jgoodstein

I'm looking at all the different types of plants to put in the aquarium and I have no idea what the benefits or drawbacks are for each type. Can anyone shed some light on the situation for me. Plastic seem easiest but do live work better? do silk get infested with algae and hard to clean?

Allie

If you have the proper lighting you can use live plants...which we prefer. I think are more beneficial to the tank. But in our betta tanks we use silk in with the male and plastic with the female. Fake plants are easier.
As long as you have a good algae eater algae isn't a problem.

JMatt1983

with fake plants, its easier for cleaning because you don't have to worry about root systems, and they can be moved around without much hassle, i just started to get into the live plants myself after a year of have fake plants, and i can tell you that my fish seem to really like the java fern that i put in there

Gozer_1

Personally I'm a big fan of live plants. In my experience, yes the silk plants eventually get algae in the weave and it's very hard to remove. Plastic plants just look so... well plastic. I can never get them to stay buried either. Live plants will be SO much more beneficial to your tank. Cleanning a planted tank, IMHO, is easier. You don't have to dig down into your gravel and the plants will use up extra nutrients helping keep your water quality excellent. As well as much more stable. They look a million times better too. As long as you keep it too very easy plants like Java fern and WaterSprite and you keep it low light (1-2 watts per gallon) you'll have a very easy to maintain tank. Keep a couple Otos for the algae and do small water changes. That's it. You won't need carbon filtration or anything like it. All you'll need is good established biofilter media and good mechanical filtration. If you have enough plants you'll likely have a silent cycle. No spikes in ammonia or anything. The plants will suck it all up. I recommend live plants and the people here will be a huge help to you in choosing plants.

The one downfall to live plants is the need for better lighting and the trimming. In low light you'll have very little trimming at all so the lighting is the only real problem. You'll need more than the standard hood that comes with most "setups". You need at least 1.5 watts per gallon (IMHO) of flourescent lights. 20-40 watts for a 20 Gallon tank for example. You could use 2 standard 15 watt lights. No actinic or blue. In fact pink is better for plants. There is also plant food which may be necessary. Like I said as long as you have easy plants you'll be fine.

angelfish220

I think that a mixture of plastic and live is the way to go. you can have the live plant look and advantages that come with live plants but I find it gets a little boring when you only have a couple types of plants so I always mix in some redder fake plants or plastic with more exotic leaves that would be hard to keep if live, them that way your tank dosent look fake but it dosent look dull ether.

≈ D ≈

At the moment I use plastic but will be switching over to live plants in the near future. It also depends on your tank inhabitants. For example, a tank with oscars won't work as they'll tear them up yet a tank with angelfish will welcome plants for the security aspect.

As Gozer said above, live plants is the recommended advice as they not only look better but they help with the nitrogen cycle, thus benefiting the tank inhabitants. Live plants also 'sway' better with the water than plastic plants.

Lets us know what inhabitants you'll have in the tank and we will guide you further.

sophie10

I agree with Gozer. I have a 55 with a coralife hood, 2 x 65 W full spectrum bulbs. Hood and bulbs are spendy! Simple to care for, low light plants that I've had success with asr Java fern, Java moss and Crinum sp. (Onion like plant reminiscent of Vals). Few fish will eat these as well.

jgoodstein

well still in the nitro cycle so no fish yet. I think I'll stick to plastic until it all comes a bit more natural for me.

The hope is in about 6 months or so I'll start switching some out. I have a 29 gallon tank with 25 gallons of water in it. Once plants and decorative rocks are in it I imagine that number will drop to somewhere around 22.5-23.5 gallons of water. So that gives me 23 inches of fish. I really like the angelfish, but thats about all the ideas I have so far. I'm going to the store today to look and will make notes of what i like and then ask all of you the best combination. You have all been so much help. Thank you!

jgoodstein

btw I have a gold barb and a molly so far.

Gozer_1

Why not more Gold Barbs? Your's would like a group of friends I'm sure. Or the other way around and more mollies. Me I like the Barbs but don't know how well a group of Gold Barbs and a group of Mollies would get along. I'd recommend a Gourami rather than an Angel. A. The Barbs might nip at the Angels fins B. The Angel would do better in a bit bigger tank. (IMHO) and C. Angels are Cichlids. Cichlids include Oscars and those nasty little African Cichlids, heck even Tilapia is a cichlid if I remember correct. All of which have an aggressive nature and an appetite for meat. Some more than others as the Angel is one of the more peaceful but take it into account. A Gourami will show somewhat similar behavior. They're a little territorial, especially with their own. Not a problem usually with other fish. They also are not as big and would fit well in your tank. Except the Pink Kissing Gourami. You don't want one of those lol. Trust me.

jsalemi

The Tetra WaterWonders are great plastic plants -- they look the most real of any I've seen. I have a mix of them, some silk, and live plants in both my tanks, and unless you look really close, it's hard to tell the difference.

lyndatu

Well..........do you like the ones that are easy to clean? If yes, then plastic are the ones.
But, if you want those for their benefits then live plants are the best. Not only that they provide beauty in your tank, they also have LOTS of benefits to your tank.....your fish will highly appreciate live ones.....

Good luck!