I love how the end result looked. I personally prefer fake plants over real ones simply for the aesthetic and the colors they provide. I certainly enjoyed your idea to put the branches in the back. Very good touch
Giving fish somewhere to hide is essential for creating a 'safe' environment for them to thrive in and as long as there are no fish in there which will hammer plants real is the way to go. However I believe Radiohead advocate the use of 'fake plastic trees' which I think is overkill unless you get the bonsai version of have an open top aquarium.
I would agree. I’m still not overly keen on the neon green plants. At least my fish and crayfish should leave them alone and it still provides cover for them :)
@@SimplyShrimps Cover is so important for many of the species kept in tanks yet so many tanks I see on UA-cam have little to no cover. The difference in behavior between fish in an environment which is close to nature and fish in an open water type scenario is very obvious and although many will dispute the fact genetic memory does play a part in fish 'knowing' what makes them feel comfortable. Even line bred fish mass produced species of fish which have never seen a natural situation or any predators will have an embedded genetic code which allows them to know what environment they feel safe in and good fish keepers will recognize that fact and try to replicate it.
@@SimplyShrimps Yes for sure as you keep sensible fish. It's when I see the likes of malawi tanks without decent caves or piranha tanks without mangrove roots or bogwood that it shows a lack of understanding as to what fish require to feel good in their environment. In nature they wouldn't all rush out into open water and hang there for a predator to pick them off, they'd be using natural cover from where they could ambush their own prey.
I love the branches in the back!! I agree with you that the valisinera-look-a-likes are very GREEN but then again they tend to be extreamly green anyway so.. I would perhaps put them just a tad further back, let the rocks Rock the tank and the green just be add-ons, but that is me. I completly understand the use of fake plants with plant-eating fish :D
Actually based in my experience on both live and fake plants, I found out that mixing both of them kinda makes someone mistakes a fake plant with a live plant by adding a natural colored ones and at the same time plant a bunch of them while layering from small ones in the front and long ones on the background, instead of planting few fake plants in different spots in the tank.
... nothing was wrong with this beautiful and pure river bed layout it once was. (You may have guessed it anyway...) This plastic fake plant crap hurts my feelings! (... still friends though?)
Aww I can still take them out. I’m not too keen on them myself but had the plants laying around the house and wanted them moved 😂 Of course Tono, you’ll just have to buy me ein grosse beir, bitte in Dortmund this year ha!
Get some floating plants: Watersprite, Frogbit, Red Root Floaters, Salvinia, Water Lettuce, Water Hyacinth. Or you can add marginal plants that will send roots into the water: Water Mint, Water Celery, Willow. And you can always glue mosses to the rocks and drift wood.You can grow them out in shrimp tanks and add them as needed into the cichlid tank. Personally i despise fake plants.
Yeah I’m not a big fan of fake plants either 🙈 I did plan on putting some pothos on top at the back but we’re moving house soon so didn’t want to start and new projects :(
Looks good, I'm enjoying your videos because I have a tank the same size to set up, same sand color and even an FX6 too. I'll be using your stand design, special thanks for that 👍 On the plants, one thing I did when I had cichlids was trim some of the fake plants to different lengths. That way when you have multiple of the same kind (like the Val) they look to be at different stages of growth rather than identical plants.
Yea some species like the cichlids will tear em appart I use pothos and water lettuce in my sump Can easily have a lush planted tank without co2 Some are all for it and some are against it my case follow the biotope I cant use plants so I throw em in the sump
Pothos is great but not a fast grower my runs up from the back of the sump to the hood all sits on top cool ornamental plant thrives on the nutrients from the tank Just chuck one in mate in the top get it started not really any work plus more content for a new video :) Good luck with the move. The dreaded move sends shivers down my spine the thought of it :) it's only then you realise how crap you accumulated hahaha
I can assure you that the fish are not suffering :) Fake plants still provide hiding spots. So the only other factor is they don’t eat them and they get fed a varied diet so no problems there.
to me it's rather snobbish/elitist to say you should only use real plants. cause there are a ton of reasons why you may want to use fake over real.also the fish don't care about if their plants are real or fake all they care about is having some place to hide. also the benefits you get from live plants is way over exaggerated.truth is in most cases plants do very little for your tank especially if they are low light and slow growing.
