Silk Plants

[barefootKATE]

Question about Silk Plants:
I'd like to put silk plants in my aquarium a) the fish can swim throught them and not get cut b) they should flow w/ the current and look more natural, actually add motion to the tank. Thoes of you who use them, how well do they last and what is maintenance like? Do they fray or get icky? How often do you end up needing to clean them, and how do you clean them.
Thanks, Kate

 

[Guest]

I am going to watch this topic because i just bought some silk plants for teh first time and I too am curious as to how they hold up over the long run. They look awesome, previously i had all live plants but some of the new fish i got.. well they terrorize live plants, so i am shifting to silks.

 

[Guest]

bump... I am really curious on this one, i don't want to start a new thread, but does anybody out there use Silk plants??? What do you think of them as far as long term use? Do they hold up well?

 

[BrianNY]

I used to have them years ago. They will collect diatom and other algae. They are easily cleaned by running under water and rubbing between your fingers. If you like the look, go for it. Just buy plants without metal wire.

 

[talloulou]

I like my silk plants. Every few months I pull them out and really scrub them clean in the sink. Usually I can just kind of rub them while I'm doing a water change to clean them up a bit. Mine don't fray and the fish seem to love them.

 

[talloulou]

Here's a close up. Up close you can totally tell the plants are all fake in my opinion but I still have people who come over to the house and ask if the plants are real 8O Clearly they have untrained eyes

 

[Sati]

I bought a bunch of silk plant for my 29g a few years back. They looked very bad after 1 years time (or less). They were very slightly frayed. But more than that they were just faded and blah looking. I'd never buy them again, considering what an investment they are to get a tank looking lush.

talloulou, beautiful Severum!

 

[talloulou]

I bought my silk plants at Petsmart when they had a special and all their silk plants were 50% off.

 

[talloulou]

talloulou, beautiful Severum!

We try not to tell him how beautiful he is to often or his head will swell

 

[Sati]

Yeah, I got the SeaGarden brand plants on sale myself. I think that's the same brand they sell at Petsmart. I threw most out and only have one of them left. It's this one. For some reason the darker fabric seemed to hold up better.

I don't have anything other than standard hood lights, no fertilizers, no CO2, etc. But I still think my java fern and unidentified, gigantic pond-type plant look nicer than fake plants. I'd like to do some real planted tanks some day soon.

 

[Guest]

well i have some live plants but i am getting tired of all the gunk that gets in the filter... its a lot of work!!! I do still have my Java Fern and my crypts, but the anacharis was a pain and kept getting uprooted and the fish kept biting off the leaves. Also i don't have CO2 and i have a very very lowlight tank... so most of the bigger leaved plants wont grow in mine.

talloulou, how long have you had the silks in there? I notice you have some plastic mixed in... i think. Which do you like better?

About the algae part... wont otos and plecos eat the algae off? I have both in my tank, and i also have kissing gouramis that eat algae.

 

[talloulou]

I have otos but my plants still get dirty looking. My snails climb all over them. I also see the otos and even the corydoras sometimes "cleaning" them but eventually I have to clean them as well. I do have some small plastic plants mixed in. I don't really prefer one over the other. Some people think the silks look more natural. I personally don't think either looks natural but the silk ones do come in some cooler varieties. I like them both and just picked mine based on their looks and colors.

 

[An t-iasg]

I agree with BrianNY. My silk plants collected a lot of diatoms, and after about 6 months, they were stained. I tried a weak bleach solution without much luck. If I still had silk plants, I would probably just buy new ones every 6 months or so. They are fairly cheap that you could do that if they got too stained. They didn't fray, although when they got close to the 6 month mark, the edges would look a little frayed if you looked closely.

 

[Guest]

hmm.. so maybe i will do a mix of platic and silks.. that way it won't be too expensive to replace the silks if need be, i just really like the way the silks look!

 

[barefootKATE]

Thanks guys, Yall are great. I appreciate the info! I think I'm gonna try them. I have plastic right now, some good, some not so good (too stiff). I think I'll integrate some silk in...I'll see how it goes.