Live Vs Silk Plants?

Ok, im getting fed up of the live plants in my betta tank, they are causing more mess than anything. I want a low-maintenance betta tank, are silk plants good, do they look fake, like plastic?

I have seen some tanks with silk plants, dark ones, i think they look nice. SOwhats your thought?

Plastic are an absolute no no for betta tanks since they usually have sharp bits that can cut fins. Silk do look better and move more realistically but nothing beats live. When you say live plants are making a mess what do you mean? If leaves are dying and dropping off then you need to up your light or possibly does with ferts if they are basic ones. What plants do you have exactly?

Moss balls , Java moss, Aponogentons and Cabomba are all good plants for a betta tank, basic in care and should really not make any mess at all.

I have green cabomba, floating water lettuce, and another little stalk of this one plant that I have in my 10-gallon that keeps having its leaves dropping off and dying in the 10-gallon, in my Betta tank; but my boys are quite fond of their cabombas.... ^^; Libra sleeps at the bottom of his tank, curled around the stalks of his cabomba plant; and, for Mr. Wimpy Fish, it varies. Cabomba is an absolutely *amazing* plant. ^^;

I wont be able to higher watt the light, and it has got fertiliser tabs underneath the sand. TBH, its the fact that i cant plant scape.

Elodea Densa
Aponogetum Crispus
Eleocharis Parvulus (dwarf hairgrass)
mini Amazon Sword
Bacopa Monnerii
Twisted Vallisneria
Amazon Sword
Sagittaria Natans
Rotalla Indica


My plants are really light apart from the Java fern, the sand is also light and the dividers are white. So everything is toned down. I was thinking about black sand or substrate, so wanted some dark silk plants. Then the bettas will stand out!

Does that sound like a good idea?

Eugh live plants in my sorority are a pain so i ahve absoultely non now. I'm waiting until i get better lighting. I hate plastic plants they look rubbish, so the tanks full of other junk that looks rubbish.
Why cant you get a higher light?
Or just buy a whole new one? Unless its in the lid.

Only one of my tanks has real plants and I'm not particularily fond of them either. I kept them because of my pygmies liking them but all but one pygmy has passed on, so after he's gone, I'm pulling the plants out and putting silk in for my guppies.

Silk, IMO, doesn't look real, but of course looks better than plastic. In my larger tank, it has silk but I've also put a lot of decor in so the focus isn't on the plants, it's on the entire landscape.

I think fake plants can look just as good as live, it's about how you use them. A few just plonked around a tank will look rubbish, live or fake. Here's my endler tank with all plastic plants (except the java fern)

I love the look of live plants when they're first planted, but I also find them difficult to maintain. I have cat litter under the sand, OK light, choose 'easy' plants, dose ferts, all but CO[sub]2[/sub] really and still they die!
It's the cost of silk that puts me off but I've probably spent equivalent on live so far
I think a black background will achieve the effect you want. Dark substrate too would be even better, but try a new background and see what you think

I don't use any CO2 and only occasionally does ferts, my light is stock lighting and all my plants do well. I have a thin layer of pond soil capped with sand in the 30 gallon, and capped with gravel in the 12 and 5 gallon. All my plants do really well and my aponogentons flower frequently. I think the soil really works.

If nothing else Java moss tied down to bogwood and also Java fern and mossballs should be ok. You could mix those with silk plants for a live/silk combination.

I've found with my betta tank that the black sand looks great, I have a mix of very fine black gravel and black sand (didn't have enough of each to use just one!) a black bin liner as the backing and the plants really stand out. I just have crypts and vallis and some rotala I got yesterday, I've moved the Spatterdock as it was just too big.

In a small tank I think the dark look is quite nice.

Thanks all,

@Ellena and Fippajh, you tanks are amazing!!!
I have changed the background to black now (cardboard Paper), and it looks better already, need to find some black substrate though!
thanks for the help, oh yeh and i'm sticking to the live plants, but will look on ebay from some dark green plants.