Are plants necessary?

Hey everyone. So I’m getting a 20g long tank with a stocking plan of 3 or 4 amanos, 3 honey gouramis, 8 harlequin or lambchop rasboras (depends on what my lfs has), and 6 False Julii Corydoras. I wanted to do live plants but because of simplicity, I’m thinking of maybe saving it for a smaller tank. So that brings up the question, are live plants necessary? Do fish really need them or will they be happy with fake ones too? I’ll probably use driftwood and rocks but I’m not too keen on live plants.

 

My fish been pretty happy with fake plants for quite some time. I am a firm believer in learning how to keep fish alive first, then worry about keeping plants alive second. Or vice-versa, depending whether plants or fish is what your most interested in.

 

My fish been pretty happy with fake plants for quite some time. I am a firm believer in learning how to keep fish alive first, then worry about keeping plants alive second. Or vice-versa, depending whether plants or fish is what your most interested in.

Ok thanks. Yeah im not a big plant giy but wanted to try keeping them. But i dont think im ready yet. Ive had success with fish so far and i want to keep it that way

 

Ok thanks. Yeah im not a big plant giy but wanted to try keeping them. But i dont think im ready yet. Ive had success with fish so far and i want to keep it that way

Fake or real plants are necessary though for hiding spots n whatnot. Might be surprised what you can find for the artificials on places like amazon.

 

Fake or real plants are necessary though for hiding spots n whatnot. Might be surprised what you can find for the artificials on places like amazon.

Yeah thats what i thought. But youre right. They do look pretty good. I might do petco and petsmart tho because i can see them in person.

 

Yeah thats what i thought. But youre right. They do look pretty good. I might do petco and petsmart tho because i can see them in person.

Get that part. They both do have stuff i like. I jist like ordering, wider selection!

 

Plants aren't necessary but they can be nice and I found they hold up better than some of the fake plant decor I get from the store (the glue tends to loosen and detach the fake plant from the base). There are some easy, hard-to-kill plants you can try, but if you want a lot of plants or a large carpet of plants it's best to upgrade your setup with CO2 and good lighting.

I only have a 10 gallon and a 3 gallon and have a mix of fake and live plants without CO2 or anything fancy. Live dwarf sag, subwassertang, monte carlo, anubis, and java ferns are all good beginner plants that I have in my tanks. The only "food" I have for them are root tabs and Leaf Zone and they're holding up well for my first time doing plants on two low-tech setups.

 

The debate between artificial and live plants has been a long one with aquarists for many years now. There are pros and cons to having each and I will try to outline each down below and you are free to choose what best serves your needs.

Plastic Plants

Pros:
They do not require light, nutrients, or a special substrate
They are compatible with all fish as long as they are not sharp, or not meant for use in aquariums
They come in all sorts of vibrant colors not normally seen in real live plants.
They do not shed decomposing matter into the water column that can cause Nitrate buildup.
They can be easily moved around and almost no maintenance, just plop and enjoy.

Cons:
They do not create Oxygen in the water
Since they are plastic, many suffer from looking unnatural aesthetics-wise.
They do not absorb waste products, which causes you to have to change the water more frequently.
They can harm delicate fish if the plastic is sharp or rigid enough.
They do not create as immersive of a display as a tank full of lie plants would provide.


Live Plants

Pros:
They oxygenate the water for you
They absorb harmful compounds in the water provided they are healthy
Many aquatic plants are easy to care for and will be no hassle at all for a beginner
They create the best displays
They can encourage breeding with certain types of fish
They harbor plenty of microorganisms which are prime food sources for your shrimp and small critters
They complete the ecosystem in your tank
(Plenty of resourses here on how to grow live plants well even if you are a beginner, don't be shy to try some easy ones out).

Cons:
They cost more long term than fake plants
They can shed a ton of organic matter if not taken care of and cause Nitrate spikes in a cycled tank
They are hard to move once established with root systems
Some fish will destroy live plants entirely (however, none of the fish you plan on adding will eat live plants so you are good here)
The chance of adding hitchhiker pests to your tank

Your Amano shrimp will appreciate things to graze on in your tank. If you still plan on getting them, let your tank establish for several months first if not using any live plants to ensure there is enough algae and other organic matter for them to consume.

Ultimately, if you do not feel comfortable trying live plants there is no problem with that at all. However, I will tell you that there are a ton of easy plants that require you to have almost no experience to gore, Anubias species are my first suggestion for you. If you want to be very successful with plants in a low tech tank, trying my personal arsenal of a decent LED light, an all in one fert, and some root tabs will allow you to grow most common plants in the hobby very well, even without an expensive CO2 system.