I never said you should only use fake plants, I love real ones 😁 I agree. My filtration is good enough to keep the water parameters healthy and stable. This is one of the reasons why I went for fake plants too.
Brianna live plants provide small amounts of oxygen to the aquarium, and take nutrients out of the water column so algae doesn’t grow as large and fast. Also, fish do care if plants are live or not. They can nibble live plants, and live plants are much softer and flexible for the fish to rest on. Plastic plants are purely to make aquariums look nicer, most of the time not for fish. If you’re gonna take the time to watch the whole video, don’t throw out some salty comment,
Lol no. Benefits you get from live plants are *definitely* not over exaggerated. And no in 'most cases', live plants definitely don't do 'very little' for your tank. And also no, fish do care if the plants are real or not. Some species more than others. Those are not even opinions, but a fact. Don't spew exaggerated nonsense just because you're salty some random people on the internet doesn't like fake plants. While I agree fake plants set up is so much better than a bare, empty set up that can makes fish suffer, that's no reason to discredit the massive benefits of a real planted tank. And yes, I'm salty too, so that makes the two of us.
they defiantly are over exaggerated. 1. fish really do not care whether plants are real or not cause to them it's just structure.also fake plants can be just has soft has real ones especially silk ones or soft rubber/plastic ones. 2. the oxygen they provide varies a lot. cause slow growing plants are not going to provide much oxygen and honestly most oxygen comes from gas exchange at the surface.also not to mention oxygen loss when you use co2. 3. the nutrients they take up also varies. a tank planted with only slow growing plants like java fern is not going to do much when it comes to taking up nutrients. plus if you have fish that shred plants those plants are just going add to the nutrient levels has they decay. also zeke it is defiantly a opinion not a fake.just cause you think the fish care does not mean they actually care and I also doubt you've tested it out to see if they even do care. also I'm not salty about a random person on the internet not liking plants.I'm salty over people attacking fake plants and people who use them.
@@jackd5181 I did watch the whole video and know for a fact live plants are way over exaggerated. fish do not care if a plant is live or fake.all they care about is about having a place to hide which could be anything a fake plant,real plant,rock,wood,boat,dockect. also last time I checked having a place to hide was a huge benefit to the fish. also if you have a species like a oscar that will destroy any plant you put in the tank what are you supposed to do? make them suffer by not allowing them to have spaces to hide and deny them one of their favorite toys(seriously oscars love to play with fake plants especially ones that have a ceramic base)?
I think the leafy bits are pretty successful and a good idea, but not in love with the lime green "grasses"
I know right! At night when the blue light comes on it’s like a rave with the neon greens ha 😂 Not a big fan of them personally 😅
I love how the end result looked. I personally prefer fake plants over real ones simply for the aesthetic and the colors they provide. I certainly enjoyed your idea to put the branches in the back. Very good touch
Giving fish somewhere to hide is essential for creating a 'safe' environment for them to thrive in and as long as there are no fish in there which will hammer plants real is the way to go.
However I believe Radiohead advocate the use of 'fake plastic trees' which I think is overkill unless you get the bonsai version of have an open top aquarium.
I would agree. I’m still not overly keen on the neon green plants. At least my fish and crayfish should leave them alone and it still provides cover for them :)
@@SimplyShrimps Cover is so important for many of the species kept in tanks yet so many tanks I see on UA-cam have little to no cover.
The difference in behavior between fish in an environment which is close to nature and fish in an open water type scenario is very obvious and although many will dispute the fact genetic memory does play a part in fish 'knowing' what makes them feel comfortable. Even line bred fish mass produced species of fish which have never seen a natural situation or any predators will have an embedded genetic code which allows them to know what environment they feel safe in and good fish keepers will recognize that fact and try to replicate it.
Hopefully I’m one of the good guys 🙈 I think it’s more rewarding as a fish keeper seeing them in a natural environment too.
@@SimplyShrimps Yes for sure as you keep sensible fish. It's when I see the likes of malawi tanks without decent caves or piranha tanks without mangrove roots or bogwood that it shows a lack of understanding as to what fish require to feel good in their environment. In nature they wouldn't all rush out into open water and hang there for a predator to pick them off, they'd be using natural cover from where they could ambush their own prey.
Did, did he cut his, his...plants?
