fake plants...too many?

[Holly9937]

In general do fish prefer to have more plants, or less? Or is it very much determined by the type of fish? Fake plants in my case, at least for a while!
I finally got my 180g tank :dance2: and I want to make it look nice. Other than bala sharks, there will just mainly be a few large schools of various tetras and some corys and a couple plecos.

 

[Kasakato]

Well you will know when there are too many. Fish like plants, but not a WHOLE lot that theres no room. With that big of tank, its expencive for fake one so why not get real plants?

 

[Swimfins]

Use rocks, java fern, valseneria and big swords like Amazons to take up alot of the room. Nice big tank. Take a bath in it maybe and look around where to put things.

 

[Holly9937]

Well I know there are "easy" plants, but I have no time on my hands and probably won't for the next year or two, so the tank in itself is all I can handle! I will eventually try live, I can't keep plastic in my dream tank forever! Just the research, etc. I might have to wait on that!
I just asked because it seems like so many of the tanks on here are LOADED with plants, alot of them I wonder where the fish go LOL, so I thought maybe I was just way under planting with plants, decor, etc.

 

[Kasakato]

I want to see an overloaded tank. Just wondering what they look like.

 

[oscar83]

i wouldnt waste my money on fake plants if i were you. i have a bunch of amazon swords in my 75 gal which require almost no maintenance. all i have to do is refill my diy co2 bottles every few weeks. about a year ago i started out with 2 swords and now i have about a dozen.

 

[centralharbor]

why not just plant maybe a quarter of the tank, then when you have time in a year or two, it'll fill out more

 

[mooman]

why not just plant maybe a quarter of the tank, then when you have time in a year or two, it'll fill out more

Exactly. Put a few big plants (fake or real) on one side. Then a few smaller plants next to them. Then fill the other side with rocks (lanscape supply stores have cheap river rock for ponds right now) and wood. The tank will approximate a real body of water with plants growing at the edge and gradually fading as depth increases. It looks great.

 

[VitaminJ]

OR you could go with your original idea and use fake plants. Absolutely nothing wrong with them as long as you stay on top of your water changes (as they will not be helping you keep nitrates down). It sounds like you'll be lightly stocked anyway, so I doubt you'll have any problems.

In answer to your original question, it completely depends on the fish. However, looking at the fish you listed, I think the tetras imparticular would appreciate some heavier "plantings" in places. You don't need to overload anything, but plants can be very comforting to startled fish. Give them a place to hide, and they will love you for it.

I wouldn't worry too much about overloading the tank. As mentioned earlier, the price of plastic plants would be prohibitive if you tried to jam a 180g full of them. Best of luck, and kudos on getting such a nice, big tank!

Cheers.

-sj