Are there any plants that don't need special substrate?

[Hummingguppy]

Hi, I have been wanting to put some plants in my tank. The thing is, I already have it set up, with some pretty natural gravel. I want to keep the gravel in there. Are there any plants that can grow in gravel and not sand or anything? Thanks.

 

[Reygan2]

Hi, I have been wanting to put some plants in my tank. The thing is, I already have it set up, with some pretty natural gravel. I want to keep the gravel in there. Are there any plants that can grow in gravel and not sand or anything? Thanks.

Sure! I've grown all sorts of plants in gravel. I do supplement with root tabs though.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Anacharis is a good hardy plant

 

[Sfgiants415]

There are plenty of plants that do fine in gravel. Plants like java fern and anubias are usually tied to pieces of driftwood or other ornaments. Amazon sword will even do fine in gravel as long as there are root tabs in the gravel. Try getting stem plants like hornwort or anacharis. They're easy to keep and can be grown floating or stuck inside the gravel. I've had good experience with jungle val also. Don't forget about moss.

I used to have a tank with gravel and I had good experiences with all those plants.

I've switched to substrates better suited for plants since then but I can assure you that those plants will do fine.

 

[reefdiver]

Water sprite

 

[Rivercats]

As long as the gravel has a smaller grain size most plants will do fine. Only Swords, bulb plants, and Crypts need root tabs as they are heavy root feeders.