Fake plants turning brown

In my tank I have 2 live plants and a fake plant. The 2 live plants are doing well.

For some reason though, the tips of the leaves of the fake plant is turning brown. Anyone know why? Should I take it out and buy some new ones?

Thanks
Gwenz

 

You need to clean them periodically, maybe once a month or every other month, depends on how dirty they get.

 

are you talking about the fake plant? or the real plant?

 

Ohhhhhhhh, you're supposed to clean them...
The brown stuff is probably some sort of algae. My fake plants have gotten really dirty, but of course I wouldn't think to clean them. : Do you have to though? I actually think they look better, more natural, with algae on them.

 

LOL, the brownish patches on your fake plant are algae I know this because in the past when I had only fake plants, and no live ones, I had the same problem. You should clean them every once in a while - that's all. The reason algae often start growing on fake plants is that they're not a very accessible place for an algae eater to clean them. It's much easier for an algae eater to eat algae off the glass rather thank off a fake plant. So, as a result, you end up having algae growing on fake plants but not on the glass or anywhere else in a tank.

 

fake plants are algae MAGNETS!!!!! it is really annoying, they collect algae really fast! Grgh....

 

same here

 

Thanks, I didn't think to clean them!! :

I'll clean it then and see what happens.

Gwenz

 

yep they get algae really bad. This is what I do, swish them in plain water to get any debris off of them. Then soak them in a bleach solution for about an hour. Then rinse in tap water to get most of the bleach solution off and then soak in a dish full of heavily dechlorinated water for about an hour. if they still smell like bleach when you take them out soak a little longer in dechlorinated water.
This will kill any beneficial bacteria growing on the artificial plants. I only have a couple of them, but if you have a whole tank full , don't do the whole tankfull at one time.
Carol

 

Thanks. I only have 1. the rest are real. I'll try what you said!!

Gwenz

 

I current have real and fake plants in my tank. I have been searching all of my local pet stores to find fake grass like plants. None of them carry what I am looking for. I did find grass like plastic plants at my local art store. My question is can I buy fake plastic plants from a non-aquarium store to use in my tank. I was planning on washing the item and soaking it in the declorinized water for a few days before adding it to my fry tank.

 

as long as they aren't ones that will disolve in water, with no perfumes or dyes, I see no problem with them...I have bought a lot of my decor from the dollar store with no issues

 

All of my tank decor came from Michaels craft store....I have silk plants and flowers and they are easy to clean....Never had a problem with them....

 

The ones you have to watch for are the ones with wires in them. The wires will rust and can break and possibly stick your fish.
carol

 

Thank you. You are all awesome. I am sure many viewers are running to their local dollar/art stores buying stuff they were not sure of before.

 

The ones you have to watch for are the ones with wires in them. The wires will rust and can break and possibly stick your fish.
carol

I've also heard that any kind of metal in your tank water will slowly poison and kill your fish.

I get some of my best decor at Goodwill -- all the little vases and lots of the smooth flat decorative stones for just a dollar here and there! I would not trust any silk plants you might find there though. :/

 

Hello, I have a ten gallon tank that is currently going through the nitrogen cycle, and when it is finished, I am planning on getting six tetras. I have read that they like to swim around the middle part of the tank, and I am wanting to buy three plants. I am hoping for height recommendations on them. My tank is ten inches tall, and I am planning on getting at least one seven inch tall plant, but I would like some help with the others.

Thank you

 

anubias and java fern can get pretty tall, but they might not be that easily to find at that size, and the taller they are, the more expensive they will be.

I have some water wisteria that grows from buttom to the top of the water and also grows sideways. This stem plant grows pretty fast and could fill in your tank nicely. I have wisteria jungles in my tanks and the fish love swimming through it.

Anacharis and hornwort grow quickly up to the surface.

Some moss would make a nice contrast in structure. You could tie or glue java moss to rocks or driftwood at whatever growing level you like.

 

I find that it depends more on how many types of plants and what colours along with placement rather than what type. For three plants, I would get no more than two different types with no more than two different colours that contrast nicely. I find that placing them in bunches looks really good. I would also get a variety of sizes and put the taller ones closer to the back. It helps to search different plants and know what you are getting before you go to the store. Good luck!

 

Thank you, I will deffinetly keep sll of your suggestions in mind

 

If you're interested in fake plants, sometimes they sell multipacks that contain 3-6 fake plants of different colors/sizes. Personally, I think more plants make the tank look better/calmer, even if they're fake. I bought a 6 pack of fake plants for my 15 gal - one of the plants in the pack was even taller than my tank height (tank is 12" high and the plant is probably close to that, but with gravel and the water level is not right up flush with the top) so it lays across the top of the water just a little and I think it looks pretty cool (IMO).

 

Yea, the plant I bought about an hour ago does the same, I am goind back to get more in twelve days ( all food filters decorations thirty percent off!) I am also wondering since tetras like to have fake plants floating on top of the water, is there some kind of fake substitute I could use?

