# question about fake plants.



## dhawk52 (Jun 12, 2008)

I would prefer to put real plants in, but plan to start with fake plants as I am still new. I have two tanks (75 and 30) that have been up and running ok for the most part. I found some plastic plants, that I have ran through the dish washer two or three times without soap. I would like to put these in at least one of the tanks, but would like any advise before I do. 
Thanks for taking the time to read this.


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## djjay71 (Jun 12, 2008)

I keep live plants in my largest (125gal) tank, however, for the other three I normally use fake plants, mostly due to the types of fish I keep in them. And there are some VERY nice ones out there now.

I've had aquariums for over 20 years and in all that time I have never done more with a fake plant than rinse it in the sink before introducing it to the tank. (before and after fish were in the tank.) Not to make your life difficult, but you might want to just rinse them all off one more time in the sink just in case there was some lingering soap in the dishwasher.


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## tigger101023 (Apr 24, 2007)

I rinse very little or not at all and have never had a problem. I kill hardy houseplants, so needless to say, my low-light planted aquarium ended with a lot of dead plants. I like silk more than plastic, but have no live plants and don't plan to anytime soon.


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## tbraddy (Apr 30, 2008)

If you washed them in the dishwasher, I would still wash them in hot water because there may be left over soap, and that could be toxic to the fish. I know that my dishwasher has left over residues, and its always better to be safe than sorry.


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## bentcountershaft (Nov 23, 2007)

Wash them in hot tap water then the next time you do a water change save the water and wash them in that.


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## iceblue (Apr 27, 2004)

dhawk52 said:


> ran through the dish washer two or three times without soap.


I ran some p p's I had through the dishwasher but neglected to turn off the heated drying cycle. They melded into some very interesting looking forms of alien vegetation but, since they were no longer appropriete for my tank I left them out. After a while I really started to develop an appreciation for tanks that mimic the enviroment that our captive friends originaly came from.

I had these plastic plants in a Mbuna tank and after my disaster with the dishwasher I ended up just really likeing the looks of piled rocks. While not "exactly" like the Lake Malawi environment it's as close as I can provide for my fish.

There are some excellant plant forums out there Dhawk52. Do a search and plastic will never look the same to you again. For some of my other projects I definetly want to go (NO FEAR) with live plants that are as closely indigenous to the area my fish came from as I can provide. A lot of the satisfaction I get from this hobby is putting together a semblance of the ecosystems that gave rise to my cichlids particular genetic make up.

You can do anything you want in your tank. I'm just not a fan of plastic plants anymore. Imo live plants coupled with the proper algae eaters for the cichlids your keeping will beat the dishwasher everytime. Spending one day researching the internet will give you both a headache and the confidence you need to put together a really cool live plant tank.

Since your already thinking along those lines anyway I would say just go for it. :thumb:

"edit" By the way. Welcome to the Forum.


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## kewlkatdady (May 15, 2007)

hiya dhawk... nice to see you made it over here...

Most cichlids will uproot live plants... if they dont uproot them, they will eat them...

Have fun playing with it, but I'm sure that with a good rinse...the plants will be fine.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

For what it's worth I run show tanks, drum bowls, and any tank small enough to fit in the diswasher, through a regular cycle with detergent, and have yet to experience any problems. Running plastic plants through without detergent should not be a problem.


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## iceblue (Apr 27, 2004)

.


> Running plastic plants through without detergent should not be a problem.


 Espesially when your showing off plastic fish


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## iceblue (Apr 27, 2004)

kewlkatdady said:


> hiya dhawk... nice to see you made it over here...
> 
> Most cichlids will uproot live plants... if they dont uproot them, they will eat them...
> 
> Have fun playing with it, but I'm sure that with a good rinse...the plants will be fine.


You will find huge disagreemants here. :?\\
If thier willing to come forward.


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## kingpoiuy (Jun 9, 2008)

As long as my plants are in the substrate good and tight or wedged under a rock they are fine. The Mbuna will throw substrate around yes and bump into my plants but the only time one is uprooted is when it doesn't have roots yet or it is not in there proper. 90% of my plants don't get eaten either. I have had one recently that got eaten but it is pretty rare for me. although am constantly feeding the buggers so they probably don't get hungry enough.


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## kewlkatdady (May 15, 2007)

no suprise, this is a forum...

I just give my personal experiance.

For what its worth, in my 125 mixed with fake plants....

They uproot them... I don't see it from digging, I actually see them chomping on the leaves...

this results in the whole plant being uprooted. I have to bury every plant in my tank every time I do a water change...



iceblue said:


> kewlkatdady said:
> 
> 
> > hiya dhawk... nice to see you made it over here...
> ...


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## kewlkatdady (May 15, 2007)

triple post...sorry :zz:


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## kewlkatdady (May 15, 2007)

double post...


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## Hoggy Boss (Oct 4, 2006)

I prefer live plants over plastic replicas. I didn't have much luck with plants and my mbnuna, but I have been keeping some swords and java mos balls in my victorian krib tank. The kribs nip at the java moss balls periodically, but they haven't torn them to shreds yet. The swords haven't been touched. I've had the swords in the tank for almost two months now.

I think the dishwasher idea is little overboard. Rising most decorations in tank water will be sufficient, unless your dealing with some wild caught rocks.


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## dhawk52 (Jun 12, 2008)

Thanks for all of the advice. I came across some plants (that my wife had probably purchased at hobby lobby or some such place), they were in storage for a few years maybe. Some of them looked nice, but were not probably designed for being submerged. I am still not sure what I will do, but please feel free to continue to let me know.


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