atmmachine816

that stinks about the money on the java fern but just be glad you got it my LFS would get it but i asked the GM and she said they cant get it or java moss as it is never abailble but if it was she would it sucks

Osiris

Live plants are just as addicting as fish. Now, I am happy going into my LFS's and just checking out what kind of plants they have and foget to look at the fish.

Jon

lol idk about that but lives are certainly nice

RudeeRu

I'd say real plants as long as there aren't any hitch-hikers on like snails and worms (had a bad experience with a plant from petco!)!

wolfman21

Prefer the fake plants. less algae buildup and cleaning and less maintenance in terms of having to worry about the plants.

Jim

Just now trying my luck at real plants... for pics see my post:
http://www.fishlore.com/Forum/25-aqu....html#msg60254
I definitly like the way they look, nad how they move and sway in the current... much more lifelike... no pun intended.
We'll see how they do before I offficially answer this post...lol

lolagurl

to me compared to fish plants are pointless, and just require alot of work.i would rather buy a really pretty fake plant and never worry about it again. To me plants would be purely decorational

Neville

yeah, i agree, live plants are full of hazards. i have fake plants in my 10 gallon goldie tank. i'm cycling a new 75 gallon tank, wish to keep fake plats in that too.

COBettaCouple

well, we wasted enough money on live plants & bulbs to buy a 28g bowfront kit so we decided to go with silk plants and are a lot happier with them.

Jim

I can understand wanting to give up on plants... they can definitly be a pain in the rear, and I wouldn't recomend them to anyone that isn't ready. I posted a reply on here already, but looking back, it was months ago. Time flies. Anyway, it's been about 6 months, and I'm just as hooked on live plants as ever... but let me tell you, it hasn't been easy so far. I've had several species that I killed with no problem. But some of them, especially sword plants, have done surprisingly well, so i didn't give up entirely. And I've done so much reading about "underwater gardens" i think my head's going to explode. I'm starting to plan a major tank rebuild, this time from the gravel up, using the right substrates and additives for a planted tank, and then carefully replanting it, this time with a long term plan in mind.

Now, this is where I argue with myself, because I can definitly say this is going to be a major headache. Unless you're really, really into gardening already (I grew up around several big farms, and all my relatives and I had gardens of some sort or another), and unless you've really done a lot of research and planning... DON'T attempt this!!! Go and buy fake plants... they're making some incredably lifelike silk ones, you could build a garden out of these and some driftwood and no-one would notice the difference... they'll be too busy watching your fish!

fishbum

I have 3 tanks,10 gallon is heavily planted,30 gallon has fake plants,and 120 gallon has none,gonna put oscars in it,so plants won't work.Do what is the most practical for you.

COBettaCouple

well, we bought some java fern at the auction tonight along with a ton of java moss.. we did have good luck with java fern, but it was in Sora's tank when he died and got tossed to be safe.

Allie

We have real in all the tanks.

0morrokh

I have some real and some fake plants in all my tanks now. I didn't have any luck with live plants other than java fern, java moss, and aponogetons, which are all pretty much throw-in-and-watch-grow types of plants, about zero maitenance. I really do prefer the look of the live ones...the fake plants are only because it is hard for me to find real plants and so I stuck in fake ones for now to provide a bit of cover. Eventually I hope to have all real plants in all my tanks. I have actually found that the fake plants are more work. They get dirty and have to be cleaned pretty often.

COBettaCouple

we're using the Tetra Water Wonders plants and they stay pretty clean.

MagpieTear

Right now mostly fake, plan on adding more real gradually until I hit a 50/50 mix. Trying to avoid the whole half a paycheck into electricity, lightbulbs and yeast for the diffuser issue, but still have an attractive aquarium. Thanks to CBC's recommendation on the Tetra Water Wonders, they're the best looking fakes I've ever seen.

Jim

OK, my tank is rebuilt, with all live plants. I have pics here:
The Great Rebuild... with Pictures

I just hope I did it right
lol

0morrokh

Well, anything I come into contact with automatically gets dirty.....

COBettaCouple

ah.. like Pig Pen in the Peanuts comics?

wolfman21

I recently made the switch. I used to like the fake plants because they were easy to take care of, but I've got to admit, the real plants look much better and the fish like them a whole lot more.

0morrokh

No, not at all. Pig Pen was dirty himself but everything didn't fall into chaos and filth and disorder whenever he looked at it.

COBettaCouple

wow.. that sounds like a politician!

0morrokh

bmxer193

I love real plants but i would probely kill them...so i have fake plants in my tank

0morrokh

You could try java fern...it looks nice and it's one of the very few plants I haven't managed to kill.

Coryd55

Real all the way.

Jim

Java ferns are pretty easy. They are one of the plants that you don't put into the ground; instead you tie it to a rock or piece of driftwood, and it'll root itself to it in a couple months or so. Some of the PetCo's around here sell Java ferns already attached to pieces of waterlogged driftwood. Pretty much just buy it and drop it into your tank, although I'm not sure about putting a piece of already waterlogged wood from one tank to another.

MrWaxhead

I am a huge fan of plants in a tank and personally could never run a tank again without them, but in the end it really boils down to what works for you. If your going to go planted it really helps to do alot of research on what will work for you and your tank. Otherwise the plants will start to die, and make matters worse in your tank and on your wallet. And some plants are alot of work to maintain and trim etc, others are very easy.

And some will plain just not grow unless you give them the right settings of light or c02 etc. There are many many options are far as low care low light plants that can look fantastic to though. But again it boils down to reading lots and finding plants that will work for your settings, and not just going into a store and going oh that looks nice and buying things. You basically have to treat them like fish and only buy them if they make sense for the tank you plan on putting them in.

Jim

I'm not sure if I could say it any better... lol

fishgirl

when I got my first tank I had to talk him in to getting live plants and now he likes them as much as I do. My fish are happier and the tanks have a natural look.