Best Aquarium Plants for Shrimp Tanks (and How to Feed Them Safely)

Plants do far more than decorate a shrimp tank. Every leaf grows a thin film of microbes and algae called biofilm, and that’s what shrimp graze on all day. Dense plants also give shrimp somewhere to hide while they moult and give newborn shrimplets a place to grow up safely. More plants usually means more shrimp, and more colourful ones.

What makes a good shrimp plant?

• Lots of surface area for biofilm to grow on, like fine moss branches or broad leaves
• Dense growth that gives cover during moulting and for shrimplets
• Easy care, so it grows steadily under the modest lights most shrimp tanks use
• No need for strong fertiliser or CO₂, which keeps water stable for shrimp

1. Mosses: the number one shrimp plant

If you only add one plant, make it moss. Java moss, Christmas moss and Bogor moss form fine, branching clumps that catch tiny food particles and grow thick biofilm. Shrimplets almost disappear inside them, which means far more of them survive to adulthood. Tie moss to wood or stone with cotton or a dab of gel superglue.

2. Anubias and java fern

Broad, tough leaves make perfect grazing platforms. Anubias nana and java fern grow slowly, need very little light, and are attached to wood or rock rather than planted in the substrate. Never bury the rhizome, the thick horizontal stem, or it will rot.

3. Carpeting plants

Low carpets such as Marsilea hirsuta or dwarf hairgrass give shrimp a meadow to forage through at the front of the tank. Marsilea is one of the easier carpets and will spread slowly even without CO₂.

4. Floating plants

Water lettuce, salvinia and frogbit trail long roots that shrimp love to climb and graze. Floaters also take up spare nutrients quickly, which helps keep algae down. Leave some open water so the plants below still get light.

5. Cryptocorynes and Subwassertang

Crypts root into the substrate and build dense clumps that need little attention. Subwassertang is a liverwort that grows into soft, bushy cushions. Shrimp spend hours picking through both.

Feeding plants in a shrimp tank

Shrimp tanks still need plant food. Without it, mosses go brown and slow down, and algae fills the gap. The key is using a fertiliser that contains no copper, because copper is toxic to shrimp even at very low levels. Read why in our guide to copper-free aquarium plant food.

Most shrimp tanks are low light, so dose gently. Start at half the usual PPS-Pro dose, which is 0.5ml per 10 litres of each bottle daily, and adjust from there. Our guide to feeding low-light tanks explains how.

Stocking a new tank? Our sister shop, The Shrimp Hub, breeds Neocaridina shrimp in Wakefield. Every one is quarantined and hand-graded before it’s sent.

Quick answers

What is the best plant for a shrimp tank?

Moss. Java, Christmas and Bogor moss grow thick biofilm for shrimp to graze and give shrimplets somewhere safe to hide.

Do shrimp eat live aquarium plants?

Healthy plants, no. Shrimp graze the biofilm and algae on leaves and only pick at plants that are already dying.

Is plant fertiliser safe for shrimp?

Yes, if it is copper-free and dosed sensibly. Copper is the ingredient to avoid in shrimp tanks.

Do shrimp tanks need CO₂?

No. Most shrimp plants grow well without CO₂, and skipping it keeps conditions more stable for shrimp.

Products mentioned in this guide