High-light aquarium plants

High-light plants want strong lighting to hold their color and compact form, and most do their best with CO2 and regular fertilizing behind them. This is high-tech territory: carpets, red stems and other showpieces. Profiles list the light, CO2 and growth to expect.

Height: 1.2–31.5 in; 1.2 in (3 cm) to 31.5 in (80 cm); half the list stays at 11.8 in (30 cm) or under
Temperature: 68–82°F; 20–28°C, most of the list
CO₂: 7 no CO₂ needed; 49 CO₂ beneficial · 56 CO₂ required
Growth: 21 slow growing; 37 medium growth · 54 fast growing
Difficulty: 10 easy; 48 medium · 54 difficult

89 plants and 23 varieties

Start here

High-light plants that stay easy

The ludwigia super red is marked easy, lists high light and grows without CO2 to 19.7 inches (50 cm). It needs strong light, CO2 and steady iron to turn a solid deep red. The ludwigia brevipes is the same rating, a narrow-leaved stem for the midground. The parrot's feather is a fast, feathery stem marked easy at 15.7 inches (40 cm). The oriental sword is a compact sword that wants high light to stay short. The red root floater turns red at the surface, where the light is strongest, and needs no CO2. The Senegal tea plant is a fast green stem to 23.6 inches (60 cm), marked easy with no CO2.

The rule

What high light asks of the rest of the tank

High light means a plant fixture running at the strong end of its range, and everything else in the tank has to keep up with it. Light drives growth, growth needs carbon and nutrients, and a tank with strong light and nothing else grows algae instead of plants. Most plants here list CO2 as required or beneficial, and the profiles that say required mean it. About half the stems here are marked fast and want trimming weekly, while the slow ones do not. The first sign of a nutrient running short is algae on the glass.

01
Light needs CO2
Strong light without carbon grows algae, not plants
02
Feed to match
Nitrate, phosphate, potassium and iron, dosed on a schedule
03
Trim weekly
The fast stems race under strong light
04
Algae is the gauge
The first sign that something else ran short

Reds

The red stems

The ludwigia arcuata is marked medium, 19.7 inches (50 cm) of needle leaves that turn red under high light. The ammannia gracilis is the same rating, a fast stem that goes orange-red. The Rotala H'ra, Colorata, Orange Juice, Wayanad and Fujian are red and orange rotalas marked medium with CO2 beneficial. The Rotala H'ra needs high light to color, and at that light CO2 becomes effectively necessary to stay ahead of algae. The rotala macrandra is marked difficult, the scarlet rotala that needs steady CO2 and soft water. The Ludwigia Pantanal is one of the most demanding stems in the hobby. The rotala wallichii carries fine needle leaves at 11.8 inches (30 cm), marked difficult.

Carpets

Carpets that need the light

The dwarf baby tears is the carpet everyone wants, 2 inches (5 cm) tall and marked difficult. It lists high light and CO2 as required, like most carpets here. The glosso is the same story at 1.6 inches (4 cm) and grows upward the moment the light drops. The Hydrocotyle mini is marked medium, a fast carpet of tiny round leaves. The Pogostemon helferi grows in crinkled rosettes at 3.1 inches (8 cm), marked medium. The Staurogyne Porto Velho is a 3.1 inch (8 cm) carpet marked medium that lists CO2 as beneficial. The waterwort is marked difficult and wants a mature tank with soft water under the light.

Green stems

Green stems that want the light

The green cabomba is marked medium at 23.6 inches (60 cm), a feathery stem that falls apart under weak light. The Limnophila aromatica turns purple under strong light and stays green under less. The giant ambulia and the Limnophila hippuridoides are the tallest Limnophila here at 19.7 inches (50 cm). The star grass is a fast, bright green stem marked medium at 15.7 inches (40 cm). The Pogostemon erectus grows in stiff, pine-like stems at 9.8 inches (25 cm). The Hygrophila Araguaia is a compact stem at 7.9 inches (20 cm) that turns brown-red under high light.

Collectors

The collectors' plants

The Blyxa japonica is a grassy rosette marked medium at 7.9 inches (20 cm) that turns golden under strong light, and the Blyxa aubertii is its demanding relative at 15.7 inches (40 cm). The Tonina fluviatilis wants soft water with a carbonate hardness of 4 or less as well as the light. The Syngonanthus Belem wants a carbonate hardness under 5. The Eriocaulon cinereum is a 3.1 inch (8 cm) rosette that feeds through its roots. The Pogostemon stellatus is a 23.6 inch (60 cm) showpiece that needs nitrate, phosphate and iron dosed without a break. All of them list high light, and all but the Blyxa japonica list CO2 as required.

By the numbers

Smallest

Tallest

Easiest to grow

No CO₂ needed

Fast growers

FAQ

Common questions

Do high-light plants need CO2?

Most do. Nearly every plant here lists CO2 as required or beneficial. The red root floater, Senegal tea plant, water poppy, water hyacinth, floating ludwigia, water starwort and red mangrove list none. The easy ones, such as the ludwigia super red and parrot's feather, grow under high light without it.

Why do I get algae with a strong light?

The light is outrunning the carbon and nutrients. Add CO2, dose fertilizer on a schedule, plant heavily with fast stems, and shorten the photoperiod to six hours until the plants catch up.

How many hours should a high light run?

Six to eight hours a day. A longer photoperiod grows algae, not more plant.

Which high-light plants are easiest?

The ludwigia super red, ludwigia brevipes, Ludwigia Dark Orange, parrot's feather, oriental sword, Paul Kloecker sword and Senegal tea plant are marked easy. The red root floater, water poppy and water hyacinth are floaters marked easy. The parrot's feather, water poppy and water hyacinth are marked invasive.

Do I need special substrate?

The easy stems can manage in sand or gravel with liquid fertilizer and root tabs. Many other stems here do best over a nutrient-rich substrate. The Syngonanthus Belem and Manaus, the Tonina fluviatilis and the Eriocaulon setaceum are soft-water stems that need an acidic aquasoil. The carpets and the Eriocaulon rosettes feed through their roots and want an aquasoil.