If by plants you mean hair..? Yes xD
I love the branches in the back!! I agree with you that the valisinera-look-a-likes are very GREEN but then again they tend to be extreamly green anyway so.. I would perhaps put them just a tad further back, let the rocks Rock the tank and the green just be add-ons, but that is me. I completly understand the use of fake plants with plant-eating fish :D
Yeah I didn’t want to put the too far back as Alan would just push the straight back out again haha 😅 Might have a re jig around though 😁
Nice I do hate ciclids they'll tear up any plants in the tank .
Yeah it's a pain. Let's see how long these last xD
Actually based in my experience on both live and fake plants, I found out that mixing both of them kinda makes someone mistakes a fake plant with a live plant by adding a natural colored ones and at the same time plant a bunch of them while layering from small ones in the front and long ones on the background, instead of planting few fake plants in different spots in the tank.
Tank looks great
Thanks :)
Anyone know who won the giveaway or has the video or tweet not been uploaded if not when will it?
Not yet sorry been busy and not had time :/ stay tuned as I will announce soon 😁
Ok thank you.
Did you enter?
No I was just seeing who won on this account.
It’s nice both ways! It was more minimalist before but still very interesting.
Thank you 😁
I think it's a good compromise. Will be interesting to see how the colour changes as they collect algae.
Hopefully it will make them look a little more natural rather than neon green 😂
Looks good
... nothing was wrong with this beautiful and pure river bed layout it once was. (You may have guessed it anyway...) This plastic fake plant crap hurts my feelings! (... still friends though?)
Aww I can still take them out. I’m not too keen on them myself but had the plants laying around the house and wanted them moved 😂 Of course Tono, you’ll just have to buy me ein grosse beir, bitte in Dortmund this year ha!
Simply Shrimps ...yeah, we’ll do it just like that! 👍
Get some floating plants: Watersprite, Frogbit, Red Root Floaters, Salvinia, Water Lettuce, Water Hyacinth. Or you can add marginal plants that will send roots into the water: Water Mint, Water Celery, Willow. And you can always glue mosses to the rocks and drift wood.You can grow them out in shrimp tanks and add them as needed into the cichlid tank. Personally i despise fake plants.
Yeah I’m not a big fan of fake plants either 🙈 I did plan on putting some pothos on top at the back but we’re moving house soon so didn’t want to start and new projects :(
That tanks way to small for discus
Good job there’s no discus in it then :)
Simply Shrimps what are those discus shaped fish then?
Severums
One of the only acception for fake plants 🌱😂
I agree 🙈
Looks good, I'm enjoying your videos because I have a tank the same size to set up, same sand color and even an FX6 too. I'll be using your stand design, special thanks for that 👍
On the plants, one thing I did when I had cichlids was trim some of the fake plants to different lengths. That way when you have multiple of the same kind (like the Val) they look to be at different stages of growth rather than identical plants.
I can relate to Alan. This is a hole but i made it. It's my hole, leave me alone and i won't bother you.
I feel this is exactly how Alan feels haha!
@@SimplyShrimps I like Alan. :)
Me too ;)
That Severum is huge I thought crayfish where illegal in the UK
love the new haircut! you look better and wayyyyyy neater!
Thank you 🙏
Let me take you to the place, where memberships a smiling face!
Ooo where’s that? :D
Always love for me for the natural aesthetics and have helped me with nitrates with cichlids this only works with very fast growing plants
Yeah. Ive tried real plants in the past and they all get shredded or look tattered after a while :(
Yea some species like the cichlids will tear em appart I use pothos and water lettuce in my sump
Can easily have a lush planted tank without co2
Some are all for it and some are against it
my case follow the biotope I cant use plants so I throw em in the sump
I was thinking about putting pothos on the back of the tank. But moving house soon I didn’t want to start any more projects 😅
Pothos is great but not a fast grower my runs up from the back of the sump to the hood all sits on top cool ornamental plant thrives on the nutrients from the tank
Just chuck one in mate in the top get it started not really any work plus more content for a new video :)
Good luck with the move. The dreaded move sends shivers down my spine the thought of it :) it's only then you realise how crap you accumulated hahaha
This is true but I was going to do I kind of DIY planting trough hang on back filter on the top with the pothos in. We’ll see :) thanks 🙏
Fake or real u can create a good scape with fake too.
Indeed
I'm all for using fake plants, but your tank looked way better without them.
I like ur idea in plants, i have vieja cichlids which also eats plants so i too use fake plants
Would like to see getting some carnivorous plants or turtles just a recommendation, anyone agree I would fine it cool!
