Fittonia White - Aqua Plant advice?

[email protected] said:

All, so I just went to my local fish shop and picked up this plant...

However after looking online I don't think it is a Aqua plant. Anyone on here know if it is ok? Safe for fish and aquarium etc.

Many thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

I don't believe it's safe. It's a surface plant to my knowledge

Sent from my SM-G925T using Tapatalk

I would almost bet that any bi-color plant being sold is not aquatic.

Seeing that you have an iPhone always check plants in store before purchasing.
Many times I check for plant requirements while in the store.
LFS's don't always profess accurate lighting requirements either.

Seattle_Aquarist said:

Hi Ben,

Welcome to TPT!

The plant was labeled correctly, it is a Fittonia.....regrettably not an aquatic but a terrarium plant.

Click to expand...

So is this not safe to be in the tank? Will it release toxins? Can't believe the fish shop was selling this!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Ben,

The big box pet stores sometimes label plants so you can tell if it is for a terrarium or for an aquarium, but sometimes not. If I don't know a species I research it (typically Google) and see if it will grow in my tank or not.....the Fittonia will not...it will die. It may cause water quality issues when it dies; why not grow it on a windowsill and find another plant to fill that space?

Definitely not an aquatic plant, will die and not be good for water quality. It is however safe as an emergent plant. If you have a hang on filter stuff it in there with the leaves above the water and it'll grow just fine

I love fittigonias for terrariums, but I don't believe it will survive well underwater. In my case, fittigonias don't like "wet feet," or for their foots to be constantly wet and will rot from the bottom up. Also, fittigonias are an invasive plant, so in the landscape it will reproduce and propagate in places you don't want it to... hence the reason it's good for terrariums but not many other places.