Real Or Fake Plants?

[Raindancer411]

Hi All

I have just brought a new tank that I am going to be collectiong next saturday and get cycling...

My question is am I best to get real plants or fake plants for the tropical tank?

I have always used fake but would like to try real but hear its not always a good idea

 

[Curiosity101]

PARC - Planted Aquarium Resource Centre
^^ The plant resource centre, will answer lots of your questions and generally has some really useful stuff in it!

My vote goes for real plants always! Presuming you're just having a normal tropical community?

If so some good starter plants are:
Elodea,
Java Fern,
Java Moss,
Anubias.

All of the above are very hardy so should be near impossible to kill. They're also low demanding meaning you don't have to worry about adding nutrients etc as the will get everything they need from fish waste.

Only thing I would say about plants, is that I would never add them during the actual cycling period. It may just have been me having bad luck, but whenever I've had plants in a cycling tank they've seemed to...melt.
So I personally would hold off on actually planting until you're done cycling.

 

[Duck and Dive]

Yeah real plants beat fake plants anyday, they are cheaper too.

 

[baron von bubba]

PARC - Planted Aquarium Resource Centre
^^ The plant resource centre, will answer lots of your questions and generally has some really useful stuff in it!

My vote goes for real plants always! Presuming you're just having a normal tropical community?

If so some good starter plants are:
Elodea,
Java Fern,
Java Moss,
Anubias.

All of the above are very hardy so should be near impossible to kill. They're also low demanding meaning you don't have to worry about adding nutrients etc as the will get everything they need from fish waste.

Only thing I would say about plants, is that I would never add them during the actual cycling period. It may just have been me having bad luck, but whenever I've had plants in a cycling tank they've seemed to...melt.
So I personally would hold off on actually planting until you're done cycling.

real plants every time!
not only are as stated cheaper and look batter, they are also the best filters you gan get!
many ppl will only do water changes every few months in a "low tech" planted aquarium, with no plants you'd be advised to do water changes much more regularly.

dont agree with no planting from the beginning, just the opposite in fact!
plant quite heavily and include many fast growing stems to start with.

 

[Raindancer411]

Looks like real may be the way to go...

 

[baron von bubba]

Looks like real may be the way to go...

just have a look around at the journals on this and other sites, give you some ideas and see just how gorgeous some of these planted tanks can be!