15 Best Plants For Koi Ponds: With Infographics & Charts
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Backyard koi ponds are very popular worldwide. This is considered a great hobby. Now if you want to build a koi pond from scratch then you must choose some plants for that pond. These are mandatory to have for the health of your koi fish.
Koi fish have a habit of nibbling plants. Still, they need plants in ponds to be safe, healthy & happy. So choosing the right plant for a koi pond may be tricky.
However, don’t worry because this article will discuss the 15 best plants for koi fish that you can choose. So without wasting time let’s dive deep into the topic.
Top 15 Best Plants For Koi Ponds
| Floating Plants | Water clover |
| Water Fern | |
| Water Lettuce | |
| Bog Plants | Water Iris |
| Water Celery | |
| Canna Lily | |
| Submerged Plants | Fanwort |
| Indian Swampweed | |
| Eelgrass | |
| Oxygenating Plants | Hornwort |
| Water Sprite | |
| Red Rotala | |
| Flowering Plants | Water Lotus |
| Water Lily | |
| Water Poppy |
The 3 best floating plants for a koi pond
Floating plants are perfect for any kind of backyard pond. These plants actually protect the pond from various types of algae. Not only that but these plants protect fish from intense sunlight. Moreover, they create a safer place for fish fries too. So you must add any one floating plant from this list for your koi pond.
1. Water clover (Marsilea)
Water clover is one of the most common aquatic plants that grow in various types of water bodies. They can be used as a great cover for koi fish and other creatures in your pond.
The best thing is that water clover can grow in intense sunlight and in shaded areas. So your koi fish will always be protected. This plant can spread all over the pond if it gets a proper environment. So maintenance is the key to controlling its excessive growth.
The height of the water clover can be 4 inches to 1 foot depending upon the depth of the pond. Baby fish will be safe under the leaves of water clovers.
2. Water Fern (Azolla filiculoides)
Water fern plants are often known as mosquito fern or people call it Azolla too. This is found worldwide, especially in tropical regions.
This plant is called mosquito fern because it covers the water surface in stagnant water bodies, which is why mosquitoes can’t lay eggs. However, this plant has agricultural values too.
Koi fish prefer to eat floating plants, especially Azolla. So you have to culture Azolla for your koi. It has nutritional value also.
3. Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes)
Water lettuce could be another best plant for your koi pond. This is a widely used plant in home or outdoor aquascaping due to its fabulous appearance.
This plant is very cheap and can be found anywhere in tropical countries. Apparently, it looks like a floating plant but its roots grow 20 inches long inside the water.
Koi has a habit of eating the root of this plant. However, you must maintain it well otherwise, it can capture the whole pond very quickly.
Read More:- Are Floating Plants Good For Aquariums? 7 Floating Plants Recommendations
The 3 best bog plants for a koi pond
A pond should be diversified by various types of plants. Otherwise, it may not show the biodiversity. So we recommend planting various types of plants in a koi pond.
Bog plants are such plants that grow in swamps. These plants prefer moist conditions. In simple language, if plants grow at the edge of the pond, it is called bog plant. Now we will know the top 3 bog plants for a koi pond.
1. Water Iris (Iris pseudacorus)
There are tons of bog plants you can find however, water iris is probably the best among those. There are various ways you can use this plant for your koi pond.
If you dislike that the koi are eating all of your floating plants then go for this bog plant without any hesitation. Koi won’t bother about this plant. Moreover, this plant can become a great hedge line in your pond. Not only that but you can get astounding flowers from this plant also.
Furthermore, this plant act as the natural filter for pond water. However, one thing is that water iris can’t live for more than one year. So you have to consider it before choosing.
2. Water Celery (Oenanthe javanica)
As the second option of a bog plant, you can choose water celery for your koi pond. This has its own benefits. This grows well at the edges of ponds.
Water celery is great for maintaining biodiversity. This plant produces nectar and pollen both. So different creatures like butterflies, flies, and moths come here. Actually, these creatures make your backyard pond beautiful.
Not only that but, this creates shades for your fish in the water. Different types of aquatic insects rely on it too. It creates an ecosystem and koi may flourish just because of it.
Read More:- 10 varieties of Koi Fish: Origin, Description & Pictures
3. Canna Lily (Canna)
Canna lily can be the third choice as it can’t live in cold areas. However, if you live in a tropical country then nothing will be better than this plant for koi ponds.
Unlike water celery, canna lilies are famous for their unique vibrant colored flowers. You can plant it very easily at the edges of koi ponds.
Canna lily is great to remove excess phosphorus, nitrate, phosphate, and carbon from the water body which is the real benefit of this plant. Furthermore, they resist pests like no one else.
Read More:- Is Koi Pond Not Clear? 7 Most Common Reasons of it
The 3 best-submerged plants for a koi pond
A pond should have submerged plants too. Actually, these types of plants offer tons of benefits. Mainly these plants generate food for invertebrates in the pond.
Now you must know these invertebrates are one of the important parts of the pond’s food chain or web. Passively these invertebrates also help to grow koi fast. So let’s know the top 3 best-submerged plants for a koi pond.
1. Fanwort (Cabomba caroliniana)
Locally known fanwort is officially known as cabomba plant. This is famous among fish keepers because of its appearance.
Fanwort is one of the best-submerged plants for any type of pond. If you add this plant to your koi pond then it can be a great place to cover koi eggs. Not only that, but this plant adds a tremendous level of oxygen during photosynthesis.
