To plant or not to plant?

[AnimalCrazy]

Hi all-
I am about to be starting a new 55 gallon guppy tank (most likely with some tetras/corys/shrimp/snails as well.)

I was wondering what peoples' thoughts were about planting it or not.

I am aware that it is great for the fish, but I don't love the look of heavily planted tanks. I want my fish to be the spotlight.

Also, I'm not really sure how to go about planting it. I already have aquarium sand. Will that work or would I have to get soil? I like the clean look of the sand...

Also, how would I avoid having a couple plants turn into an overgrown mess?

Which plants do you recommend?

Please forgive me for my ignorance...my one "planted" tank in the past was home to one measly thing from petco that just sort of floated around the tank...

Thanks for any help!

 

[dstephen]

Sand will work as long as you dose with liquid fertilizers.

 

[Ghillie115]

Get plants that do well in low light. Anubias and Java moss are good. Also java fern. You could use a gravel substrate and use root tabs. Or eco complete topped with gravel and some root tab supplement. Im planning on switching over my 55 from gravel to that bc it's good for plants

 

[Fresh2o]

You could try guppy grass. It is not very demanding, provides good cover for smaller fish, and it is easy to control. Substrate is irrelevant.
If you choose the go plantless, there are creative things you can do with hardscape as in the examples below:

 

[flchamp89]

Fresh has posted that picture before. Very inspirational. Just imagine one of those wood scapes with all anubias species and some j.moss. Could be simple and easy yet....very nice. There enough anubias to make a nice species tank.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Fresh has posted that picture before. Very inspirational. Just imagine one of those wood scapes with all anubias species and some j.moss. Could be simple and easy yet....very nice. There enough anubias to make a nice species tank.

Agree'd, also they are very slow growing so it would be months before u had to get out the scissors and cut them back. Moss can be a pain for someone who isn't interested in plants tho as it gets pretty messy if not done properly.

If u do want to go down the moss route I'd blend or cut it into tiny bits and paint it all over the wood u plan to use. Leave the wood under a light for a week to 2 weeks and lightly spray 1-2 times per day. The moss should attach to the wood and u can put it into the tank. This way u don't need to worry about patchy glued bits or binding it on with string.

You can also use yoghurt and water (very diluted with water, just enough to turn the water white) and paint it on. Should be fine to put into the tank after 2-3 days [emoji106]

 

[theotheragentm]

You can super glue moss to hardscape items. It's a very easy way to add texture to an otherwise plantless tank.

 

[AnimalCrazy]

I've never heard of doing that with moss before..very interesting! I will consider it. Thanks!