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Not the green thumb type?  Can’t grow live plants?  You don’t need fertilizer or special lights for plastic plants.  All you need is a few tips and a little time.  Many people have much more success with their aquascaping when they use plastic plants.  By the way, we’re discussing the realistic ones here.  The surrealistic plants rate their own discussion.

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Mats of plastic plants also make great baby savers.

Advantages.  Plastic plants never die and they never outgrow their tank.  Once you set them up you can just lean back and enjoy them – unless your fish decide to redecorate for you.  And, you only need your lights on while you’re watching your fish.

Disadvantages.  Plastic plants cost more (at first).  But since they never die, you pay less in the long run.  Some fade over time.  They also grow algae on them if you leave the lights on too long.  Some people like the natural look this gives them.  Others clean their algae-covered plants with a 30-minute soak in bleach water.  Limit your lighting period, and you limit your algae problem. The new Algae Fix seems to kill algae just fine.

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Plastic plants also work in warmer tanks.

First Picks.  For starters, we want to hide our equipment.  Pick out some long, bushy plants to hide your filter tubes and heater.  If you pick plants taller than your tank, they will bush out and may not hide your equipment successfully.

Second Pick.  Grab one of those large plastic Amazon sword plants to use as your focal point.  You want one about one-third as large as your tank.  Avoid centering it.  Position it slightly to the right or left.  Move it around a bit.  Try moving it backward and forward also.  Experiment a little.

Add Wood.  Use a smaller piece of driftwood that leads up to your focal point.  Or use a group of rocks or smaller plants to lead the eye toward your focal plant.  Avoid using other objects anywhere near as large as your focal point.

Limit Your Variety.  Plastic plants come in such a varied selection of colors and sizes, you may be tempted to try one of each.  Whoa up, pardner.  Emphasize two or three plant species.  If you want to sprinkle a few others in for contrast, fine, but concentrate on main groupings of two or three species.  That is, pick shorter versions of the type you used to hide your filter stem and place these in front of the tallest plant.  Then place shorter plants in front of these.  This makes for a very natural look.  

Gravel.  Some people prefer to slope their gravel deeper in the back.  Others like to slope it up in the front corners.  We find it tends to level itself over time.  Perhaps that’s because we use our gravel vacuum cleaner so often.  You may need to re-arrange your gravel often.

Limit Your Light.  Since your plastic plants could not care less about the quality of your light source, the standard fluorescent aquarium light works fine -- not the cheap garage light version.  Aquarium fluorescent tubes bring out the reds and blues in your fish (and plants).

Frame Your Focal point.  Put smaller plants in front of your large Amazon sword plant and longer plants in back to frame it.  Framing helps emphasize your focal point.

Frame with Bubbles.  Position an airstone behind your focal point.  The bubbles tend to pull the eye toward your focal point.  The bubbles add motion to your aquarium and your fish like the extra aeration.

Background.  If you examine some of the commercial printed backgrounds, you’ll note that many include the same plastic plants in their design.

Back Row.  Most aquarists use taller plants across the back of their tank.  Avoid lining them up like a row of corn -- unless you have de-tasseling experience.  Break up any “lines” across the back by moving some forward and moving some back.  Push some deeper or sprinkle in a few smaller plants to help break up the line. 

Foreground.  Patches of short plants in the front of your aquarium give it a finished look.  Use plants of the same type and vary their heights a bit.  Avoid the golf course look.

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And your choice of plastic plants keeps on growing and growing ...

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Security.  Many of the schooling fishes – especially the tetras – appreciate the security of a well planted tank. They show their best colors in planted tanks.  LA.

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