Hardy Stem Plant Pack – 14 Bunches of Fast-Growing Aquarium Stem Plants
Its job in your tank: nutrient sponge, by the bunch.
Fill your tank fast and leave algae nothing to eat.
Fourteen bunches of the toughest, fastest stem plants we grow, chosen to fill backgrounds and midgrounds quickly in a low-tech tank. Stem plants are also Father Fish's pick for shrimp tanks.
How it fits the Father Fish Method
Father Fish has kept fish for more than 70 years, and his method has helped thousands of aquarists build tanks that run on biology instead of bottles. A layer of living soil (Aqua Preta Complete Substrate) sits under a sand cap and feeds rooted plants for years. You plant heavily on day one and skip the CO2, liquid fertilizers and root tabs. Then the plants, the soil and the tiny life in them balance the tank. Fast stem plants are the method's first line of defense: they take up spare nutrients while the soil and your rooted plants settle in, so algae has nothing to feed on.
Father Fish says: "Start a new tank with stems and vals. Big plants in the back, small in the front. Plant heavily at the start."
What's in the pack
14 bunches of assorted hardy stem plants. Typical picks include hornwort, bacopa, Hygrophila, Ludwigia, Rotala, moneywort and water wisteria. The mix changes with the season.
Your plan
- Plant on day one. Push each stem about 1 inch into the sand cap, never into the soil.
- Father Fish tip: float fresh cuttings for 2–3 days so they start roots, then replant them.
- Top and replant every time the stems reach the surface. Each trim grows your stand.
New-tank lighting: run the lights 24 hours a day for the first 4 days, then 10–12 hours a day.
About substitutions: Packs are made up in advance, so we can't take requests for specific plants. If a plant is out of stock, we swap in a similar plant of equal or greater value.
