HATE to ask

zeebo

Member
Jun 11, 2010
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so, ok, i have seen some great planted tanks here, and I have tried a few easy plants, believe me , i have tried, but they never make it. I prefer not to mess with ferts, so that could be the prob, but even the easy ones like java fern and anubius dont last . So my question is how members feel about a few fake plants in the tank, ya know the silk kind --NOT plastic..? I just wondered cuz some of the fish i have been getting seem to need some greenery to hide out in once in a while ,yet i have been loathe to to purchase any . What's the consensus on fakies-no go or ok if one has no green thumb ?

Georgie
 

FF MkII

Retired Staff
Apr 28, 2009
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There is nothing wrong with using fake plants it's just a personal choice... Obviously they don't have any benefits in terms of helping with water quality but are great for cover :)
 

Lornek8

Member
Apr 21, 2009
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Hawaii
I got no problem with them. I use plastic ones. Sometimes you just can't do the live plant thing. Doesn't mean the fish must suffer. With today's fake plants looking more real than ever you can still use fake and get a realistic looking tank.
 

zeebo

Member
Jun 11, 2010
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ct ,usa
thanks Steve and Lornek, I was not sure if it was considered ''acceptable'' in a serious tank ,so I have been eyeing some nice silk ones that might do the trick ,but was concerned they would be frownd upon. I have picked up some celebes and I'm sure they would dig some cover, and next up is the diamond tetras, and I want them to feel secure . Many thanks guys.

Georgie
 

Jackson

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Jan 14, 2011
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Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I used to do it when I had my endlers. Only thing I hated about them was how much gunk built up on them.

Asides from that they're great IMO I've tried live plants and they don't last with my fish.
 

jessonthenet

Member
Oct 16, 2010
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Newcastle upon Tyne
Nothing wrong with fake plants if they look real and are placed well. People use fake rock for backgrounds etc and can look quite effective.

I have had fake plants but plastic did collect dirt a lot. I had red and blue and green a multicoloured tank. I was tempted to buy silk ones but thought I would try live plants before opting for silk. Reason for wanting silk was the look of plastic, not very nice. There may be plastic plants out there that don't look fake.

I think it only matters if it bothers you. You might find your water is better for breeding fish if you can't grow plants in it, vice versa.
 

zeebo

Member
Jun 11, 2010
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well i picked up a few , tried to get realistic looking ones, 2 are silk and one is the new plastic, trimmed it down some,was big and too rediclous , not too bad looking now and revamping the tank after the loss, wanted it to look different,and the plants are certainly helping and the fish seem to dig them. Thanks everyone for your responses , put off purchasing them for so long, now, you guys made me feel better about using them and i knew the fish needed somthing.

Georgie
ps Derek, the fake planted tank was quite realistic ,but that too takes talent ! afraid that is still outta my league... very nice, though, thanks for showing it !
 

jessonthenet

Member
Oct 16, 2010
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Newcastle upon Tyne
I really don't think that setup on pfk is out of anyones league.

If you look at it there is a fine layer of substrate , a large wood on an angle as a focal point then all they have done is place higher plants at the back and smaller at the front and mixed the colours a little. It seems to go from left lower to right higher with the shape of the wood.

I can see totally what they have done there. Using fake plants would really be an excellent way to practice aquascaping as they won't die if you move them around or break up and you won't have roots to contend with, just move them around.

I think you could easily achieve that Zeebo. PFK just make things look fancy for magazines, their job or it would be boring.
 

zeebo

Member
Jun 11, 2010
1,986
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ct ,usa
thanks for the confidence Jess, however , i am still moving the wood and rocks around, cant get the look i want with dumb wood and rocks, so plants gotta be few and simple, but i read what you said and how they did it, so it is feesable , but i am still working on the other stuff ,agh , and seriously thinking of picking up a larger pc of wood for the back corner, think that might do the trick.. the fake plants are few, but add some color and ''realism'' and cover for the dither fish .
Thanks again , may try more after I get the other stuff just right :)

Georgie