If you’re an owner of an aquarium you know the amount of work that goes into keeping a tank pristine.
Aquariums are packed full of fish, water features, tubes, and other necessary parts. Have you considered how much plastic pieces like plants may cost you more over time? Stop investing in plastic plants that fade, instead choose live aquarium plants.
Aquarium plants are available in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colorations.
Bringing your tank to life takes time. That’s why the introduction of live plants is so important. Here’s a full guide on the process of switching to live aquarium plants in your tank.
Benefits of Plants
When it comes to the benefits of real plants over plastic, there are plenty but let’s discuss two specific examples.
In an aquarium, a fish’s only source of food is the packaged food given to them by their owners. When you introduce live plants, you provide a variety of feeding options and remove the reliability on the owner.
Although not all fish will eat the plants, many will pick at the leaves that microorganisms attach to.
Live aquarium plants will also fend off the algae population in a tank. Algae grow where there is nitrogen, phosphorous-containing nutrients, and light. If nothing else absorbs the nutrients, algae grows.
With live plants present in the aquarium, the development of algae growth is stunted. A little alga is normal for fish, but live plants will work overtime keeping your aquarium’s algae levels in check.
We’ll discuss a great option for the best of both worlds later on.
Choose Your Live Aquarium Plants
Like planting in a garden, live plants provide variety in your tank.
Fish thrive when floating plants are introduced to the aquarium. Plants like sprite or hornwort will provide a diffused lighting setting to the aquarium.
If you have newborn baby fish, floating plants will help hide them and the rest of your fish will be encouraged to keep breeding.
Taller plants are useful for fish to hide behind. As tall plants are introduced, a fish’s activity level will increase knowing there’s a place for them to the hideout.
Set Up a Refugium
If you’re thinking about setting up a refugium, you might want to know what it is first.
A refugium is a refuge of sorts. It shares the water of the main tank but provides a space where delicate species can flourish away from larger fish.
As mentioned above, a refugium can be a great place to control the growth of algae. Specific species of fish need certain environments. That’s just one of the few reasons you should start a refugium.
Gather Valuable Information
Before you invest in live aquarium plants, take the time to do some research.
Having live plants in a fish tank is beneficial for the entire ecosystem. When you transition from plastic to live plants, there’s an instant improvement in the quality of life and quality of your tank.
Without proper information, you’d never find this out. The benefits are endless, but where can you find additional information like this?
Our website is full of dozens of helpful blog posts and more. Keep reading daily to explore the other benefits you can develop in your lifestyle.