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ok first i have a 20 gal freshwater aquarium that i would like to put live plants into. But before i do so i have soem questions
1)I heard that plants can carry disease to your fish is this true and how can i prevent this
2)what type of plants would be good for my aquarium i dont mind trimming them i want something that looks nice yet provides a safe haven for my fish and fry incase i am not home and they get born in the tank

All I did with my live plants when I brought them home was inse them really well. I've heard of soaking them in some sort of chemical solution- someone else will probably know more.

Some good plants that will provide a nice haven for your fish include hornwort (all my fish love this plant) and cabomba. The hornwort is practically impossible to kill and grows like crazy. I've had to trim mine pretty much every week on WC day. I started out with a baseball sized amount about a month ago, and now I have groves of it in two tanks. I just keep the hornwort weighted down or attached to the decorations in the tank- the bits attached to my fake hollow log look particularly good.

You could also try the dwarf lily bulbs from walmart. They come dormant, so they can't transfer disease or snails into your tank, and most of them will sprout fairly quickly. Once they get established- which may take awhile, so patience is a virtue when growing these- they can also grow like mad. I just trimmed mine on sunday, removing a stalk that went to the surface of my 20 gallon hex, and I've already got another one almost at the water's surface. Mostly, though, it grows big, broad leaves much closer to the substrate that my corycats like to lay on.

Hope this helps.

The first thing you need to consider when deciding what plants to add to your aquarium is the plant's light requirements. Hornwort'll grow in almost any situation. Cabomba needs higher light levels though, I wouldn't recommend it unless you've got pretty high light.
Does your tank have fluorescent lighting? If so how many watts? If you just have the light that came with the tank it's probably a 15 watt light, not enough for most plants.
I can't really make any other suggestions without knowing how much light you've got.

As for carrying disease into the tank, I've never experienced this personally, as long as you give the plants a good rinse before planting them you'll probably be alright.

check carefully for snail eggs too! they r ebil!!..lol

Java moss is really good for fry, though I don't think it's the best looking plant out there. It is low maintenancen but should be attached to something for it to spread out over.

If you're expecting fry I think it would be a good choice.