How to put artificial algae in an aquarium. Artificial plants for an aquarium: description, photo, video. Artificial plants. pros

Consider the topic of artificial aquarium plants: how they are better than living ones and why they are worse than living ones. And what do you choose: live or artificial aquarium plants? So!

An aquarium without plants is like an oasis without trees and water. But there is one point that beginner aquarists face: which is better - live aquarium plants or artificial ones? In order to help you make a choice in this matter, I decided to highlight some of the pros and cons of both types of plants.

Artificial plants. Pros.

Secondly, the color of artificial plants does not change and always remains saturated and pleasing to the eye.

Thirdly, artificial plants do not grow, which saves the owner of the aquarium from the problem of regulating the growth and volume of the plant.

Fourth, artificial plants are not afraid of fish, because fish do not eat them.

And fifthly, artificial plants do not need care: they do not need to change the soil, they do not need mineral supplement and lighting.

And all these five factors are five huge pluses!

However, there are also significant minuses which you should also know.

Firstly, artificial plants do not emit oxygen, and this can lead to an imbalance in the oxygen balance in the aquarium.

Secondly, such plants cannot remove nitrates accumulated in water, which also has a very bad effect on the microclimate of the aquarium.

And thirdly, given the first two negative factors, artificial plants are just an accessory, and nothing more. And, by by and large, the accessory is useless, because it does not participate in the life of the aquarium in principle.

Now, a few words about live plants.

They have pros and cons too. For example, living plants emit the necessary oxygen, filter aquarium water, and also act as a kind of water quality indicator. By using certain skills, you will be able to appearance plants to determine what is wrong with the water and respond appropriately.

So how to be and what to choose? Well, what can I say? The choice, of course, is yours. But personally, I use both live plants and artificial ones in the same aquarium. Live - to create the right microclimate, and artificial - just for beauty. By the way, thanks to artificial plants, you can create simply fantastic views, since artificial plants are COMPATIBLE with absolutely all types of plants! Try it too.

Just one piece of advice A: When buying artificial plants, smell them. Ecologically clean products should not exude sharp chemical odors! Always ask the seller who the manufacturer of artificial plants is. If the plants are labeled "Made in China", then feel free to pass by: you don't need such "good" for nothing! Here are some tips, friends.

All the best!

Many novice aquarists are often stumped by unsolvable questions for themselves: what plants should be placed in a home aquarium - live or artificial? Are representatives of living flora in general obligatory in the aquarium, requiring special care, or is it enough to have trouble-free artificial plantings?

In many aquarium manuals, the idea that the existence of a home reservoir without natural plants is impossible is a red thread. There are several arguments in support of this view:

• plants create a natural habitat for the fish in the aquarium, which has a beneficial effect on their well-being and health in general;

• certain types of fish need natural plants to build a nest during spawning;

• actively developing plants of a higher order, make it impossible for the development of lower vegetation, undesirable for a reservoir;

• tall plants serve for the inhabitants artificial reservoir protection in rooms with good natural light;

• natural plantations contribute to the process of absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, which is so necessary for all aquatic life;

• plants for an aquarium are much more affordable - most of them can be bought at a price of 10-20 rubles per bunch, and plastic plant decoration will cost you 50 rubles apiece;
• aquarium vegetation absorbs harmful organic compounds from the water, purifying it.

What does practice show?

The use of both natural and artificial vegetation in an aquarium has its pros and cons, which must be taken into account and correctly applied, based on the goals of acquiring a home reservoir. Decide if this is for you: a passion for aquariums or an element of the interior, and proceed further using the following information.

natural aquarium plantings

Of course, the presence of natural vegetation in a domestic reservoir is desirable primarily because it allows you to create a single ecosystem, where all its elements - living and vegetative - have a place, everyone is equally comfortable and they are mutually beneficial to each other.

In addition, representatives of the natural flora are able to absorb nitrates and nitrites harmful to fish, filter micro and macro elements in aquarium water, and also serve as additional feeding for some varieties of aquarium inhabitants.

It is impossible not to note the external attractiveness of a home reservoir with rapidly overgrown vegetation. Presence of living plantings rich color and their correct placement gives an additional charm to the aquarium.

largest decorative effect obtained by placing plants depending on their height - low in the foreground, then medium height, and high growing in the back. Good are carpet varieties of natural vegetation (for example, hemianthus cube), which comfortably line the aquarium soil.

For the decoration of the reservoir, certain types of natural flora are used (for example, dwarf Anubias), which are planted directly on snags, grottoes, and other elements. Over time, these plantings grow and envelop them, adding beauty and originality to the aquarium landscape.

And everything would be fine, it would be possible to opt for this design option for a home reservoir, if not for a number of disadvantages, which the conversation will go on:

• the presence of some species of fish that are intolerant of living vegetation - they either eat it or simply pull it out, which leads to the death of plants;

• the need for ongoing special care green spaces- fertilizer, treatment, protection from some inhabitants of the aquarium;

• compliance with comfortable conditions for them - lighting, water temperature, etc.

