Moneywort Aquarium Plant | How To Grow And Care For Moneywort

Moneywort (Bacopa monnieri) is an extremely popular aquarium plant that is easy to care for. It needs very little specialist requirements making it the perfect choice for beginners.

This aquarium plant is popular because it is amphibious and will grow either partially or fully submersed.

It’s bright green color, which looks almost lime green under the right lighting conditions, makes it a very attractive aquarium plant.

Let’s have a look at this amazing aquarium plant in more detail.

Table of Contents

Species Profile

Scientific Name	Bacopa monnieri
Family	Scropulariacase
Care Level	Moderate
Max Size	12 inch
Propagation	Seeds & Cuttings
Color	Green
Water Conditions	72-82° F, KH 3-8, pH 6.5-7.5

Appearance And Colors

The leaf structure and relatively slow-growth stems, make it a popular choice in aquascaping. As with most aquarium plants, the color and growth rate will depend on the nutrients within the water and the use of co2 dosing.

It has a bright green appearance with new stems and leaves often having a pinkish or copper-brown color.

If you allow the stems to grow straight up you will often see them reaching out of the top of the aquarium. There are several species of Bacopa of which Moneywort has one of the smallest leaf structures.

A distinctive feature is that the stem, unlike many other aquarium plants, will grow straight when under the water but above the water level they become creeping plants. Hence their common name “Creeping Jenny”.

Fun Facts: Bacopa Monnieri is often used in human medicinal home remedies.

How To Propagate Moneywort Aquarium Plant

There are two ways to propagate the Moneywort. When the main plant stem has grown to a significant height, you will see white roots appearing at leaf nodes. When these roots are approximately one-half inch long, cut the stem 1″ below the roots and plant into your aquarium gravel.

TOP TIP: We use Flourite mixed in with our aquarium gravel or as the base layer with normal gravel on top to help our aquarium plants grow and take firm hold in the substrate.

The other option is to grow Moneywort on the surface. It will start to grow horizontally along the surface and put roots out at each leaf node. When the roots are approximately 2″ long you can cut each root section and plant in the aquarium substrate. If you have an open–top aquarium this is a great option. It also looks amazing.

Growing moneywort on the surface not only looks good but can be beneficial if you have baby fish in your aquarium; they use it for protection.

Is Moneywort Good For Aquascaping Aquariums?

Lighting Requirement

Provide the correct lighting for your aquarium with a minimum of 2 watts per gallon of full–spectrum (5000°K-7000°K) lighting and watch your Moneywort thrive.

Moneywort can tolerate water temperatures from 72°-82°F. However, for optimum growth, the temperature should be approximately 76°F.

Ensure your plants receive 12 hours of light per day for the best results. We use LED lighting on our open–top Discus aquarium. Read our LED lighting guide here.

The strength of lighting that your aquarium plants will need will be determined by the positioning of the lights, the type of lights used and how long these lights are used for. On average we go by this lighting guide:

0.25 Watts per Liter = Low Lighting

0.50 Watts per Liter = Medium Lighting

1.0 Watts per Liter = High Lighting

Placement

The best placement for moneywort is the background of your aquarium. Moneywort will grow to 12 Inches on average so it will suit a background-position.

Unless you continually trim your Moneywort it will grow straight up and form a light green fresh-looking background plant with the surface stems reaching out of the aquarium.

Moneywort is a relatively slow-growing stem plant that if trimmed and cut can be used in the mid-ground area of your aquarium depending on the size and depth of your aquarium.

F.A.Q

Is moneywort a freshwater tropical plant or a coldwater pond plant? Moneywort is suitable for aquarium water ranging from 72-82° F which will be perfect for most home tropical aquariums and some indoor coldwater aquariums.
How big does Moneywort grow? Moneywort will grow between 11-13 Inches maximum.
Should you give moneywort fertilizer or plant food? Moneywort will grow perfectly well without co2 or fertilizer. However, like most plants, they will benefit from extra plant food.

Does Moneywort need substrate? No, Moneywort can grow either planted or on the surface of the water.
Moneywort common names? Moneywort is commonly called ‘ Creeping Jenny’ thanks to its ability to grow and spread on the surface of the water.
Is Bacopa easy to grow? Bacopa is an easy to grow aquarium plant that is hardy and capable of growing under low-medium lighting.

Why is my Bacopa turning brown? Sometimes moneywort turns brown through a lack of suitable lighting.

Conclusion: Moneywort Aquarium Plant – Care Guide

Moneywort has appeared in another post we wrote called 21 Most Popular aquatic plants thanks to some of its characteristics listed above. It’s no wonder this brightly colored, easy-to-grow and amphibious plant, is so popular.

We’re a big fan of this plant and I love it see it grow out of the top of my aquascaped aquarium which is home to six Red Discus fish.

Jim Pierson

I have been working in the tropical fish industry for over 30 years now and I’m still learning. Everyday is a school day in this hobby. In my spare time I play golf very badly!