Silk Plants in an aquarium? You Bet!

[Kyle May]

This is a follow-up post to a preceeding post about saving money on decor.
To reiterate, silk plants are really cheap, the fish love them, and so will your wallet.
I can decorate a tank for about $3 using silk plants purchased off season at the craft store.
I get them for 90% off, which means that I pay about .30 for a bunch of plants.
Here's a tag from a bunch of larger plants:


Here's a finished plant ready for the tank:


Here's how I do it. Firts remove the base used by the florists and crafters:


Next shove a bunch of the stalks through a hole in a rock and put a zip tie around them to secure the stalks together:


Finally bend out a couple of the stems to keep the bunch from pulling back through the hole and then pull the whole assembly tigh to the underside of the rock.


Viola! You have a nice plant that looks like it's growing out of, or behind a rock. Plants are very sturdy this way and can be repositioned easily.


Finish off the look by hiding the bases of the stems with some small rocks. They'll conceal any zip ties used to attach the plants.


Plants come in a wide variety of shapes ans sizes, so let your imagination go wild:


This method of decorationg is not only cst effective, but it can cover a lot of room in your tank, creating nice habitat for your fish.


Enjoy,

Kyle May

[Kyle May]

Here's a 150 full of water and decorated.

[Bas Pels]

I will not put unreal plants in a tank - but that is just my opinion, not something for others to worry about

I know many people here (NL) use plastic in the shape of a plant and are happy with it. However, silk plants seam to me much more sensitive to algae growth, and the glue might be harmfull.

So basically, I wonder how good these silk plants look after 3 months, or more, under water

[Piotr Koba]

I will not put unreal plants in a tank - but that is just my opinion, not something for others to worry about

I know many people here (NL) use plastic in the shape of a plant and are happy with it. However, silk plants seam to me much more sensitive to algae growth, and the glue might be harmfull.

So basically, I wonder how good these silk plants look after 3 months, or more, under water

You are 100% right with that "algae sensitivity" - I had one for like 4 months, but it looked so ugly I've thrown it away after all. However, in first or two months it looked nice.

[Kyle May]

I've had these Heros efasciatus in a tank with silk plants for 18 months without any ill effects.
I have zero algae problems.

Here is the 150 with water, clean glass, and five 8-10" fish hiding among the plants.


Here's a close-up of the fish using the plants for cover:


I think every aquarist has definite opinions about plants and I can certainly appreciate yours.
Out of 50 active tanks in my fish room, this tank is one of 5 in which I use silk plants.
This tank is one of only three that are outside of the fish room proper. This one the main
display tank in my finished basement. It's the first tank that I show to young aquarists when they visit.

Most of my planted tanks are for fish that seem to do better in a planted environment.
I do like tanks planted with real plants but it's a part of the hobby in which I participate.
Most of my tanks have no plants and very little decor.
For some really cool planted tanks, go here: http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2010.cgi -you could spend hours on here.

I'd love to hear how the rest of you feel about planted tanks,

Kyle

[Daniel Smith]

I think the silk plants sound a great idea . Problems with algae probably depend on the intensity of the lighting and the nitrate levels . In a well maintained tank with large regular water changes and subdued lighting you have less algae problems .

[zenins]

I use silk plants in my 100 gallon tank that has lots of severums.
I used to have real Amazon Sword plants, but the fish ate them down to the roots