Real Plants?

[JawsA10]

Should I plant freshwater plants in my tank with my bichir, silver shark, peacock eel, knife and pleco? How do you take care of them? Are they better then plastic plants? What about reefs or plants for my saltwater tank? how do you maintain them? Thanks.

 

[Mikaila31]

I have no experience with saltwater but freshwater plants are better than plastic cuz they clean the water and they are one of the most effective ways to reduce nitrates besides doing a water change. My nitrate is actually lower than my tap in my planted tank. The only problem with plants is that most tanks cannot support them. Normally their lighting is way to low and from the fish you listed i'm guessing the tank is pretty big. Do you know how many watts of light is has? The lights will most likely have to be upgraded which tends to be quite pricey IMO. Also plecos tend to be good plant destroyers. Plants need to be pruned and fertilized.