Artificial plant decor

The need for artificial plant decorations arises:

• immediately when representatives of large and herbivorous fish species appear in the home reservoir for the above reasons;

• when the owners of the reservoir do not have the time or desire to carry out painstaking care of the vegetation;

• when the aquarium in the house is designed to carry out an exclusively decorative function.

But here it must be borne in mind that not all varieties of fish are indifferent to the absence of natural plantations. Pets can get beriberi, they may lack feeding and living oxygen and other things. These negative phenomena are called biological imbalance.

In general, artificial plants have their advantages:

• they do not need specially created conditions - lighting, top dressing, weeding;
• with the help of artificial plants, you can create a static interior, they do not grow and do not crawl into another territory;
• they are not afraid of burrowing fish and allow the aquarist to occasionally stir up the soil, because they do not have a root system.

Cons of artificial plants:

• do not consume organic matter;
• do not grow, therefore lower algae often appear on them;
• fade over time;
• poor-quality product releases carcinogens into the water.

Hence the logical advice: when planting your aquarium, you should make a choice in 50x50 mode. It is the combination of live and artificial vegetation in an aquarium that, on the one hand, does not burden the owner too much with additional troubles, and on the other hand, creates healthy, comfortable conditions for fish.

It is difficult to do without artificial plants with large American cichlids.

Which artificial plants should be chosen for the aquarium

The market is full of various products, and among all this diversity, one thing should be remembered: the product must be safe. Here are a few simple tips to be guided by when choosing scenery:

• It is no secret that materials such as rubber or plastic decompose over time and release toxic substances into the water. Make sure the aquarium plastic good quality and doesn't smell like anything. It is better to choose hard rubber products, as soft ones disintegrate very quickly and poison water.
• Plants that are too brightly colored should be avoided, as paint can also get into the water. Also, it should not exfoliate from objects in pieces.
• One option is polyamide or silk vegetation. Such plants are relatively safe and look natural. In the aquarium, they sway even with a slight current, giving the interior natural look. The only negative is that they are short-lived, and their service life is about a year.
• The plant should not fall apart and crumble in the aquarium, otherwise voracious fish will be able to swallow pieces of plastic.
• plant with large smooth leaves washing is much easier than with small and embossed ones.

Operation of artificial plants

Although artificial plants are considered easier to care for than natural ones, there are still certain nuances in their operation that arise when maintaining an aquarium.

Before you put the decoration in a jar, it must be carefully processed. Treatment with boiling water or whiteness is desirable. If, after applying whiteness, the plant has lost some of its color, then you should not be upset, this means that the paint was Bad quality, and such decoration could harm the aquarium.

These plants need to be washed during routine aquarium cleaning as they often have food particles stuck in their tough leaves. In addition, various unwanted algae, such as flip flops and black beard, often grow on artificial vegetation. In this case, the affected plant must be soaked in whiteness.

It is believed that algae for aquariums can only bring harm. But there are many types of algae that can decorate a home pond, and bring it many benefits. These varieties are morphological characteristics close to higher plants. What algae are perfect for planting in an aquascape without harming living creatures?

Quick navigation through the article

Vallisneria

Vallisneria (lat. Vallisneria) - perennial algae, belong to the Vodokrasovye family. These are real aquatic plants, or hydrophytes, which perfectly adapt to life in all freshwater reservoirs. All types of Vallisneria are characterized by a thin, long, creeping root system.

floating algae

Flexible luster, or nitella (lat. Nitella flexilis) is a floating algae of the Charovye family. natural environment Growth - North America and Eurasia. The leaves have a palmately dissected form, they are located on a long stalk in whorls. Each whorl has 5-7 petioles. The color of the leaves can be light green or emerald green. The stalks are highly branched, so the algae can float in the water column in a tangled form. In the tank, the water must be clean and transparent, because suspended particles settle on its leaves. You can keep in moderately warm water with a temperature of 19-27 ° C. Permissible medium hardness aquatic environment, neutral acidity. LED lamps with a power of 0.5-1 watt per liter of water are suitable as lighting. Quantity daylight hours- 12 hours.

Riccia floating (Riccia fluitans) is a floating algae for aquariums that can be allowed in moderate warm water. In nature, they grow in all corners of the planet. Openwork weaves of rich green color create a cover in the form of islands. The alga does not have leaves and stems, as well as a root system. Riccia consists of thallus, small flat plates that are intertwined. Riccia is often used as a spawning substrate for breeding fish in an aquarium, it is best suited for sheltering fry. When the hardness of the aquatic environment is above 8 dGh, the algae grows slowly. Recommended water temperature for keeping: 20-22 degrees Celsius.

At a lower temperature range, it stops growth, deformation of the structure occurs, which can lead to death. Every week it is necessary to do replacements of 20% of water with fresh and infused water. Riccia floating prefers bright lighting. Be careful if there are plant species in the aquarium that do not like bright light. With a lack of light, the algae breaks up into small fragments and begins to rot. In summer, these aquarium algae grow strongly, preventing the entry of sun rays in water.

Hornwort, or submerged hornwort (lat. Ceratophyllum demersum) is a perennial algae that floats on the surface of the water, because root system is absent. At low temperature water, begins to sink to the depth of the reservoir, slows down its growth. The stems are long, the leaves are tiny and needle-shaped, small hydrobionts can hide in them.

