Real Plants in Aquariums?

[Sonjamo]

Hey guys, I was thinking about putting real plants in my 35g aquarium. What are nice looking, relatively easy to care for plants? Is it true that when you get real plants in you tank you then get snails? I remember when I had my first tank (10g) I put some real plants in there, and in about 1 month my tank got infested with small snails.

Will this "snail infestation" happen again in my 35g tank if I put real plants in my tank again?

I posted this same thread in "General Freshwater" I didnt even notice that we had a plant section here. Sorry for the mixup.

 

[-KT-]

You only get snails if you buy plants from places with snails. I have had plants of some sort in my tanks for years and have never had a problem. I like Java fern and Anacharis for easy plants.

 

[geofied]

Welcome Sonjamo, you'll find plenty of advice in here to get you going.

There are many beginner friendly plants you can start with, Anacharis, Hornwort, Wisteria to name a few. You may want to list your lighting situation though, as the watts-per-gallon can serve as a general guide for your plant selection.

Snails and snail eggs (as well as other nasties) do often hitch rides on plants, so some folks dip their plants in disinfecting solutions prior to introducing them to their tanks. The link below has some good reference for disinfecting plants, look for the section, "How do I disinfect my plants". You might find other helpful info on that FAQ, or generate more questions.

http://faq.thekrib.com/plant-qa.html