Many fish lovers and aquarium owners prefer to have plants inside their tanks.
Aquarium plants can be of two types- real plants and manufactured plants.
In this article you will find an overview about the various types and styles planted fish tanks, and will also discuss about the various types of plants that could be used.
Moreover here you will learn about plastic plants, natural plants as well as the pros and cons of having a planted aquarium.
Besides that you will get a list of the most popular aqua plants both fresh water tanks as well as for salt water tanks.
Please not that this article will mostly focus on freshwater plants.
This is because freshwater tanks as well as plants are greatly in demand there are not enough plants available which are suitable for saltwater tanks.
Majority of plants in saltwater aquariums are limited to macro-algae.
Various Planted Aquarium Styles Do you know that freshwater planted aquariums have been classified into various categories in terms of their style of planting? Well this is the reality.
Generally, freshwater planted tanks are divided into two broad categories: Dutch style and Natural style: * Natural style is a quite wide open class of style.
In this style an aquarium may apparently seem to be unplanned.
But this is not so in reality.
The basic tenet of natural style is that it will replicate what is there in nature in your tank.
In such style of aquarium plants are incorporated inside your tank in a random manner and without design * Dutch style aquariums are very beautiful to look at.
They are like the Home & Garden of all fish tanks.
It may remind you of a "horticulturist's back yard.
" Some tanks designed in this style may not even have fish in them.
Even if there are fish they are secondary to the plants.
The fish will not be very interesting so that they cannot steal away the beauty of the plants.
Dutch style aquariums are always full of plants and these plants are placed in such a manner that they can be viewed by everyone from the front.
Usually a tank of this style will have a lower front then it's back.
When it comes to Natural style planting, you will see this style mostly with these following fish tank types: * Generally, open Planting style aquariums have their tops left open and the plants are naturally allowed to grow inside.
A popular example of a plant used in an Open style planting is a mangrove.
* Primarily a community tank is a fish tank where you will find well suited species of fish and plant living together.
Moreover, the best option will be to place fish and plants belonging to same geographical region.
* Occasionally, fish keepers apply the term "Habitat tank" those tanks which only have one particular kind of fish.
Consequently planting in such an aquarium is not very exciting.
As there is no fish variety you cannot ask for plant variety as well and the viewer may find the tank less inviting.
Now, after discussing here about the various styles of aquariums which are associated with living plants, in the next article, the discussion will move to the topic of the different varieties of plants that you can get for your fish tank.