Benefits of live plants

[Fishies4Ever]

I want to get more live plants for my fish to help them hide from each other. I was just wondering what are the benefits of keeping live plants rather than fake?

 

[sharkweek178]

They improve the water quality. They oxygenate the water. They help combat algae. They provide shade and shelter. Live plants are safer than hard plastic which can have jagged edges.

And IMO, they just look better.

 

[10 Tanks]

I want to get more live plants for my fish to help them hide from each other. I was just wondering what are the benefits of keeping live plants rather than fake?

Hello. They're natural water filters. Keep a lot of them and change half the tank water every week and you'll have no tank problems.

10 Tank (Now 11)

 

[sharkweek178]

The best plants for improving water quality are fast growing floating plants. Salvinia minima is my favorite. There's also Amazon frogbit, red root floaters, water lettuce. You can also float plants like hornwort, water wisteria, anacharis. These have the biggest impact on water quality because they grow so fast and feed directly from the water column. Plus they shade the tank and diffuse light.

 

[BettaFishGirl]

Live plants, first off, are much softer than fake plants and won't hurt your fish's fins, like if you have a Betta it won't tear up their fins. It also works as a natural filter (if you have a ton of them), and will keep the ammonia, nitrate, nitrite down. And, to be honest, they just look better. The only downside is that they are a bit more expensive than the fake plants.

 

[sharkweek178]

The one place I prefer plastic plants is my quarantine tank. Plastic doesn't hold pathogens as well as live plants so easier to sterilize. I still use live floating plants to improve the water quality. But since they reproduce so fast, I don't mind throwing those away after. It's not a permanent set up anyways. The plastic plants are just in there to give the fish something to hide in and explore.

 

[The603]

Aside from what has already been said, there's the satisfaction of seeing them grow along with your fish.

 

[Fishmanic]

And just like breeding fish to increase your fish population, plants can grow and reproduce to fill out your tank with more plants.

 

[Rocky998]

And just like breeding fish to increase your fish population, plants can grow and reproduce to fill out your tank with more plants.

Guppies=Duckweed

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I enjoy live plants because they're alive. To me, part of the charm of the hobby is keeping living things in a semi-controlled space. Fake plants have their practical uses, but they're about as interesting to me as fake fish.

 

[Colin_T]

Reduce nutrients in the water.
Provide oxygen when there is sufficient light.
Reduce algae.
Provide habitat for adult and baby fish.
Provide food (infusoria) for baby and small fish, and shrimp.
Provide shade for the fish.
Provide food for vegetarian fishes.

 

[AbbeysDad]

Well, it's all been said (happens when you come to the party late!). Plants, especially fast growing stem and floating plants (slow growing plants, not so much), adsorb ammonia as their nitrogen source as they grow so pollution is converted into plant tissue. In so doing, this ammonia does not convert to nitrite, then nitrate by beneficial bacteria. Now plants, like fish, also use minerals, so a lot of plants doesn't negate the need for routine water changes, however, it might be said that an abundance of plants very likely reduces any required frequency and/or volume of partial water changes. Believe it or not... ;-)

 

[Back in the fold]

@AbbeysDad There was a party ? I was gonna bring pretzels.

 

[AbbeysDad]

@AbbeysDad There was a party ? I was gonna bring pretzels.

It was virtual so you bring your own snack and a favorite beverage.

 

[Slaphppy7]

It was virtual so you bring your own snack and a favorite beverage.