 

It really depends. I love my planted tank so much. But I have fake plants in my betta's tank because he needs it to be blackwater (he can get pretty high anxiety), and most live plants will die in that kind of tank (besides my hornwort, which grows so s l o w l y). Also, I think it depends on the look you're going for. Just make sure to keep good track of nitrates in non-planted tanks.

 

The debate between artificial and live plants has been a long one with aquarists for many years now. There are pros and cons to having each and I will try to outline each down below and you are free to choose what best serves your needs.

Plastic Plants

Pros:
They do not require light, nutrients, or a special substrate
They are compatible with all fish as long as they are not sharp, or not meant for use in aquariums
They come in all sorts of vibrant colors not normally seen in real live plants.
They do not shed decomposing matter into the water column that can cause Nitrate buildup.
They can be easily moved around and almost no maintenance, just plop and enjoy.

Cons:
They do not create Oxygen in the water
Since they are plastic, many suffer from looking unnatural aesthetics-wise.
They do not absorb waste products, which causes you to have to change the water more frequently.
They can harm delicate fish if the plastic is sharp or rigid enough.
They do not create as immersive of a display as a tank full of lie plants would provide.


Live Plants

Pros:
They oxygenate the water for you
They absorb harmful compounds in the water provided they are healthy
Many aquatic plants are easy to care for and will be no hassle at all for a beginner
They create the best displays
They can encourage breeding with certain types of fish
They harbor plenty of microorganisms which are prime food sources for your shrimp and small critters
They complete the ecosystem in your tank
(Plenty of resourses here on how to grow live plants well even if you are a beginner, don't be shy to try some easy ones out).

Cons:
They cost more long term than fake plants
They can shed a ton of organic matter if not taken care of and cause Nitrate spikes in a cycled tank
They are hard to move once established with root systems
Some fish will destroy live plants entirely (however, none of the fish you plan on adding will eat live plants so you are good here)
The chance of adding hitchhiker pests to your tank

Your Amano shrimp will appreciate things to graze on in your tank. If you still plan on getting them, let your tank establish for several months first if not using any live plants to ensure there is enough algae and other organic matter for them to consume.

Ultimately, if you do not feel comfortable trying live plants there is no problem with that at all. However, I will tell you that there are a ton of easy plants that require you to have almost no experience to gore, Anubias species are my first suggestion for you. If you want to be very successful with plants in a low tech tank, trying my personal arsenal of a decent LED light, an all in one fert, and some root tabs will allow you to grow most common plants in the hobby very well, even without an expensive CO2 system.

Thanks! Yeah I might stick with fake plants but I probably will wait on the shrimp. I waited 2 months before adding my other amano to my other tank that is fake planted.

 

I have been in this hobby for many years. I just switched to live plants 3 or 4 years ago. You can get very realistic looking artificial plants. There are some days I wish I had stuck with them and am very tempted to pull out the live and go back to artificial. Before live plants I never had to deal with snails I hadn't specifically bought nor did I ever have to deal with various kinds of algae.

Artificial plants could be pulled out and cleaned with bleach when needed. Once cleaned they looked as good as new again. Can't do that should any form of algae grow on live plants.

 

Hi MisterSnuffles,

Try java fern (you can get it from Petco/Petsmart). Its a low maintenance plant. You don't need substrate because it doesn't like to be planted and it does well in low light. It also multiplies well. I started with one 2-3 years ago and I have like 50+.

If you are using driftwood and rocks then java fern would do well in your scape as they grow best attached to something like driftwood/rocks.

 

It's really worth at least getting a clump of java moss for your tank, great for the tank as a whole, but the shrimp especially. Java moss is virtually no maintenance and can grow pretty fast under high light. Plus it's dirt cheap. Other options exist like anubias, swords, java ferns etc. anubias especially tend to be more expensive and grow slowly. all very easy plants though.

 

Live plants are necessary!

Live plant buffer your water environment.

Go with anubias, bind them on wood or rock. Use a floating clump of javamoss or Guppygras as CrackerboxPalace mentioned. These three plants need no gravel or sand and can be used in a bare bottom tank. They feed from the water column, no fertilizer needed. Easy.

Go with a plant mass to fish mass ratio of 10:1 and the plants will suck up nitrogen. If you go without, you have to do lots of waterchanges to keep nitrate levels under 20 ppm.

 

The debate between artificial and live plants has been a long one with aquarists for many years now. There are pros and cons to having each and I will try to outline each down below and you are free to choose what best serves your needs.

Plastic Plants

Pros:
They do not require light, nutrients, or a special substrate
They are compatible with all fish as long as they are not sharp, or not meant for use in aquariums
They come in all sorts of vibrant colors not normally seen in real live plants.
They do not shed decomposing matter into the water column that can cause Nitrate buildup.
They can be easily moved around and almost no maintenance, just plop and enjoy.

