When setting up your aquarium, plants are the most important addition. Plants provide shelter and comfort to fish. Likewise, if the bearer fish live, the plant gives the babies a place to hide until they are large enough to enter the community. Plants also give the aquarium a more natural look. When choosing plants for your aquarium, it can sometimes be difficult to decide whether to buy real or fake plants.
Fake plants provide a place for your fish to hide from more aggressive tankmates. Fake leaves, which look similar to the real thing, also give the tank a much better overall look. Many fake plants on the market are different, from the real thing to the back, glow in the dark plants. silk plants are particularly popular because they have a more realistic appearance than plastic plants.
Fake plants have some benefits over live plants. First, fake plants require little to no maintenance. They do have a tendency to grow algae, but artificial plants can be removed from the tank and cleaned when needed. Also, fish don’t look for fake plants. Finally, fake plants do not lose their look when live plants become obsolete or ugly.
A few negatives are choosing to use fake plants. First, fake plants provide no chemical benefit to water. Second, if you have algae problems, your fake plants will be covered very quickly. Algae eaters usually don’t do much to eat algae from the surface of artificial plants. Eventually the more aggressive fish will try to eat the fake plants. If a piece of the plant breaks off, it can suffocate the fish. This is rare, though.
Live plants make your aquarium look almost completely realistic. They put even more oxygen into the water and use nitrates to produce fish, which are harmful to your fish. Some fish like plants eat, and they can be among the snacks nutrition.
Live plants require quite a bit more work than artificial ones to grow and maintain. Some plants have specific types of light and substrate, or bottom layer for rooting, that they need to survive. Because plants are living things, they grow, and sometimes they grow very large. Fast-growing plants can quickly overwhelm your aquarium. You will need to trim the plants from time to time. Another downside of live plants is the difficulty of cleaning. Sometimes the live plants will have built up algae, and you can’t clean the live plant without damaging it. Finally, fish will eat living plants. This does not harm the fish, but the pieces of the plant fly around in the aquarium, making it dirty. Also, the plant may not be attractive after the hooks of the leaves have been eaten.
They are positive and negative for live plants and artificial plants. The good news for the beginning aquarium owner is that there are some varieties of living plants that are easier to grow. Anubias and Crypta are plants that grow well in normal aquarium lighting without a special substrate. If you want to put extra effort into plant care, live plants are the best way to provide a healthier living environment for your fish. If you haven’t been with live plants, don’t feel bad, because your fish will be fine if you keep tabs on Water quality. Whatever you decide, it’s important to add beautiful plants to your aquarium. You will enjoy watching your fish swim among them!