See how the hornwort grows in the aquarium.

They are excellent algae for aquariums as they provide shelter for fish fry. In the leaves of the hornwort, the fry will not get large fish, on the leaves there are microorganisms that will be food for the fry. Hornworts can be a spawning substrate on which eggs will be laid. Sticky eggs stick firmly to needle-like leaves, and non-sticky eggs just get stuck in them. It is better to immerse the hornwort in a moderately warm or cold-water aquarium, where the hardness of the aquatic environment is 5-15 o, the pH reaction is neutral or slightly alkaline. The hornwort loves a large amount of light, so the duration of daylight hours is allowed above 12 hours a day.

globular algae

Cladophora spherical, or Japanese marimo (Aegagropila linnaei) belongs to the Cladophoraceae family. Has a decorative value for freshwater aquariums. In its structure, it is a colony of green filamentous algae that form a dense green ball. The arrangement of threads in the colony is radial. Cladophora's homeland is Japan, where it grows with a diameter of 10 cm, in an aquarium - 5-6 cm. In an aquascape, balls of these algae are placed at the bottom, where they themselves are fixed to the substrate. Cladophora produces oxygen in the morning. Bubbles form inside the ball, it becomes light, and floats to the surface. In the evening, there is less oxygen, and the green ball sinks to the bottom.

Breeding aquarium fish is a very interesting, but truly difficult task. Of course, this has a number of advantages. Firstly, the fish do not spoil the furniture, do not leave hair behind, which is simply everywhere when keeping cats or dogs, and do not make noise. Aquarium fish are well suited for those who are allergic to pet dander. In addition, they are interesting to watch. But breeding them is not as easy as it seems. They, like other pets, need to be fed in a timely manner, and, unlike others, they cannot give you a sign that they are hungry. Therefore, it is better for forgetful people not to take up this matter at all.

Big trouble delivers the aquarium. To get started, you need to purchase it. The aquarium must be right size. It all depends on the number and size of fish you plan to have. The aquarium needs to be cleaned and the water in it changed. Also, do not forget about its components, such as the bottom (pebbles, shells, etc.), algae and so on. Plants in an aquarium can be very different. Distinguish between artificial and live algae. Here the question arises as to which option to stop. This article will go into detail about the type of algae and help you choose a plant for your aquarium.

Artificial algae and their benefits

In an aquarium, it is, first of all, a decoration. It has a lot of advantages. First, it is very economical. Artificial algae are inexpensive and can last quite a while. long time, because, unlike living "brothers", they do not rot and, of course, do not die. Secondly, many species of fish feed not only on food, but also on algae. In this case, the artificial plant in the aquarium will remain intact, because the fish will not like it. This type of algae cannot grow, which means that you can not be afraid that the entire aquarium will grow with them. If not living things grow, but artificial algae, the water in it becomes much easier to change. After all, they can simply be pulled out, and after washing the aquarium, put in place without damage. Plus, they are easy to clean as well. Artificial plant in the aquarium can be placed anywhere. If you are tired of its location, the decoration can simply be rearranged.

Cons of artificial algae

Despite the presence a large number advantages, artificial algae also have some disadvantages. They are not living plants, which means they are not able to absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Live algae can rid the aquarium water of various toxic substances, artificial, respectively, do not have such a function. artificial plants in an aquarium are also not able to produce useful material that prevent the development of beneficial bacteria. As already mentioned, algae is food for some types of fish, and these decorations are inedible.

Benefits of Living Plants

Live plants in the aquarium are very popular among fish breeders. Their main virtues are that they grow, live and breathe. And this means that they favorably affect the inhabitants of the aquarium. Living plants are able to release oxygen in the light by absorbing carbon dioxide. Even good filter not able to purify water as much as plants. They absorb everything harmful that spoils the life of the fish. In addition to those algae that you planted yourself, intentionally, other lower algae, the presence of which is undesirable, may also begin to develop in the aquarium. The living ones are able to survive from the aquarium, interfere with their development. Without live algae, some fish species are unable to reproduce. For them, plants are a place where they lay their offspring (caviar). As has been repeatedly said, algae is food for fish. As you know, aquarium fish are shy pets. Live plants in an aquarium are a way to hide in case they are afraid.

Lack of living plants

Algae species

So, consider what plants are in the aquarium. According to the type of placement, several types of living algae are distinguished:

• Living on the surface of the water.
• Living in the water column.
• Algae attached to the bottom.
• Plants with long stems.
• Algae whose leaves come to the surface.

When purchasing live algae, pay attention to the illumination of the room. If it is insufficient, then it is better to use a special lamp or purchase artificial ones. Also, when buying live specimens, consult with a consultant on how to care for them. Many algae need special care. In general, when choosing live algae, you should consult more experienced breeders or use additional literature.

Conclusion

So, main question: "What to choose?" When breeding aquarium fish, the presence of live algae is mandatory. As for artificial ones, no one forbade them. In an aquarium, they can be combined. The main thing is not to get carried away by their number and leave room for the fish themselves.