First Steps to Your Planted Aquarium - Growing Floating Plants

There are many different species of floating plants available to the aquarium hobbyist and they should be especially useful to beginners.
Floating plants can provide all of the advantages of a planted aquarium, but are generally much easier to keep.
A floating plants is any kind of plant such as Duckweed, Java Moss, or Pennywart that does not need to be rooted into the substrate and floats freely in the water.
Free floating plants can be very useful as they do not require the same level of fore-planning as plants which need to root in a good substrate.
Not only does mean that many of the benefits gained from having plants, such as extra aeration and food are gained, it also frees the hobbyist of extensive research into providing the right substrate.
It is very easy to keep many types of floating plants.
They will absorb a very large level of nutrients, so care must be taken to keep them under control.
In the case of Duckweed for instance, this particular kind of floating plant can spread very rapidly and threaten to take over the whole aquarium.
Fortunately it is easily removed just by scooping it up from the surface of the water and removing as large or small a portion as is desired.
It will be helpful to look at the ideal growing conditions for each individual species of floating plant, as it is helpful to know as much as possible about anything you may introduce to the aquarium.
They are a good alternative to keeping kinds that are planted in substrate in your tank, or plants that need to be attached to rocks or driftwood.
This is a convenience factor as much as anything else, although a beginner may find them useful to get started with his or her plant keeping.
Many kinds of fish, particularly goldfish, will enjoy eating them.
In the case of Java Moss, it is possible to encourage it to grow around a net framework, creating a "moss wall".
Small fish and fry will love to hide in this and it also provides food for them.
You will want to do a decent amount of research on anything you keep in your tank, to discover potential problems or conflicts it may have with the current inhabitants.
If you are trying to find an easy way to begin a planted aquarium, most species of floating plants are ideal.