Real plants care vs silk question

[LilMermaidGirl]

Hi everyone. I want to add some plants but I'm not sure how much extra work real plants would be. Right now I have a 10 gallon tank with only one male betta and I don't plan on ever adding any more fish to the tank. I have decorations in the tank, a heater, and filter and I'm using aquarium rocks as substrate right now (I may change to a gravel later down the road but that's undecided atm). The tank also has a hood with lights but I did not add the lights (I use the hood though).

So my question is if I add 1-3 real plants to the tank how much extra work am I looking at concerning the care of the tank with the plants? This is my first fish ever, I've had him for over a month and everything seems fine, but I'm just not sure if real plants will be too much extra work and I should maybe just go with silk plants instead.

Thanks

[ifish]

I would go with slik less work and there cheaper so that good and welcome to the fish fourm

[dramaqueen]

Real plants do require some work and certain lighting. My bettas love their silk plants.

[LilMermaidGirl]

What kind of extra work? The silk plants selection where I live isn't that great nor cheap so I guess I will just have to order some online instead so I can at least get what I'd like (instead of a random grouping of plants for one not-so-low price lol).

I did kinda want real cause I read it can help with the water but I guess silk is easier.

[dr2b]

Where I live real plants are cheaper than silk plants...

[dramaqueen]

Dead parts need to be trimmed off and they need to be fertilized and have the right lighting. But real plants are very nice.

[Angelmonster]

Foster Smith has some great selections that are pretty cheap! http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?c=3578+6635
If you want silk/plastic.

About plants vs silk. How big is your tank? If it is less then 20 gallons go for fake. Plants take a lot of work. first you need to establish them. It is not as easy as it seems. You have to make sure the roots stay in the substrate and they can get loose and start floating if they ar enot anchored/established the correct way.

When a plant begins to die, even a single leaf, it must be cut immediately. 1) The nitrate it gives off will harm the fish. 2)It will kill the rest of the plant(not 100% of the time but there is a good chance).

Now dont be scared if you still want to do it. Real plants are VERY beneficial to a tank. First off they will feed off of the fish droppings and thus the droppings will be a lot less harmful to the betta. The plants also oxygenate the water which is beneficial to the betta also.

Basically it comes down to if you want and are willing to do the work. It will mean you will have to put in a bit of extra time with your betta for the benefits of live plants If not buy some off of the site I gave you, I have been using them for years and they look amazing!