List of marine aquarium plant species

Aquatic plants are used to give the aquarium a natural appearance, oxygenate the water, and provide habitat for fish, especially fry (babies) and for invertebrates. Some aquarium fish and invertebrates also eat live plants. Hobby aquarists use aquatic plants for aquascaping.

Marine algae are also included in this list for convenience, despite the fact that many species are technically classified as protists, not plants.

Brown macroalgae

Common name	Image	Taxonomy	Care Level	Growth rate	Description	Max size
False Sargassum		Cystoseira sp.	Moderate	Slow		18"
Scroll algae, Potato algae		Padina sp.	Expert	Slow		6"

Green macroalgae

Common name	Image	Taxonomy	Care Level	Growth rate	Description	Max size
Chaeto		Chaetomorpha sp.	Easy	Fast	Grows as a tangled mass of green filaments. Not particularly attractive, but this species can serve a useful role as habitat for microinvertibrates and an absorber of excess nitrogen and other nutrients. Often kept in a refugium.	24" mound
Blade caulerpa		Caulerpa prolifera	Easy	Fast		6"
Grape caulerpa		Caulerpa racemosa	Easy	Fast		8"
Green calcerous algae		Halimeda sp.	Easy to Moderate	Moderate		10"
Sawblade caulerpa		Caulerpa serrulata	Easy	Moderate		5"
Sea lettuce		Ulva lactuca	Easy	Fast		8" mound

Red macroalgae

Common name	Image	Taxonomy	Care Level	Growth rate	Description	Max size
Ogo algae		Gracilaria parvispora	Easy	Moderate		10"
Coralline Algae		Order Corallinales	Moderate	Slow	Ubiquitous in well maintained reef aquaria, this algae forms attractive splotches of color encrusted on live rock. Calcium supplementation encourages good growth of coralline algae species.

Mangroves

Common name	Image	Taxonomy	Care Level	Growth rate	Description	Max size
Black mangrove		Avicennia germinans	Moderate	Slow		70'
Red mangrove		Rhizophora mangle	Easy	Slow		80'
White mangrove		Laguncularia racemosa	Expert	Slow		60'

Seagrasses

• Turtle grass, Thalassia hemprichii and Thalassia testudinum
• Manatee grass, Syringodium filiforme

See also

• List of freshwater aquarium plant species
• List of brackish aquarium plant species
• List of marine aquarium fish species
• List of marine aquarium invertebrate species
• Marine aquarium
• Reef aquarium

References

• Marine Plants In The Aquarium: An online guide to the identification and care of marine plants and macroalgae in the aquarium. Gulf Coast Ecosystems http://marineplantbook.com