However, excessive growth of cabomba can cause the depletion of oxygen levels in the pond. Moreover, this plant can reduce the swimming space for koi inside the pond too.
2. Indian Swampweed (Hygrophila polysperma)
Indian swampweed is very famous in Asian and East Asian countries. This plant grows in those countries very well.
If you aren’t convinced by cabomba then Indian swampweed can be a good option as a submerged plant. It is best to plant on the edge of the pond underwater. When a white-colored flower grows in it the Indian swampweed can be differentiated well.
This plant doesn’t need any particular care like cabomba. You can just dump this plant underwater and it will spread automatically just like no one. It grows super fast.
3. Eelgrass (Zostera)
Eelgrass is one of the best-submerged plants for koi ponds. This is very popular among aquarists and outside pond enthusiasts because of its appearance.
Eelgrass grows very fast and its wavy leaves are a good place for fish to hide from predators.
This plant maintains biodiversity well. Lots of pond creatures depend upon this plant to eat. Eelgrass is a hardy plant enough which is good for a koi pond.
Read More:- How to Grow Koi Fast up to 2-2.5 Feet: 5 Steps Guides
The 3 best oxygenating plants for a koi pond
Each and every plant releases oxygen during photosynthesis. So apparently everyone is important. However, for a pond, dissolved oxygen is much more significant than anything else. So there should be some oxygenating plants specifically for your first koi pond.
Submerged plants are good enough to keep as oxygenating plants. So here we’ll recommend more submerged plants for ponds. Let’s discuss the 3 best oxygenating plants for a koi pond.
1. Hornwort (Anthocerotophyta)
Hornwort is one of the top oxygenators for ponds. Submerged plants may increase the oxygen level of your koi pond but hornwort does it dedicatedly.
Hornwort appears with a blue-green color. Its stems appear like horns of mammals with leaves so it is called hornwort. It grows well in stagnant or slow-moving water conditions.
Koi fish don’t eat this plant which is one of the main benefits of adding this plant to the koi pond. Furthermore, it can be used as a floating plant too.
2. Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides)
Water sprite is famous among aquarists because of its large amount of benefits. Aquariums and ponds both should have water sprite to keep creatures healthy.
If your koi pond needs a large amount of oxygen then water sprite should be the first priority. Its photosynthesis rate is so high and adds a tremendous amount of oxygen to water.
This plant can be kept in stagnant pond water too. It absorbs nitrates from the water body which stops algal bloom in the pond.
3. Red Rotala (Rotala rotundifolia)
Red rotala is another impressive plant for a koi pond. This plant has lots of varieties and is very famous among aquarists and pond enthusiasts.
Red rotala is a plant that is very good at removing excess bioload from the pond. Now if you keep Koi and goldfish in the same pond then red rotala should be chosen over other oxygenation plants.
It is a terrestrial plant too. So you can put it at the edge of your ponds. It can absorb nutrients carried by rainwater coming from the other portions of the garden.
Read More:- How to Get Crystal Clear Koi Pond Water Right Away
The 3 best surface flowering plants for a koi pond
Koi fish is considered a great pet for fish keepers. They grow big and colorful enough over the years if they get the proper care.
Now you must decorate the pond well with some type of specific plants for them. Right? These plants are specifically grown in the koi pond and you must consider keeping these in your pond too. Let’s know about the 3 best surface flowering plants for a koi pond
1. Water Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)
If you want to decorate your koi pond then planting lotus should be the first priority. This plant changes the dynamic of the koi pond by its crown-like appearance.
The main attraction of this plant is its flowers. Lotus attracts various bees, butterflies, etc that help to create an ecosystem with biodiversity. This plant is hardy enough.
If you don’t have any knowledge about plants then also you can maintain lotus in your pond well. Just you have to remove dead leaves, stems, etc of this plant. However, lotus doesn’t flourish in the winter season.
2. Water Lily (Nymphaea sp.)
Water lilies should be the second choice to decorate your koi pond. This plant is not as pretty as lotus. So if you are unable to get lotus then definitely water lilies can be a worthy option.
Unlike lotus, you can get lots of lilies from this plant. So your pond will become very eye-catching automatically. Not only that but this plant will clean the pond very well by absorbing excess phosphorus and phosphate.
This plant can be put into a shallow pond too. The perfect blooming time for water lilies is from July to October. So try to plan accordingly.
3. Water Poppy (Hydrocleys nymphoides)
Water poppies also can be a good choice for decorating your koi pond. The little yellow-colored flower attracts different types of creatures to it.
This plant blooms in the months of June to August. During the summer season, you can get eye-catching clusters of yellow poppies from this plant. Winter isn’t a good season for water poppies.
A shallow pond is the best choice for water poppies. This plant grows approximately 12 inches tall and spreads approximately 1.5metes long. So it is a good option for koi ponds.
Final Thoughts
This article has discussed the top 15 best plants for koi ponds. Now it’s up to you to choose the right plant for your koi pond.
For your understanding, we have differentiated the plants into 5 parts. Therefore it will be much easier to choose the best plants for koi ponds. Still, if you want our recommendation then here it will be.
If you want to decorate ponds then water lotus is the inevitable option. Not only that but lotus can act as a floating plant too.
As a hedge line, you must choose water iris depending upon location and the eelgrass is the best-submerged plant for a koi pond.
Best of luck and happy fish-keeping.
Read More:- Secrets of Keeping Koi & Goldfish Together: Is It Even Worthy