Many hobbyists with fish tanks are naturally drawn to having plants within their tanks. Keeping plants in your tank just seems to make common sense. But real plants or fake? As you'll read on, you'll discover that it's not as straight forward as it may first seem.
This article will first give you an overview of the different styles of planted aquariums, go over different types of plants you could use, including plastic plants, and then go over in detail the pros and cons of keeping live plants in your aquarium. We'll conclude this article with a list of popular plants for either fresh water or salt water tanks.
Note that most of this article focuses on freshwater plants. That's because there aren't really the same type of plants for saltwater tanks. Most "plants" in saltwater tanks are limited to macro-algae. They don't provide the same look or purpose that freshwater plants do. Instead, you'll fine more invertebrates in the saltwater tank taking the place of plants, such as corals and anemones. Many reef tank owners will grow algae in a refugium beneath the tank (located with the sump) which is used to feed invertebrates.
Overview of Different Planted Aquarium Styles
You may be surprised to know that freshwater aquariums with plants have been categorized into different styles of planting! At a high level, you'll find that tanks are either divided into either Dutch style or Natural style:
Natural style is pretty wide open. Even though the appearance may appear unplanned, often times, nothing can be further from the truth! A Natural style aquarium strives to replicate what you'd find in nature within your tank. Plants will be placed so that they appear random and without design (this doesn't mean that you're actually dropping plants into your tank without design, but it just won't look manicured when you're finished). Think "zoo exhibit."
You'd never come across a patch of water with a "Dutch style plant painting" in real life. Dutch style aquariums are the Home & Garden of all aquariums. Think, a "horticulturist's back yard." Many tanks might not even include fish or if they do, they'll appear to be an afterthought. The fish included will certainly never be bright or interesting enough as to overshadow any of the plantings! Dutch style aquariums are usually terraced so that the entire tank is full of plants, all of which are viewable from the front. The front of the tank is lower than the back. The tank may have 2-3 three "steps" of terraced substrate supporting different types of plants. Dutch style aquariums are fantasies that have come to life.
In terms of Natural style planting, you'll usually find this style with the following type tanks: open tank, community tank, and habitat tank:
Open Planting style tanks are those in which the top of the aquarium is left open and plants are allowed to grow out of the water. A Mangrove is a perfect example of a plant used in an Open style planting. If you go this route, make sure you don't have any jumpers!
A community tank or a habitat tank is a tank where you've placed species of fish and plants that are well suited for each other. Ideally, they'd be from the same place geographically and would mimic an ecosystem found out in the wild.
Sometimes, hobbyists will use the term "Habitat tank" to mean a tank that they've limited to just one kind of fish. The planting in this style tank aren't as exciting (to the viewer at least), at least not compared to other aquarium planting styles. That's because in a community or habitat tank, what you do is place plants that would naturally occur in the wild, as they do in the wild. To the hobbyist, a community tank can be an extremely complicated, challenging, and rewarding venture.
Now that's we've talked about the different styles of fish tanks that you'd find associated with live plants, we're going to discuss the different types of plants that you can get for your tank.
Plants for your Tank
Plants used in fish aquariums are usually categorized by their "behavior." That is:
will they stay rooted,
are they bunches that move around in the water, or
do they like to float on the top.
Be careful that you don't put common household plants into your tanks. They aren't water plants and long term results won't be good.
Manufactured Plants for your Tank
There are a number of reasons why you'd want to keep real plants in your aquarium. The benefits of real plants include the following:
Real plants help reduce carbon dioxide levels in the tank water.
Real plants help reduce the nitrate level in the tank water.
Real plants give additional oxygen to the tank water.
Real plants can provide a natural source of food for fish (if the fish aren't too aggressive with their nibbling!).
Real plants can inhibit algae growth by releasing chemicals in the water that inhibit algae growth.
Real plants can serve as a "miner's canary" for your tank water. While plants have different needs from your fish from the water, plants will be the first thing to start dieing off if something in the tank isn't right.