Maybe when we move house. I don’t think I’ll be getting a turtle though :(
@SimplyShrimps what time will the giveaway be announced?
All my entries were in hopefully
I’ll be picking a winner tonight at some point :)
Ok thank you
But can you scrub those plants to remove algae though? I want to use them in my oscar tank
Always enjoy your videos. Great hair cut.
Thanks for watching and thank you 🙏
Looks cartoonish. Kinda like those TV fishtank screensaver apps.
It does ha 😂 Personally I prefer real plants 🌱
Fake aquarium plans are ugly
Yes they are 😂 sometimes it’s the only choice though
There are only two options for the aquarist. 1) Real plants 2) No plants Fake plants belong in cheesy home decor and that’s it. 🤣
I must admit I’m not a big fan of fake plants but unfortunately my fish eat the real ones :(
so if you have fish that destroy plants but require a lot of hiding spots.they should suffer cause your to snobby for plants?
I can assure you that the fish are not suffering :) Fake plants still provide hiding spots. So the only other factor is they don’t eat them and they get fed a varied diet so no problems there.
Whoa. Dude. Some warning about the hair!
I’m sorry 😅 I hope it’s ok.
@@SimplyShrimps you look very smart and handsome.😁
Stop it, you’ll make me blush 😂
Ahhhh
My phone cracked when I smacked like
Oops 🙈
It was a joke
Lol
Look a bit better when they grow😂😂😂😂😂
For sure haha!
I hate say first but I am first lol
Hate to *
Haha! Congratulations :D
to me it's rather snobbish/elitist to say you should only use real plants.
cause there are a ton of reasons why you may want to use fake over real.also the fish don't care about if their plants are real or fake all they care about is having some place to hide.
also the benefits you get from live plants is way over exaggerated.truth is in most cases plants do very little for your tank especially if they are low light and slow growing.
I never said you should only use fake plants, I love real ones 😁 I agree. My filtration is good enough to keep the water parameters healthy and stable. This is one of the reasons why I went for fake plants too.
Brianna live plants provide small amounts of oxygen to the aquarium, and take nutrients out of the water column so algae doesn’t grow as large and fast. Also, fish do care if plants are live or not. They can nibble live plants, and live plants are much softer and flexible for the fish to rest on. Plastic plants are purely to make aquariums look nicer, most of the time not for fish. If you’re gonna take the time to watch the whole video, don’t throw out some salty comment,
Lol no. Benefits you get from live plants are *definitely* not over exaggerated. And no in 'most cases', live plants definitely don't do 'very little' for your tank. And also no, fish do care if the plants are real or not. Some species more than others. Those are not even opinions, but a fact. Don't spew exaggerated nonsense just because you're salty some random people on the internet doesn't like fake plants. While I agree fake plants set up is so much better than a bare, empty set up that can makes fish suffer, that's no reason to discredit the massive benefits of a real planted tank. And yes, I'm salty too, so that makes the two of us.
they defiantly are over exaggerated.
1. fish really do not care whether plants are real or not cause to them it's just structure.also fake plants can be just has soft has real ones especially silk ones or soft rubber/plastic ones.
2. the oxygen they provide varies a lot. cause slow growing plants are not going to provide much oxygen and honestly most oxygen comes from gas exchange at the surface.also not to mention oxygen loss when you use co2.
3. the nutrients they take up also varies. a tank planted with only slow growing plants like java fern is not going to do much when it comes to taking up nutrients. plus if you have fish that shred plants those plants are just going add to the nutrient levels has they decay.
also zeke it is defiantly a opinion not a fake.just cause you think the fish care does not mean they actually care and I also doubt you've tested it out to see if they even do care.
also I'm not salty about a random person on the internet not liking plants.I'm salty over people attacking fake plants and people who use them.
@@jackd5181 I did watch the whole video and know for a fact live plants are way over exaggerated.
fish do not care if a plant is live or fake.all they care about is about having a place to hide which could be anything a fake plant,real plant,rock,wood,boat,dockect. also last time I checked having a place to hide was a huge benefit to the fish.
also if you have a species like a oscar that will destroy any plant you put in the tank what are you supposed to do? make them suffer by not allowing them to have spaces to hide and deny them one of their favorite toys(seriously oscars love to play with fake plants especially ones that have a ceramic base)?