 

Maybe someone else will know for sure, but if not, you can always get a very tall plant and just let the top several inches lay on top of the water, or maybe just take a regular fake plant and cut off the bottom/anchor portion and it may float?

 

Ok, that sounds like a great idea to me! Thank you very much!

 

I know you were asking about fake plants, but for floater that are a few that are super easy and take no special care to keep. I would suggest Hornwort, it would help soak up nitrates in the water and just needs to be thrown in. It would give the fish some cover and help water conditions. Don't need any ferts or real special lighting, I think it would do ok in just about any tank. It's basically like a weed, that grows almost anywhere. Another super easy and good looking floater is Frogbit. Anacharis can also be used as a floater.

 

Where are people getting these gorgeous vines, etc in their tanks?

I would love to put some foliage into the upper half of my tank while I wait for existing plant life to grow out

 

A lot of people use silk plants in their tanks. I think they carry a selection in the reptile section of the pet store.

 

Most of us grow real ones. Try it, it's aggravating and fun at the same time.

 

Most of us grow real ones. Try it, it's aggravating and fun at the same time.

Not all of us are allowed real plants though.

 

I have Amazon sword, peace lily, Anubis and some rapidly melting java fern. A few bamboo as well

The trick is tall, floating stuff for the back/top that will still let light down to the swords

I tried Val's and they all died....all 14 of them

Moneywort died too

The wisteria is melted away

So now I'm looking for other options to provide tall cover in the background

 

I bought what I thought was Ludwigia repens turns out it was Rotala Indica. It took off in my tank. Pic 1 first planted - pic 2 right before gardening.





About 7 weeks growth. I did some trimming about 3 weeks ago. Here's a pic.

 

Not sure what you mean by vines? For some easy coverage on the wood you can use moss, I recommend christmas moss.

Also if that is lucky bamboo the tops and the leaves need to be out of the water

 

If Wysteria is melting, do you have enough lights, I can't kill that stuff, I throw away tons every couple months.

 

I have a new 5000k bulb but there are tannins in the water? I never had trouble in my old 29, with just a plain worn out T8 strip so I wonder if the light wasn't reaching the bottom in the darker water


By vines, I mean the silk ivy that some people have in their Betta tanks, or perhaps a pothos plant, I see those growing from tops of tanks and the roots offer shelter for the fish....not sure how that works logistically does it float?

My local selection of plants has been limited to the following

Anubis -grows well
Wisteria when I can find it
Once I found Val's
Plenty of swords to be found, and peace lily is being sold as a sword by one store-I have both
Hornwort (hates my warm tanks)
Dwarf sag, if I want to pay $10/plant
Java fern and moss -those are ok in my small tanks but melt in the big one
Ludwiga repens (melted away to nothing)
Moneywort (rotted and went fuzzy)


Here are a couple of pictures of the current living plants-obviously I do prefer those, if I can get them going

young swords
peace lily (Brazilian sword lol)
java fern
3cuttings of Anubis and the bamboo

The bamboo was tossed in to fill space while I decide what to put in that spot-it was immersed at the store and doing well but I know that it's a matter of time before it rots

 

sassymomma. Can I ask, what are the green fruit baskets for? Tank looks great, btw.

 

To use pothos is easy. Get yourself a plant, remove it from the container it came in and shake some of the dirt off. Put it in a container that holds water and fill to bottom of leaves with water. Every three or four days, take something and stir the roots around, pour off about half of the water and dirt. refill with tank water. Do this for two weeks so that the plant gets used to feeding from water not dirt. Take the pothos, make sure there is no dirt clinging to the roots and plunk the roots through an opening in your lid. If you don't have a lid, rig something so that the roots are in the water and the leaves are above.
I use it for nitrate removal, tank shade and stuck the roots over the output on the filter to break up the flow.

 

sassymomma. Can I ask, what are the green fruit baskets for? Tank looks great, btw.

The baskets provide surface cover, until I get a plant or something growing up top. I was counting on my Val's to offer that, when I set up the tank and bought the girls, but they melted so I improvised lol. There are holes in each side of the baskets, and they weave in and out

 

I am planning a tank for some SAP's and blind cave tetras. I plan on using mostly all fake plants in the tank since the blind cave tetras tend to eat anything living. I already have my tank bought I just need sand, rocks and plants and a heater. I want the tank to look as natural as possible while also not costing an arm and a a leg. the tank detentions are 21.5 x 14.2 x 25.6 and is 20 gl. my local Petco, PetSmart, and lfs's are all pretty limited on selection for plants so I'm trying to find things online like on Amazon. I'm having a problem with trying to find pieces that will match together and look real or are big enough or small enough. I really need some help with ideas. I know I'm going to need lots of books and crannies for everybody to hide in, so any advice or suggestions would be very helpful. thank you!

 

I've always admired Fluval's decorative plants for how realistic they look. They come in a variety of sizes and price ranges, so I think you should look at those.

 

Amazon can be really tricky to find good plants, there are just so many options!




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