One of the great joys of keeping an aquarium is creating natural looking environments for our fish. Once you get a glimpse of some of the gorgeous planted aquariums online, the urge to go with a planted tank is overwhelming. Unfortunately, unless you have someone knowledgeable holding your hand, the major pet store chains are your guide. That spells out trouble as their staff’s aquatic plant knowledge is normally at zero, and their product labeling is confusing.

Both PETCO and PetSmart carry a line of plants in plastic tubes that are labeled under a sign that notes they are for terrariums and aquariums. While that sign is technically true, I would say only 15% of the plants are actually meant to be in an aquarium. The rest of the plants are not meant to be submersed completely in water. What happens you submerse them? Nothing at first, as the plants are grown in such a way that makes each generation more resistant to being underwater. That still doesn’t make them aquatic plants. They will not thrive underwater, and eventually these plants will rot away.

I was once a victim to the confusing plant in a tube marketing. These did grow some new roots, but eventually got mushy and rotted away. These plants are called Ribbon Plants, and I’ve seen them in countless videos and pictures of people’s aquariums. The big chain pet stores not only have them in those tubes, but they also keep them in little pots in a tank for sale. Unless you’re seeing the plant as it just arrives to the store, they generally look pretty ratty.

Another common plant that gets put into aquariums is Lucky Bamboo. It’s actually not bamboo at all. You are seeing it here as it should be grown. The entire plant is not meant to be submersed under water. This will eventually lead to the rotting of the plant. As long as the plant is kept with its leaves portion of above the water the, it can survive and grow.

It’s really unfortunate that there is so much confusion in the market for what really is a true aquatic plant. Some plants are an easy visual identification, but with so many plants out there, it’s impossible to identify everything you come across. If you’re not sure, what I’ve found very useful is to use my Blackberry to do a quick Google search. Although the plants may not be aquatic, the name of the plant is normally labeled properly. If you don’t have a search capable portable device with you, be patient. Go home and look it up. You’ll be happier if you get it right, rather than getting it right now.