Patience is a virtue in aquascaping, but sometimes you just want results now. Fast-growing plants are incredibly useful—not just for quick visual gratification, but for aggressively pulling excess nutrients out of the water to starve out algae during a new tank setup.
Here are the undisputed speed champions of the planted tank world:
- Water Wisteria (Hygrophila difformis): This plant is an absolute weed in the best way possible. Given decent light and a nutrient-rich substrate, it will explode in size, throwing out massive, deeply lobed, bright green leaves.
- Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum): You don’t even need to plant this one. Just drop a handful into your tank and let it float. It grows inches per week, drawing heavy amounts of nitrogen directly from the water column.
- Vallisneria: If you want a tall, grass-like background, “Val” is your go-to. It propagates by sending out horizontal runners under the substrate, quickly forming a dense, underwater jungle of long, ribbon-like leaves.
- Pearl Weed (Hemianthus glomeratus): Need a fast carpet? Pearl weed grows at lightning speed. It requires frequent trimming, but you can achieve a full, bright green foreground in a fraction of the time it takes slower plants like Monte Carlo.
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