can a planted aquarium be plastic?

[son2fu]

for planted tanks, do plastic plants count?

 

[drgold]

no

 

[aardvark1]

Only if the fish are also plastic!

:dance2:

 

[GuZZiZZiT]

Are you reffering to some fish stores/catalogs that say a particular fish requires a "well planted aquarium"?

I guess i always assumed that just ment they needed plenty of cover, but i wondered as well.

 

[drgold]

I guess it could mean a few different things: either the fish needs lots of cover (most catfish), or it needs to graze on the organisms/algae/plants that grow in a planted tank (otos). A third reason could be that the fish requires very clean water, such as that in a planted tank where most nutrients are sucked up by the plants (discus/rams).

Regardless, there are ways to get around all of that without live plants by using either artificial cover, feeding fresh vegetables regularly, and changing water very frequently.

But, if you just want to call your tank "planted," You'll need to use only live plants. Otherwise, it's semi-planted at best. I imagine that few people will yell at you for deviating from this, however.

 

[CaitxSith]

why not?

mine used to be only plastic... i called it artificially planted but i just shortened it to planted.

Me right now? I use both

 

[drgold]

because plants and "plants" are different. Just like a planted tank and a "tank" are different things. to each his own, but call a spade a spade.

 

[Ms.Bubbles]

When people speak of 'planted tanks' they are referring to live plants. We use that term to differentiate between tanks without living plants, because the needs of a planted tank are different.

 

[ILOVEBETTAS]

I think it would count because it provides cover. I don't see the difference in plastic and real plants besides the fact that one's real and one's fake.

 

[drgold]

I suppose we could go back and forth on this all day, so this is the last contribution to the thread I'll make. A tank with plastic plants is NOT a planted tank. Cover or no cover, the term "planted" refers to the act of taking a LIVE plant and placing it in the substrate or otherwise making it "planted." Placing a plastic plant in the substrate or otherwise is not the same thing.

There's nothing bad about using artificial decor, but you can't call your tank "planted" when doing so. It's just a regular aquarium then. A planted tank is something unique.

I'm done. Happy Thanksgiving!