Paludarium

Water and land in one tank

Half water, half land: stream, waterfall, epiphytes on the back wall. A home for fish, shrimp and amphibians.

Advanced🌱 9 plants📐 Min. 60×40×60 cm, front-opening
LightStrong LED, 10–12 h
Humidity70–95%
Temperature22–27 °C
Water & substrateFilter + pump; 20% weekly water change
Build

Step by step

Background with epiphytes
Land substrate
Bank (foam, rock)
Water: gravel
Cross-section (top to bottom)
  1. 1

    Plan the water line and bank; silicone in the divider.

  2. 2

    Install the pump and waterfall tubing before building the background.

  3. 3

    Background: cork, foam coated with coco fibre.

  4. 4

    Land: drainage, mesh, substrate; water: washed gravel.

  5. 5

    Plant: aquatics, bank, then epiphytes on the wall (thread, glue).

  6. 6

    Cycle for 4–6 weeks without animals (nitrogen cycle).

Plant list

What to plant

Midground

Helfer’s sedge

Cyperus helferi

📏 20–40 cm 🌤 medium, indirect
Aquarium fish safeTortoise, herbivorous reptile no data
Who swaps it?

Foreground

Wendt’s cryptocoryne

Cryptocoryne wendtii

📏 10–20 cm 🌑 low light
Aquarium fish safeTortoise, herbivorous reptile no data
Who swaps it?

Carpet / ground cover

Java moss

Taxiphyllum barbieri

📏 2–5 cm 🌑 low light
Aquarium fish safeTortoise, herbivorous reptile safe
Who swaps it?

Epiphyte (on wood, rock)

Dwarf anubias

Anubias barteri var. nana

📏 5–15 cm 🌑 low light

Don’t bury the rhizome.

Aquarium fish safeTortoise, herbivorous reptile no data
Who swaps it?

Java fern

Microsorum pteropus

📏 15–30 cm 🌑 low light
Aquarium fish safeTortoise, herbivorous reptile safe
Who swaps it?

Scarlet star

Guzmania lingulata

📏 20–40 cm ☀️ bright
Aquarium fish no dataTortoise, herbivorous reptile safe

Air plant

Tillandsia ionantha

📏 5–10 cm ☀️ bright
Aquarium fish no dataTortoise, herbivorous reptile safe

Floating plant

Water lettuce

Pistia stratiotes

📏 5–15 cm ☀️ bright
Aquarium fish safeTortoise, herbivorous reptile no data
Who swaps it?

Climber, trailer

Arrowhead plant

Syngonium podophyllum

📏 10 cm – ∞ 🌤 medium, indirect
Aquarium fish no dataTortoise, herbivorous reptile moderate

⚠️ Common mistakes

  • Unreachable pump – plan a service hatch.
  • Adding animals before cycling.
  • Soil under water – cloudy water.
Member setups

From the community: Paludarium

Nobody has shared one yet. Be the first!

Help keep the club growing

Perfect Plants Club is free and ad-free – built by one person in their spare time. If you like it and can, the price of a coffee helps a lot with hosting and new features. Completely optional.

💛 Our supporters →
☕ Support on Ko-fi