Best Places to Sell Aquarium Plants Online (2026 Guide)
Posted by · Updated October 2026
Planted tanks grow, and trimmings pile up fast. Stem plants, mosses, floaters and carpets are some of the easiest things in the hobby to sell, they ship more easily than livestock, and buyers come back for more.
I run Light Fish, a marketplace for aquarium livestock and plants, so I'm biased about the first option below. I've tried to be straight about the others.
Sell your fish, shrimp and plants on Light Fish
A marketplace built for hobbyists: list in a few minutes, buyers pay through Stripe, and you're paid once the order is delivered. Light Fish keeps 12% of each sale, including shipping.
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Before You Sell: Check the Rules
The Best Places to Sell Aquarium Plants
Before You Sell: Check the Rules
Most aquarium plants are fine to sell anywhere in the US, but a few are noxious weeds. Hydrilla is restricted federally, and several states ban popular floaters such as water lettuce and water hyacinth. Rules differ by state, so check both your state's list and the buyer's before shipping anything that could escape into local waterways.
The Best Places to Sell Aquarium Plants
1. Light Fish
Light Fish is a US marketplace made only for aquarium livestock and supplies. Every buyer who lands here is looking for aquarium plants and livestock, so you aren't competing with phone cases and car parts.
How selling works:
- Free to list. No listing fees and no monthly subscription.
- 12% when you sell. Light Fish keeps 12% of the order, shipping included, and pays the rest out to your bank through Stripe.
- Your customers, no fee. Share your own shop link, and the first order from a buyer who's new to Light Fish carries no fee at all.
- Your shipping rules. Set your own rates, the days you ship, combined shipping for multi-item orders, and a free-shipping threshold. You can pause your shop when you're away.
- Buyers pay up front. Checkout is handled for you, so there's no chasing payments.
Good for: hobbyists with steady trimmings, and fish or shrimp sellers who want to add plants to the same box. Less good for: huge one-off lots, where a local club auction may be quicker.
2. eBay
eBay has a large aquarium plant category and a huge audience. New sellers can find it hard to rank against established plant shops, and fees typically run 13% or more. Plants restricted as noxious weeds aren't allowed. Good for: sellers who already have an eBay store.
3. AquaBid
AquaBid runs auctions for aquatic plants as well as fish. It's a good place for rare bucephalandra, uncommon stem plants and other plants collectors look for. It charges listing and sale fees.
4. Reddit's r/AquaSwap
r/AquaSwap sees lots of plant trimmings posts. It's free, but deals are arranged by direct message and paid outside Reddit, so you handle payment and disputes yourself.
5. Etsy
Some hobbyists sell aquarium plants on Etsy , which has a large audience, though aquarium buyers aren't its core shoppers and new shops take time to get found. Check Etsy's current rules on live plants before listing.
6. Clubs, Stores and Local Groups
Aquarium clubs auction plants at most meetings, many stores trade trimmings for store credit, and local plant swap groups are a quick way to find nearby buyers. Good for: moving trimmings fast without shipping.
Cleaning and Shipping Plants
- Rinse plants and pick off pest snails, snail eggs and algae. Many sellers dip sturdy plants in an alum or diluted bleach dip; check the plant can tolerate it first.
- Wrap plants in damp paper towel and seal them in a bag without loose water.
- Add a heat pack in cold weather, and ship early in the week so the box doesn't sit over a weekend.
- Send a little extra. Plants melt sometimes, and buyers remember generous sellers.
Our guide on how to ship aquarium plants goes step by step.
What Sells Best
On Light Fish, shoppers search for floating and fast-growing plants such as guppy grass and water sprite more often than there are listings for them. Livebearer and shrimp keepers want them for cover, so they sell especially well alongside fish and shrimp.
Beyond those, stem plants like rotala and ludwigia, carpeting plants, mosses, and epiphytes such as anubias, java fern and bucephalandra all sell steadily. Sell trimmings in clear bunches or portions, say how many stems or how large a portion is, and photograph what the buyer will actually get.
FAQ
Can you sell aquarium plants on eBay?
Yes. Aquarium plants are widely sold on eBay, but plants classed as noxious weeds or banned in the buyer's state aren't allowed, so check before listing species like water lettuce or water hyacinth.
Which aquarium plants are illegal to sell?
Some species are federal or state noxious weeds, including hydrilla, and several states restrict popular floaters such as water lettuce and water hyacinth. Rules vary by state, so check your state's list and the buyer's before shipping.
How do you ship aquarium plants?
Rinse the plants, remove snails and algae, wrap them in damp paper towel, and seal them in a plastic bag without loose water. Add a heat pack in cold weather. Plants travel well for several days packed this way.
What does it cost to sell on Light Fish?
Listing is free. When something sells, Light Fish keeps 12% of the order, shipping included, and the rest is paid to you through Stripe. The first order from a new buyer who arrives through your own shop link has no fee.
Miles Harrison
With over a decade of aquarium experience, Miles can be found writing about saltwater and freshwater aquariums. When he’s not writing about fish, you can find him going for a run or building websites, such as this one!