Planting in Your Fish Tank/Aquariums
Your plants are the most important decorative element you can bring to your aquarium other than the fish themselves. Some choose plastic plants for their aquarium, but as these cannot help the natural gas exchange of carbon dioxide for oxygen which is necessary for your aquarium, you’ll need to find another way to ensure this exchange if you choose artificial plants.
Plants perform other functions in your aquarium besides decorative ones; care should be taken in choosing your plants, just as you would when choosing fish. Some even think that the choice of plants in an aquarium is more important than are the fish!
However, plants are not the right way to go for every aquarium. Larger fish will tend to dig up plants.
Some fish are also herbivores and will eat your plants. In either of these cases, you should go for stones and roots to decorate your tank rather than plants.
If plants are not negotiable with you, then plant ferns in your tank, since fish will not normally choose to eat these plants.
Your choice of substrate is important here. Do not fertilize as you would in a land-based garden! Using peat or humus in your substrate will lead to rot in the substrate – this will kill plants.
Fine gravel is best for aquarium plants. A size between one and 5 millimeters works – it’s better to go with slightly smaller gravel than slightly larger gravel.
Some prefer to layer coarser gravel over the finer gravel for optimal plant growth.
The use of fertilizer in aquarium substrates is a topic of debate; you should study the issue for yourself and come to your own conclusion on whether this is best for your own aquarium.
Rocks are an important part of aquarium décor. Used correctly, they can camouflage heaters and filters as well as making good places for your fish to hide.
You can also use rocks to shape the substrate and build structures in your aquarium. They can be quite attractive and have a number of different uses. If possible, wet rocks before you buy them, so you can see how they will look in your aquarium.
