Jim

congrats on the success of your plants. Tell me more, did you go all out onlights, substrate, etc... How long has your tank been going

fishgirl

My 10G has been set up for about 5 months, I use Under Ground Filter AND Hang On the Back filter. Regular gravel. and a 15watt fluorescent bulb.
My 5.5G has been running for about 4 months, UGF and HOB, regular gravel with a compact flourecent blub.
I don't do anything special.
you can see a pic of my 10G tank under my name to the left of my posts.

Tayful

Never had real plants but that's because I haven't gotten my "real" tank yet (by "real" tank I mean above 10g). I love real plants because they grow, and, of course, make the tank look more natural. I love aquariums because I get to control the life inside them and make it look how I want it to look, like my own little world. I vote real plants

≈ D ≈

Currently using fake but eventually will move to real plants after more research. Live plants do look better and help the owner out too.

Herbydad

I started out with real plants but my silver dollar changed all that. So long as I have the silver dollar I can't have real plants.

Jim

Actually, I was amazed the other night when I had a revelation. I was reading Takashi Amamo's "Nature Aquarium World" when I realized just how TINY some of the tanks are. A lot can't be more than 5-10 gallon. I should have realized: he's Japanese, and Japan isn't exactly known for it's huge living space...lol. Truth is, mosy people in Japan live in homes or appartments that would be down right claustrophobic here in the US. So obviously you don't have room for a big tank.
Anyway, my point is you don't have to have a big tank to make a beautiful garden tank. As long as you plan carefully, you can make a great mini-garden tank. In fant, I think the AGA has a catagory for 5 gallon and smaller tanks in their garden tank of the year contest.

Oil_Fan

Real plants...though they're not really classified as plants. I have some macro algae (seaweed) in my SW tank. But no fake plants in there.

Then only fake in there is the bubbling treasure chest. heh

Herbydad

Any owner of a silver dollar will know that live plants are not really an option as they get eaten.

Tio

i have both .once the real plants start to get bigger then i will slowly remove the fake plants

Jim

here's a pic of my newest planted tank:
http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/me...nth-later.html
I could never have fake plants again

Gamer

I've only had fake and am just now getting real ones. I ordered a bunch for my tanks from aquariumgarden.com. So ya, I am able to vote real now!

♥ashley♥

i chose fake plants. just because of the fact that wheni added real plants to my tank there was a algea over load in my tank. so i was very fustrated at that. also i got some very unwanted little buddys from them. (that I'm still trying to get out of my tank)

Jim

I know I'm on the real plant side of this, but I am also the first to say plants are a royal pain in the butt! Unless you're ready for a lot more extra work and such, I would definitly stay with fake ones for now. There's some amazing silk ones on the market that, with some imagination and planning, a person could make a killer aquascape and most people would never know it's now real.
As for the unwanted guests, clown loaches are normally considered an asian fish, but the truth is they should be listed as FRENCH; because they have a particular appatite for snails!
Try getting 1 or 2 small ones and watch what happens..lol.

Blub

wolfman21

Now I'm completely for the real plants, and I have driftwood in there too, its completely natural.

susitna-flower

Real.

Jim

I've always loved driftwood vs. plastic ornaments. Something about the way a good twisted piece of wood shines under the right kind of light...

Angela_96

none, I have african cichlids.. plants equal something to tear up

wolfman21

Yeah I like having the driftwood in there, it gives good cover for the cories, too! The only problem is the tannins, otherwise it's maintenance-free.

Jim

I have a fantastic book: Peter Hiscock's "Aquarium Designs Inspired by Nature". It basically about setting up bio-tropic environments to match particular regions of the world, and was the inspiration for my Swamp tank. Anyway, if you look in the section on African Cichlids, you'll see theat they have NO plants or driftwood, only some cool looking rocks. So as far as your African tank goes, you're exactly where your fish want you to be!!

Gamer

I haven't read that book yet but I've read some sites on setting up bio-tropic environments and that is what I am in the process of doing now for my angelfish.

I'll be setting up the substrate to create a dappled effect and will be using live plants to reflect the lush vegetation of an Amazonian rainforest river basin in South America and driftwood to create a fallen tree trunk effect.

I've also read that about african cichlids. No plants or driftwood just plenty of rocks and caves.

Your swamp tank still amazes me.

