Using Fake Plants and Corals

Sometimes we get really into our hobby and want to make everything as natural as possible. Real sand, real rocks, real plants, real corals and hopefully real fish. But sometimes using fake decor items such as fake plants and corals can accomplish the same effect without much effort. Ofcourse there are times when using fake decor is a good thing…such as a fish-only tank (where using real plants or corals would be an expensive way of feeding your fishes) or those who don’t have the time or passion to be fully-vested into this hobby and want a nice looking tank.

Pros:
– inexpensive way to have a “real” looking tank
– less maintenance
– no need to worry about the fake decor dying like real ones
– less tank requirements (lighting, Co2, etc etc)

Fake Plants
The past few years I’ve seen the quality of the fake plants decor get better and better to the point where they almost look real and will last for a very long time. I currently use 2 groups of fake plants in my goldfish tank. Goldfish eat everything and anything. If i inspect the fake plants carefully, I’ll notice chunks of plastic eaten by the goldfish.

Fake Corals
Fish-Only Tanks are also really popular in the saltwater section. Fishes such as triggers and other coral eating fishes will pretty much eat every coral you have within a short period of time. In come fake corals that can withstand these types of abuse. Inexpensive compared to real corals, these can make a Fish-Only tank look much more natural.

Fake Fish
haha. okay. I guess I’ve yet to see a fish tank with only fake fish. It would remind me of those fish tank screensavers.

Fake Decor Fake Plants Fake Corals Fake Fish?