Cons:
They do not create Oxygen in the water
Since they are plastic, many suffer from looking unnatural aesthetics-wise.
They do not absorb waste products, which causes you to have to change the water more frequently.
They can harm delicate fish if the plastic is sharp or rigid enough.
They do not create as immersive of a display as a tank full of lie plants would provide.


Live Plants

Pros:
They oxygenate the water for you
They absorb harmful compounds in the water provided they are healthy
Many aquatic plants are easy to care for and will be no hassle at all for a beginner
They create the best displays
They can encourage breeding with certain types of fish
They harbor plenty of microorganisms which are prime food sources for your shrimp and small critters
They complete the ecosystem in your tank
(Plenty of resourses here on how to grow live plants well even if you are a beginner, don't be shy to try some easy ones out).

Cons:
They cost more long term than fake plants
They can shed a ton of organic matter if not taken care of and cause Nitrate spikes in a cycled tank
They are hard to move once established with root systems
Some fish will destroy live plants entirely (however, none of the fish you plan on adding will eat live plants so you are good here)
The chance of adding hitchhiker pests to your tank

Your Amano shrimp will appreciate things to graze on in your tank. If you still plan on getting them, let your tank establish for several months first if not using any live plants to ensure there is enough algae and other organic matter for them to consume.

Ultimately, if you do not feel comfortable trying live plants there is no problem with that at all. However, I will tell you that there are a ton of easy plants that require you to have almost no experience to gore, Anubias species are my first suggestion for you. If you want to be very successful with plants in a low tech tank, trying my personal arsenal of a decent LED light, an all in one fert, and some root tabs will allow you to grow most common plants in the hobby very well, even without an expensive CO2 system.

I like, and agree with most of that, but I'm curious about your first point under cons for live plants:

They cost more long term than fake plants

While live plants might cost more initially (I'm not sure because I've never bought and fake ones), you can take cuttings from some live plants to make more, and others will increase on their own. Fake plants won't do that.

For just one example, I bought a single water wisteria from Petco for around $7.00. I now have two 36" x 18" tanks half full of it, and have probably sold $100.00 worth of cuttings.

Now that I think about it, the initial cost being higher is certainly not always true. Many times I've bought a stem plant, only to bring it home and immediately separate the cuttings and plant them individually, so the cost per plant was only about $1.00.

 

I like, and agree with most of that, but I'm curious about your first point under cons for live plants:

While live plants might cost more initially (I'm not sure because I've never bought and fake ones), you can take cuttings from some live plants to make more, and others will increase on their own. Fake plants won't do that.

For just one example, I bought a single water wisteria from Petco for around $7.00. I now have two 36" x 18" tanks half full of it, and have probably sold $100.00 worth of cuttings.

Now that I think about it, the initial cost being higher is certainly not always true. Many times I've bought a stem plant, only to bring it home and immediately separate the cuttings and plant them individually, so the cost per plant was only about $1.00.

I afree with you, JettsPapa. I guess this point would apply more for very slow growing plants like Anubias. Fast growing stem plants are very cheap if you can get them going strong and robust.

 

The key word here is in the title. Necessary.

No, not necessary.
Have pros, yes but certainty not a necessity.

 

Ok wow thanks everyone. This is definitely getting me thinking. I do like the idea of maybe a java feen and java moss. I guess what makes me nervous is hitchhiker pests and diseases. If I do get live plants, I’ll be getting them at my LFS. But looks like the 20g is still up for debate with my mom lol. So I have a ten gallon idea on standby and I’ll probably try live plants for that.

 

To stop hitchikers and stuff you can prepare a bleach dip. (more info through the link)

 

To stop hitchikers and stuff you can prepare a bleach dip. (more info through the link)

Thank you! Makes me less nervous. Im more nervous about pests than diseases tbh. But I think I’ll just do the dip like you said.

 

Thank you! Makes me less nervous. Im more nervous about pests than diseases tbh. But I think I’ll just do the dip like you said.

If you want to dip your plants I won't try to talk you out of it, but getting snails in your tank isn't the end of the world. I have them in all my tanks, and kinda like them.

After an initial population explosion their numbers will level off, unless you're heavily over feeding.

 

If you want to dip your plants I won't try to talk you out of it, but getting snails in your tank isn't the end of the world. I have them in all my tanks, and kinda like them.

After an initial population explosion their numbers will level off, unless you're heavily over feeding.

Yeah I guess it can be like a free clean up crew. I guess it depends on what kind of snails come out. The honey Gouramis might pick at them.