Jim

hehehe, my swamp still amazes ME! I can come home from a bad day and just sit in front of it for hours. I am facinated by the interaction between fish, plant and invert. And it's not far from what you're going to build. I got the information for it from Hiscock's I mentioned; the chapter on Southeast Asian Swamps. And the look was inspired from one of Takashi Amano's tanks. It's in his "Aquarium Plant Paradise", near the back. The tank is an unbelievably moss covered thing called "Shimmering Shoreline" and it's possibly my favorite of Amano's tanks.
Anyway, what you're shotting for, according to Hiscock, is a "Flooded Amazon Forest". It's what I'm building in my 48 gallon column (pictures to some soon..). The discription is that in the spring the rains flood the amazon and it's tributaries; flooding vast sections of the rainforests. FYI, this is why most sword plants can survive in and out of the water. Anyway, this is when fish like angels and neons move into the forests to breed in the relative safety of all that forest cover. This is why things like treestumps are great decorations for this kind of tank, and the tannins aren't going to hurt a bit, because it occurs naturally anyway.
What helps me out is it turns out an Amazon forest and Asian swamp are very similar. Both are very soft water and low pH, in fact about the only difference I can see is current. The Amazon should have some water movement, but the Swamp should be as still as possible. Technically neither of my tanks is a true Amazon or Asian, because I have plants crossed over from one to another in each. And the plants thrive in either. It's the other reason I like these particular bio-tropes, they're sort of interchangable, so if there's a problem in one I have the other to move fish into in an emergancy.
Anyway, good luck with your tank, I can't wait to see pics when it's done and aged a while. And I would DEFINITLYY look for Hiscosks book. It's not only a goldmine of info, it's also a fascinating read on fish environments in general and provides a lot of insite whether you have plants or not.

Gamer

Ah yes, you described it perfectly. What I want is a flooded forest. It probably will not be a perfect amazon biotope and I'm sure it will have a few non-region species but mostly it'll house angels, catfish and perhaps a school of hatchetfish. No need to worry about tannins from my driftwood as it's actually a very favorable substance that I want leaking into my flooded forest tank. I will even add some "Black Water Extract" to replicate the natural black water habitat. Good luck on yours as well, I can't wait to see it. An asian swamp tank for gouramis is my next plan after this project and although they're not from the region I will probably include rainbowfish as well because I want them as much as I do gouramis. So it probably won't be a perfect example of a southeast asian biotope but more of an interpretation of one...I'll call it, southeast asian/australian biotope, lol.

Jim

I call mine Hybreds for lack of a better term
One thing about tyour angels. When they reach maturity and pair up, they get MEAN!!! And one they lay eggs all your other fish in that tank are in MORTAL danger. I don't exagerate, Angels are cichlids, it just takes them longer to remember. I'm not saying to not get them, quite the opposite. Adult angels amazing parents and are facinating to watch. Just be ready to evacuate your other fish some day.

Karma_Sea

When I first got live plants they did great and grew fast, but them the snails came, and my Balloon Mollies discovered that my plants were edible.

At one point I had a tank full of beautiful lush live plants, now I’m down to only one live plant and lots of fake. If I did not love my Mollies so much I would hate them for being such piggish little fish, but I could never really hate them!

Jim

I made that same mistake years ago with an Oscar. I had a beautiful tank, until he decided to uproot everything. I have snails, and they're actually not a problem. 1 or 2 clown loaches will clear them out fast. But you do have to be very careful about herbivorous fish. I just replanted all my hygrophiles because my little pleco shredded the last ones cleaning the algea off the leaves. Turns out the leaves themselves must be rather tasty.

Karma_Sea

I got a clown loach last week. When I put him in I had snails every where. Now I don't see any. Hopefully I can replant my tank, Mollies permitting.

Oscars can be tricky that way. My brother has three, the two smaller ones do fine in a highly planted tank, but the biggest one is so temperamental that he can not keep anything in the tank with him. I was sitting in the living room of his house one day talking with his girlfriend and Oscar (that is the Oscar’s name, so original) anyway Oscar got angry that there was a plant in his tank so he took in and tossed it out of the tank, along with a gallon of water or more and just barely missed my purse sitting on the desk next to the tank. What a temper on him. He is one of the most fun fish to watch, what with all that personality.

purple_phoenix

My clown loaches aren't too bad, but my oscar eats anything that I put in the tank. First my live plants, then silk ones, and now leaves are missing even from plastic plants. I think they only get uprooted in his attempts to devour them

I'm still trying to find some sort of decoration that'll give the tank some colour (other than brown!) that he won't destroy.

I definitely prefer live plants in my other tanks though. I've have some fun getting some to root to my bogwood as well. I'm sure once the cotton and plant weights come off it'll look much more natural.

Jim

small clown loaches are definitly the best snail prevention I've ever seen. They can't tackle an adult, but they absolutly LOVE little ones. It' like they're French or something... lol!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm pass the butter! hehehe

Iluvatar

I would only get real plants