plants, plastic vs. live
- Thread starter dvo112
- Start date
Ok so lets say that after managing to keep some fish alive with placky plants I want to try and incorporate a couple of live plants - just to start gently! How do i go about it? I read stuff about CO2 injection - i get too much science as it is, I can't handle any more 
So without CO2, what do i plant that doesnt need much time looking after - would i have to totally reorg the tank - i have seem some people's tanks with plants just plopped in and sitting on the gravel (but i think thats a bit "tacky" ;D apologies to NEone whose plants are like that!) What do i plant in? I've got tonnes of experience with terra plants but none with aqs
So without CO2, what do i plant that doesnt need much time looking after - would i have to totally reorg the tank - i have seem some people's tanks with plants just plopped in and sitting on the gravel (but i think thats a bit "tacky" ;D apologies to NEone whose plants are like that!) What do i plant in? I've got tonnes of experience with terra plants but none with aqsWhen I was young my tanks were plastic plants and neon caves and black and blue and purple and pink and orange gravel. When I got older that changed. I did still have the plastic plants though. But a few days ago I bought some live plants and I think they are the best thing to ever happen to my tank! ;D They are great. The fish are for some reason happier and more colorful. The lighting looks better. The water is clearer the gravel is better. I can't say how much I think of there things. I love them. So my vote goes to real though I have never had the silk or seen them for that matter either. I want some java moss but like scrimman I can't find it :'( Oh well maybe Rhodes, our new store, will get some they have weird fish and are starting to get plants in as well. They also have the largest selection of marine tanks I've ever seen! And the cleanest. ;D
I like the plastic plants because I don't have time for anything else. But Live were not as hard as I thought they would be to take care of and they do look nicer. My mother got a book that has alterantive ways of decorating fish tanks and she wants me to do the one with hamster tubes in my 55G. The book had some neat looking tanks in it, but nothing that I could see looking very good after a couple of weeks when the alage starts to grow and fish yuck starts to build up on the bottom of the tank.
Hey Doc
What size tank do you have, and how much light do you have going into your tank?
Right off the bat I'd say get a Java Fern. They're pretty much bullet-proof. I'd also recommend Java Moss, but I've never had any. Everything I've heard or read about it tells me it's bullet-proof too. If your tank has been set up for a while and your gravel is not overly big a crypt (wendii or becktii) or a smaller anubias would work. They're all fairly slow growers, so you can keep up with them very easily.
If I knew what kind of light you had, I'd reccommend some aponogeton bulbs. You can get them at Wal-Mart.
You don't really need CO2, but at your higher light levels it helps the plants out-compete the alge.
But, what do you have that you want to pitch a plant into? ???
What size tank do you have, and how much light do you have going into your tank?
Right off the bat I'd say get a Java Fern. They're pretty much bullet-proof. I'd also recommend Java Moss, but I've never had any. Everything I've heard or read about it tells me it's bullet-proof too. If your tank has been set up for a while and your gravel is not overly big a crypt (wendii or becktii) or a smaller anubias would work. They're all fairly slow growers, so you can keep up with them very easily.
If I knew what kind of light you had, I'd reccommend some aponogeton bulbs. You can get them at Wal-Mart.
You don't really need CO2, but at your higher light levels it helps the plants out-compete the alge.
But, what do you have that you want to pitch a plant into? ???