Once you have an aquarium specifically designed for dwarf shrimp, you can start choosing more specific plants. Dwarf shrimp can benefit from more specialized aquarium plants, as shrimp are the cleaners in the aquarium. This blog post is about a dwarf shrimp aquarium and the plants. Read on to the end, as we have a great offer there.
Dwarf shrimp need some fine-leaved plants to graze on. Consider aquarium moss or Pogostemon erectus, for example. Avoid toxic imported aquarium plants like Vallisneria on lead!
The 5 best potted plants for shrimp
As described above, it's best to use some fine-leaved plants for shrimp. Consider aquarium moss like Java moss (Vesicularia dubyana). We're excluding these from this list of five because all moss species are good with shrimp. In this list, we're specifically referring to plants in a 5-centimeter pot on rockwool.
1. Eleocharis Parvulus
The Eleocharis Parvulus is an ideal plant for the front zone; its fine, hairy leaves provide a large hiding area for shrimp. They will likely spend the entire day grazing on this plant.
Eleocharis Parvulus
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2. Cardamine Lyrata
This aquarium plant is for the middle/back area of a shrimp tank. It grows upwards like ivy, making it particularly suitable for shrimp, as they also use it in this way. They climb the plant and graze it clean. Besides that, this aquarium plant is also easy to care for!
Cardamine Lyrata
3. Hygrophila Rosanervig
As I mentioned earlier in this article, you can use some more specific and specialized plants for shrimp. Hygrophila Rosanervig is one of them! This plant has a unique leaf color, namely pink veins! (hence the name rosanervig)
And unlike other "colored" plants, this one is not at all difficult to keep and it doesn't spread throughout your tank, perfect for the shrimp aquarium!
Hygrophila Rosanervig
4. Pogostemon Erectus
This Pogostemon is special and unique! It doesn't grow too tall and has a very fine leaf structure, making it suitable for a shrimp aquarium. Because of its fine leaves, baby shrimp will hide in them, resulting in a higher survival rate for your breeding group.
Pogostemon Erectus
5. Alternanthera Rosanervig
Last on this list, I just had to add this plant! It's a bit more difficult to maintain, but it has a very unique leaf color, red with pink. When it shines in your shrimp tank, it truly becomes the centerpiece of your aquarium. Ideal for adding texture and contrast to your aquascape!
Alternanthera Rosanervig
How to choose plants for a nano shrimp aquarium
When selecting plants for your shrimp aquarium, make sure they don't grow too large in your tank, so they don't overrun the entire tank. Also, be careful not to purchase plants containing lead, as these are often imported and treated with snail poison, which is also harmful to shrimp.
Therefore, choose mid-ground or foreground plants, as most mid-ground plants can also grow taller for background use, and you can always prune them. Attractive foreground plants provide the shrimp with a grazing area. You can achieve this with a plant like Micranthemum montecarlo.
Micranthemum Monte Carlo
The grazing area is ideal if you want to breed shrimp. For shrimp, the total running surface is important. The more running surface, the more you'll breed and the "larger" the shrimp tank will be. Of course, this doesn't mean shrimp don't need several liters of water.
If you're looking to start keeping aquarium shrimp and want a nice selection of plants, we recommend starting with a shrimp plant kit. This way, you don't have to worry about which plants to keep in your aquarium. Just let us know your preferences, and we'll customize the kit.
