The art of aquascaping allows individuals to create captivating, even mysterious, underwater worlds. There’s something almost surreal about the dim, bluish light and the hypnotic sway of plants that makes people watch aquariums with rapt attention—and for good reason: an aquarium is as close as most of us come in everyday life to seeing far more strange mutations, stunning swimmingunga rivers deep inside caves or under massive waterfalls, places where only a few hardy fish would dare venture—with the fancy accessories that many hobbyists now use to construct what are essentially miniature topographies.
Epiphytic plants grow on the surface of other plants or objects, as opposed to being rooted in soil. In aquarium aquascaping, they tend to attach themselves to natural cover like rocks and driftwood and even artificial “rephrase” works fine with a wide array of epiphytes. That’s because most kinds of epiphytic plants thrive in water; they take advantage of the never-ending moisture but don’t demand sharp vigilance for their part. If you’ve ever set up an aquarium, you are probably aware that this space becomes a kind of mini-ecosystem complete with its very own community dissolved within water that seems almost indistinguishable from any wet environment found outdoors.
Anubias are well-regarded for their durable, thick leaves, and sluggish growth. Aquarium enthusiasts love them because they’re easy to grow and can thrive in a variety of water conditions, from soft to very hard (even with drastically different pH levels). You can often find Java Fern attached to an Anubias leaf by the pet store keeper when you purchase it, almost like a miniature terrarium within another plant. And when there’s bad weather outside, the Anubias doesn’t take umbrage, it just keeps on growing despite being underwater.
My first experience with epiphytic plants was with Java Fern. I was astonished by how easily it bonded to driftwood and how rapidly it changed the appearance of my tank—adding a dense, green covering that looked both natural and beautiful. That led me on a path to experiment with other epiphytes in aquascaping.
Creating an aquascape featuring these fascinating plants requires considerable planning and an eye for design, but the payoffs are well worth the effort.
One of my aquariums is set up as a “jungle riverbank” theme. I have used pieces of wood that have fallen from the nearby trees to simulate branches and some ferns attached to them to create what I consider to be a dense, forest-like appearance; and it really does look like something you might find along the banks of a river in such a place. The different colors on the leaves (planchettes) really give it some life, too. After this phase known as “setup” comes another named “decoration” or “arrangement,” when all the parts are in place but not planted out yet, in which one makes minute adjustments needed after everything is put together so that one can see how well all the various components work together.
Adding driftwood to your tank brings an organic, natural element that makes for some stunning visuals. For this particular setup of mine, I used pieces with decent-sized branches and twists to instantiate what can only be described as miniature tree trunks and branches. Previously, in one of my aquariums, I experimented with a combination of “dragon stone” and “spider wood.” The former spoke to me in terms of texture (which always seems to be a key element when working with testified hardscape materials), while the latter added lifelike wraps around both kinds of plants that inhabited said tank (specifically, epiphytes).
Attach epiphytic plants securely to hardscape elements, they’d otherwise float away. Use fishing line, cotton thread, or aquarium-safe glue to attach the plants to rocks and driftwood. Let them settle for a little while before adding the next plant. That way, you’re not covering up one if it frays as it starts to grow over material nearby, letting it become part of the ‘hooded’ structure that characterizes so many aquascapes. In one of my tanks, I attached an Anubias by wrapping it with some (white) fishing line that belongs in a marine tank (worked like a charm).
Epiphytic plants don’t really need CO² injection to grow. Actually, they might even do best without it. But if you want your epiphrekta (that’s ‘epiphyte’ in Chilean Spanish) to grow faster and healthier, providing sufficient CO² can be beneficial—especially when combined with optimal lighting and suitable water conditions in your tank.
CO² is dissolved in the water using a gas dissolution device or a separator attached directly to an aquarium heater. The portable CO² generators sold for freshwater aquariums typically aren’t designed with saltwater in mind, but some owners of saltwater fish tanks have successfully used them.
If this practice becomes more common among marine aquarists, it might stem from their desire, for both fish and photosynthesizing organisms inadequately covered but still essential topics that symbolize much larger pathways within aquatic ecosystems.
To keep your epiphyte-focused aquascape looking its best, perform regular maintenance. Follow these steps: Remove dead or discolored parts from the tank using sharp scissors. Maintain your tank’s cleanliness by removing debris and preventing algae growth that might occur in the water or on any surfaces within the tank. A vacuum/aquatic plant float helps keep your substrate clean, while a sponge scrubber keeps your glass sides sparkling clean—two very important aspects of epiphytic environment maintenance! Perform varying amounts of water changes when necessary but always try to maintain some kind of balance; I like to aim for a 20-30% change every week.
Certain fish, invertebrates, and other watery neighbors are more compatible with epiphytic plants and thrive in the same conditions. Peaceful small fish like tetras, rasboras, and dwarf cichlids are good choices for tanks with epiphytic plants because they add movement without disturbing the decorations. Small shrimp and snails are also good choices because they help keep the tank clean by eating algae and debris. They’re so interesting to watch as well! Consider adding some small bottom-dwellers like Corydoras catfish or kuhli loaches to your community, their slow swimming keeps them undetectable while cleaning up after meals down there on the substrate floor.
One of my epiphyte-focused aquariums is home to a diverse community comprising tetras, shrimp, and snails. The varied inhabitants liven up the tank with their lively movements and loft around the plants with apparent glee. Indeed, this combination of fish and invertebrates has become standard issue for many aquarists as they look to create not only tanks that are visually stimulating but also ones that are inhabited by numerous species thriving under well-oxygenated conditions. The art of aquascaping revolves around planting hardy aquatic flora in creative aquascapes on hardscape elements—called ‘ChaOCOCommunity’.
This technique has the most pleasant outcome: seeing my aquascapes grow and change over time. Experimenting with different types of plants, and especially epiphytic ones, has been one of the highlights of my diving career—all while keeping me more or less on track. Aquascaping pronounced “AH-kwah-skayping”). Epiphytic plants deserve some special mention because they’re arguably the most dramatic and visually interesting aquascape elements imaginable. Most people who see my YouTube video about building an epiphytic plant community will probably tune in thinking (and hopefully staying) for the whole 20-odd minutes because what I’m showing them isn’t just pretty but also teaches them something significant about how not to mess up their own tank.
I think I first learned how to do this from a mixtalum hanging waterfall poster in a California fish store when I was 18 years old. Trends come and go—in aquarium keeping as well as everywhere else, but doing things pictured in that old post have pretty much become de rigueur, or at least oughta be!
