Is it Okay if you get Artificial Aquarium Plants
Why are aquarium owners so crazy about all the plants that they put in there? Well, if you do a good-enough job of finding the right kinds of plants and the right way to arrange them, you’ll end up with a waterscape that makes the viewer think he’s looking at a real, natural underwater environment. The effect can be truly convincing if you do it right.
But there’s a little problem there – natural aquarium plants can be expensive and are high maintenance. What do you do if you just want the beauty and none of the hard work? Well, how about considering artificial aquarium plants?
Let’s get this completely straight right away – artificial plants that are made of silk or plastic aren’t as beautiful or natural-looking as the real thing. But they can be good-looking enough and it can be easy to suspend disbelief. Especially so, when you save some money over what it costs to raise natural plants. For instance, real plants require a good bit of sunlight or artificial light or else they just wilt. Arranging for good lighting can be quite a hassle.
When you’re starting out for the first time with your own aquarium, you often want to not cut any corners. That’s part of the touching sincerity that takes over when we start something. What happens though is that when you’re new to something and there’s so much to learn and to keep up with, that to have one more thing added to the burden can really make you lose interest.
As a new aquarium owner, you have to learn to manage water quality, learn about feeding all the fish, learn about looking for health problems, understand water filters, lighting and heating – it can be too much for anyone. You just don’t want real aquarium plants adding to the insanity. Just get a bunch of convincing-looking fake plants and let it go at that.
Do you to think that fake plants are going to be stiff and plasticky looking. Modern artificial plants are near-perfect reproductions. They are exactly the right color and shade, they are quite pliant and will wave about in the water – even your fish will be fooled half the time.
You can see what they look like at your local aquarium store. If they don’t have enough variety when you’re ready to buy, you can try the online stores where you can get dozens of different kinds. How much should you get? The usual quantity is about one plant for every 30 square cm of space that your tank has.
Once you’ve had your tank for long enough and you’ve more or less learned how to maintain an aquarium, you can always move to live plants. Underwater landscaping can be so popular that some aquarium enthusiasts raise fishless tanks – just for the plants.
