Do plastic plants provide any benefits real ones do?
- Thread starter Gambusia
- Start date
Sure, hiding places for fish. Fish can still lay eggs on them. You can use them to hide tank equipment. You could use plastic breeding grass to help create a higher area of substrate(retaining wall). They can be cleaned easier when an algae problem pops up. 
The flip side: live plants add more quality to the life cycle of the fish through chemical reactions(taking up nutrients and photosynthesizing) and as a source of food. They can out compete algae under the right conditions. They can indicate when water quality is poor before the fish do sometimes. You can buy them cheap and let them grow.
My preference is real plants, but fake ones aren't a sin. I have plastic breeding grass in my tank since I've had trouble getting low growing plants to survive. :idea2:
The flip side: live plants add more quality to the life cycle of the fish through chemical reactions(taking up nutrients and photosynthesizing) and as a source of food. They can out compete algae under the right conditions. They can indicate when water quality is poor before the fish do sometimes. You can buy them cheap and let them grow.
My preference is real plants, but fake ones aren't a sin. I have plastic breeding grass in my tank since I've had trouble getting low growing plants to survive. :idea2:
The only benefit in plastic plant is for fry to hide. Other than that I find they look ugly. They are more expensive than real plants.
www.bluewhippet.net
www.bluewhippet.net
I've used plastic plants in tanks with low light.
In tanks with good light I try to use live plants but I've only had good success with java fern and anacharis.
I mainly use plants for cover for fish. That is why I asked.
In tanks with good light I try to use live plants but I've only had good success with java fern and anacharis.
I mainly use plants for cover for fish. That is why I asked.
I have a 5 gallon, and keeping plants in it is such a pain. it was more detramental because they rotted a bit and in 5 gallons, there is little room for extra ammonia etc. in my larger tank, they thrive, and i love keeping them. I have some decent looking fakes that work for their purpose of hiding places.
I think fakes are ok. Esp. for kids and newbies. depends on what you are looking for in fish keeping.
IMO
lisa
I think fakes are ok. Esp. for kids and newbies. depends on what you are looking for in fish keeping.
IMO
lisa
Swimfins
This is as good as it gets.
Leaopardess has a ten gallon aquascaped with plastic and rocks. Its awesome. Take a look. My only problem with plastic is seeing how one of my fish cut a fin on a fake cabomba that was too sharp. But for rugged fish like cichlids...works for me. As well, nitrifying bacteria can live on these surfaces and add to the biological filter. I use real plants but, I'm not opposed to the plastics. Actually, some of the fakes are getting quite good.
I use plastic plants in my quarantine tank. I would have preferred silk or preferred even more real, but I am a bleach freak when it comes to sterilizing a tank, so since this is a Q-tank and I intend to strip it down from time to time, plastic was the way to go for me. I purchased a large number of plastic plants online and really like the way the tank turnd out. One of the prettiest Q-tanks I have ever seen