves stay flat and buoyant. This is the holy grail for bubble nests. In a bare tank, a nest will just pop or drift away. With something like pennywort, the bubbles stay trapped under the flat leaves. If you see a bubble nest in your pennywort, your fish is feeling at home and happy. It's a great visual indicator that you've done your job right, and it's so easy to propagate. You just snip a stem and let it float.

10. Duckweed

And number 10, we all know I'm going to say it. Duckweed. Ah, yes. Y'all either love it or hate it, but it is such a great tool for a betta fish tank. It grows in pretty much any lighting conditions, whether you want it to grow or not. It also pulls waste out of the water faster than almost any filter. It's basically a living test kit. If it's bright green, you got plenty of nutrients. If it's turning white, your tank is too clean. It can grow very quickly and block out all the light to any of your other plants in your fish tank. So, you might want to keep that in mind. If you let it cover the entire surface, it will kill the plants below. You can scoop out about a handful every week. Yes, it's basically aquarium glitter, but for a beginner, it's one of the best insurance policies you can have for your water quality.

Disclaimer: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you buy through them I get a small percentage of the sale. All opinions on products are my own. Thanks for supporting The Nerdy Fish Girl!