The 4 Best Aquarium Plant Substrates, According to a Certified Aquatic Veterinarian

As a board-certified fish veterinarian, I am well-versed with the important role a plant-specific substrate plays for supporting aquarium plant growth. Rather than using sand or gravel, these substrates are formulated to provide the structure aquatic plants need along with nutrients. The plants and substrate are also useful for maintaining optimal water quality in a tank, but you'll have to pay close attention to how the fish and aquatic pets you have respond to the substrate and plants you select.

Best Overall

Fluval Bio-Stratum Volcanic Soil for Planted Aquariums

$49 at Amazon $49 at Chewy $33 $25 at Petco

Our overall top pick in planted aquarium substrates is the FLUVAL Bio-Stratum. This product is an upgrade from Fluval’s Stratum offering more nitrifying bacteria and is available in a smaller size package. This is the first product that I have first-hand experience with and all our aquarium plants, including java fern, anacharis and anubius did very well. After about one year, the water quality in the tank started to shift, caused by the substrate losing its nutrients over time. However, this happens with all of the super-charged plant-specific substrates.

Our biggest issue with this media was that it was very cloudy at first and could not tolerate faster water flow. After a few rinses, which we realized may have washed away some of the nutrients, and a redirection of water flow, the substrate settled down nicely. We kept some congo tetras, neon tetras and Siamese algae eaters with the plants, all of which were able to adapt to the lower pH and KH of the planted aquarium. The nutrients in this soil lasted for a few years before we needed to start supplementing again. The tank was cleaned weekly and had a moderate amount of plants with only a few fish, which was the best combination for this planted aquarium substrate.

Potency likely to last several years with supplementing

Another Strong Choice

Carib Sea Eco Complete

$30 at Amazon $30 at Chewy

 If you are looking for a high-quality substrate, be sure to check out CribSea’s Eco Complete. Containing basaltic volcanic soil, this product lists all of the trace elements and minerals in its planted aquarium substrate on the back of the bag. This allows you to easily customize additional supplements depending on your aquatic plant goals. This substrate comes in a dark black coloration, making it an excellent choice to provide contrast for green plants and vibrantly colored shrimp.

 Many users will recommend not rinsing the substrate that comes packaged in a little bit of water. If you do this, please keep in mind that you will need to rinse your filters frequently for the first few days of use. Also take note of the water temperature when you are adding your product and ensure it is not more than 5° F off from your tank when you add it if any fish or invertebrates are present. Your fish and invertebrates may also have issues breathing with lots of particulates in the tank if you do not rinse your substrate first.

The substrate is naturally black

How We Picked

Other Products We Considered

Aqua Natural Sugar White Sand: This substrate provides a stark background for planted aquariums as a lighter contrast compared to darker soils. This product does not contain any trace elements or minerals, so can keep fish happy at a higher pH. If desired, you can add various liquid aquatic plant fertilizers to keep your plants happy. 

Aqua Natural Gold Pearl Gravel Substrate: If sand isn’t your ideal substrate, then be sure to consider the all-natural look of Aqua Natural Gold Pearl Gravel substrate. This smaller pellet gravel substrate provides a soft natural look with light brown, pink and white stones to compliment your greenery. Like the sand listed above, this product does not contain any fertilizers or bacteria, but is a great choice for both aquatic plants and fish of many species.

If you do not want to use soil in your aquarium, you can use traditional gravel or sand. Check out our top picks for aquarium sand substrate. Alternatively, you can explore adding floating plants to your aquarium, which don't rely on substrate.

More We Recommend

Activ-Flora Planted Aquarium Substrate

$50 at Amazon $25 at Chewy View on Petsupermarket.com

Best for Aquascaping:  Activ-Flora Planted Aquarium Substrate is a natural gravel and not a soil, but the substrate has been enriched with various trace elements and minerals to improve your plants’ health. This type of substrate will not have as much small debris when first added to a tank but expect a little bit of dust like any other gravel substrate. Since it is an enriched rock, the nutrients will not last as long in your system as clay soil. This substrate has a very natural variation in gravel colorations with gray, pink, white, brown, and tan stones. Since they are heavier, this substrate will be slightly more difficult for aquatic plants with more delicate root structures, such as hornwort, to take fast hold.

If you have any foraging species in your tank, such as goldfish or corydoras, they will appreciate using this substrate since it will encourage normal fish behavior. Rather than trying to suck every tasty morsel out of a porous clay pellet, they can easily pick up and swish around some small gravel in their mouths before returning it to the bottom of their tank. And if you worried about your goldfish getting gravel stuck in their mouth? It really doesn’t happen much at all!

Adds various natural stone colors

Aqueon Shrimp Aquarium Substrate

$12 at Amazon $21 at Chewy

Best for Shrimp:  If you are looking to start a planted aquarium for your shrimp, then you need Aqeuon Shrimp Aquarium Substrate. The larger pellet size is fun for your shrimp to climb on while the added minerals promote plant and exoskeleton growth. As they grow, your shrimp will need to molt their hard outer shell, and they will require certain nutrients in their water to ensure everything happens easily. This is the case for both decorative nano shrimp and larger glass, ghost, and amano shrimps.

Our office used this substrate for a mixed plant and fish tank after the nutrients in our best overall pick started to drop off after a few years of use. This substrate did a great job of providing growth for our plants, but we noted the texture of the larger round pellets was not very natural and did not match our aesthetic.

If you do any terrestrial gardening, many reviewers have mentioned how much they like using this soil for other house plants. Being an aquatic media, this clay-based product holds onto moisture very well, making it a great choice for non-aquatic plants as well.

Clay-derived red-brown coloring

Why Trust The Spruce Pets?

Dr. Jessie Sanders is the owner and chief veterinarian of Aquatic Veterinary Services, a 100 percent mobile, aquatics exclusive private practice serving California and Nevada. With over 10 years of experience working with pet fish clients and additional years in public aquariums, she is well-versed in aquatic plants and the specific environment required to make your plants thrive.

A previous version was written by Shirlie Sharpe, a fish and aquarium expert who has written a book on setting up an aquarium. For additional background on aquarium plant substrates, we spoke to Nic Tiemens, co-founder of Infinity Aquarium Design, who advised us on what to look for in substrates.