Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that grows in or near water and is either emergent, submergent, or floating. In lakes and rivers, macrophytes provide cover for fish, substrate for aquatic invertebrates, produce oxygen, and act as food for some fish and wildlife.
Marsileaceae is a small family of heterosporous aquatic and semi-aquatic ferns, though at first sight they do not physically resemble other ferns. The group is commonly known as the "pepperwort family" or as the "water-clover family" because the leaves of the genus Marsilea superficially resemble the leaves of a four-leaf clover. In all, the family contains 3 genera and 50 to 80 species with most of those belonging to Marsilea.
Anubias is a genus of aquatic and semi-aquatic flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical central and western Africa. They primarily grow in rivers and streams, but can also be found in marshes. They are characterized by broad, thick, dark leaves that come in many different forms. The genus was revised in 1979 and since then its nomenclature has been stable. Species can be determined by using mostly characteristics of the inflorescence. Because of the often shady places where the plants grow, the genus was named after the Egyptian god Anubis, the god of the afterlife. The genus was first described in 1857 by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott, with A. afzelii as its type species.
Aquascaping is the craft of arranging aquatic plants, as well as rocks, stones, cavework, or driftwood, in an aesthetically pleasing manner within an aquarium—in effect, gardening under water. Aquascape designs include a number of distinct styles, including the garden-like Dutch style and the Japanese-inspired nature style. Typically, an aquascape houses fish as well as plants, although it is possible to create an aquascape with plants only, or with rockwork or other hardscape and no plants.
The celestial eye goldfish or Choutengan is a double-tailed breed of fancy goldfish that possesses a distinctive pair of telescope eyes, in which the eyeballs are turned vertically and the pupils appear to be gazing skyward.
Echinodorus, commonly known as burhead or Amazon sword, is a genus of plants in the family Alismataceae, native to the Western Hemisphere from the central United States to Argentina. Its scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek echius – "rough husk" - and doros – "leathern bottle" - alluding to ovaries, which in some species are armed with persistent styles, forming prickly head of fruit. Some of the species are commonly cultivated in artificial aquatic habitats.
Taxiphyllum barbieri, known as Java moss or Bogor moss, is a moss belonging to the family Hypnaceae. Native to Southeast Asia, it is commonly used in freshwater aquariums. It attaches to rocks, roots, and driftwood. In the wild, it grows in humid riparian areas.
The substrate of an aquarium refers to the material used on the tank bottom. It can affect water chemistry, filtration, and the well-being of the aquarium's inhabitants, and is also an important part of the aquarium's aesthetic appeal. The appropriate substrate depends on the type of aquarium; the most important parameter is whether the aquarium contains fresh water or saltwater.
Plant reproduction is the production of new offspring in plants, which can be accomplished by sexual or asexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction produces offspring by the fusion of gametes, resulting in offspring genetically different from either parent. Asexual reproduction produces new individuals without the fusion of gametes, resulting in clonal plants that are genetically identical to the parent plant and each other, unless mutations occur.
Ceratopteris thalictroides is a fern species belonging to the genus Ceratopteris, one of only two genera of the subfamily Parkerioideae of the family Pteridaceae.
A freshwater aquarium is a receptacle that holds one or more freshwater aquatic organisms for decorative, pet-keeping, or research purposes. Modern aquariums are most often made from transparent glass or acrylic glass. Typical inhabitants include fish, plants, amphibians, and invertebrates, such as snails and crustaceans.
Bolbitis heudelotii, also known as the African water fern, creeping fern, and Congo fern, is native to subtropical and tropical Africa, from Ethiopia west to Senegal; and down to northern South Africa.
Aponogeton ulvaceus is a submerged aquatic plant in the Aponogetonaceae family. It has a small cone shaped, slightly hairy rhizome about 30 mm in diameter. The leaf blades have a base that tapers gradually, pale green in colour, over 50 cm (20 in) long and 8 cm (3 in) broad, with a wavy margin on petioles of an equal length, and in appearance slightly translucent. A single bulb may produce up to forty leaves in good conditions. No floating leaves are formed. The yellow flowers are produced on one or two, and sometimes more, erect spikes.
Marsilea quadrifolia is a herbaceous plant found naturally in central and southern Europe, Caucasia, western Siberia, Afghanistan, south-west India, China, Japan, and Vietnam, though it is considered a weed in some parts of the United States, where it has been well established in the northeast for over 100 years. Its common names include four leaf clover and European waterclover (USA).
Anubias barteri is a West African species of Anubias, first described in 1860 by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott. It occurs in south-eastern Nigeria, Cameroon and on Bioko.
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, photosynthesis takes place here, stores nutrients, and produces new living tissue. The stem can also be called halm or haulm or culms.
Bolbitis heteroclita is an aquatic fern species of Bolbitis, native to the Indochina region of tropical Southeast Asia.
The King betta is a popular aquarium fish of unknown provenance.
Fontinalis antipyretica, greater water-moss, or common water moss, is a species of submerged aquatic moss belonging to the subclass Bryidae. It is found in both still and flowing freshwater in Europe, Asia, Greenland and Africa. In North America it is found in most Canadian provinces with a seaboard and most US states except the most southern.
Sempervivum ciliosum, the Teneriffe houseleek is a species of flowering plant in the succulent stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, native to the Balkans and Southeastern Europe. Despite a superficial resemblance, houseleeks are not closely related to the American cacti family. A colony-forming evergreen perennial plant, each individual rosette can grow to around 7.5 cm (3.0 in) high and wide, forming dense mats of up to 50 cm (20 in) wide.
