To Plant Or Not To Plant

[onebto]

I have a bit of a challenge on my mind and I just cannot decide on a course of action.

Maybe you can help me find some clarity, give me a different point of view.

Here's the problem. Currently I have a Juwel Trigon 350 with a Fluval405 additional to the built in unit, I have sand substrate, rocks bog wood and here comes the problem I have a few plants. Its a low teck tank with no fertiliser substrate, no Co2 just some liquid fertiliser added as instructions advise.

But I cannot keep most plants alive not because my tank is low teck not because I have standard Lighting its because of my beloved Clown Loach I have 8 off them I think the 4 larger one's are to blame (3 to 4 inch) rip the heck out of most of my plants. The only sort of plant I can keep is the thick stemmed sword type plants everything else they just wont put up with.

Here is the good bit next Friday my new tank is going to be delivered A Juwel vision 450. I am going to stick with sand substrate should I bother with putting in a fertiliser substrate below the sand? Should I try and plant this tank. Thanks to the members of this forum I have seen fine examples of both planted and non planted tanks.

One thing is for sure the Clowns are staying, second thing is I just do not like artificial plants.

What do you think? I really like plants in a tank I am just getting fed up with a trail of loach destruction, any good idea's?

Regards onebto.

 

[ellena]

If you're set on the clowns, I think you need to learn to love artificial plants. They've got to look better than real ones that have had a run in with the clowns, surely?
Is it because you associate them with bubbling alligators and treasure chests?
I think you can't beat a really great planted tank, but they are generally a lot of work and would be even more so with the loaches intent on destroying it. Fake plants, used well, can look miles better than a badly designed tank with real plants. It's what you do with them.
You can see one of my tanks, post 30 on this thread. All but the java fern are fake, and I'm not pretending you can't tell, but it still looks good

 

[hamfist]

If you're set on the clowns, I think you need to learn to love artificial plants. They've got to look better than real ones that have had a run in with the clowns, surely?
Is it because you associate them with bubbling alligators and treasure chests?
I think you can't beat a really great planted tank, but they are generally a lot of work and would be even more so with the loaches intent on destroying it. Fake plants, used well, can look miles better than a badly designed tank with real plants. It's what you do with them.
You can see one of my tanks, post 30 on this thread. All but the java fern are fake, and I'm not pretending you can't tell, but it still looks good

I agree entirely.

I love fake plants. They are so much easier for non-green fingered folk such as myself. I simply kill any living greenery, both in my garden and in any tanks, so it's much safer for me to stick to fake plants. And with a bith of thought and effort, they can look passably good, IMO