If gravel is not necessary, how do I hold down the plants?

you can buy plants that have weights on them so the wont float if they are not buried in gravel.

For plants that need to be buried, you could take of the plastic base of the plant and rap a lead weight round the bottom of it.

You can buy the lead weights from most fish shops.

I recommend keeping the gravel, i have 2 - 3 inches in mine and i vac it often and i dont have any problems, tanks without gravel look pretty unsightly

Well my opinion is gravel is very important for the reason it holds in the poo. You really wouldn't want that floating around your tank?? In order to keep your gravel clean you should vaccuum it at least once a week if not more depending on the size of your tank and how many fish you have. You can get a fish tank vaccuum at any pet store. They are well worth it. I think a base of an inch to two inches is good for a tank. As far as the plants go at Petsmart I have seen plants with flat bottoms that don't have to be buried.

Hi S1sm00n, simply pot up the plants in a little gravel using small plant pots or glass jars, even tea light holders. Always ensure things are carefully cleaned in old tank water before adding to the tank & in the case of coloured glass pots ensure they are really coloured & not sprayed by scratching them with your nail.

You might even consider using real plants in pots-much healthier for the tank & more fun for the fish. In that case you can use one of the many planted tank growing substrates in place of the gravel in the pots but cover the top of the substrate with gravel or marbles otherwise the fish use it as mouthwash & distribute it all over your nice clean tank!

Plants which do particularly well in these situations are Vallis & Elodea/Anacharis. A neater substrate for real plants is white filter polyester foam wrapped around the roots & wedged into the pots. The added benefits of this are the batting collects bacterial colonies just like the filter media adding extra cycling power to your tank.

Another great thing about potted plants real or fake is you can move them around to clean & arrange them differently all the time.

in the old days gravel was a necessary part of the filter system as under gravel filters were considered top of the line. this required you to have 2-3 inches of gravel in your tank to accommodate the bacteria you were trying to establish by flowing water through your gravel.

now adays the most common filters are outside power filters that have no need of gravel to act as a bacteria bed.

so the thickness of gravel is no longer critical

however a flat layer of gravel is boring, i like my tanks to look more natural and this includes lumps and bumps in the substrate.

it hides the unmentionables (my fish don't do THAT) and is easy to maintain with regular siphoning.

as mentioned before small terracotta pots work great on the bottoms of plants (real or fake)

Gravel is very important to freshwater/salt water fish. If you have 1 goldfish, then your fine. The gravel creates a biological filter that helps break down toxins in your tank.... I would recommend to not overfeed your fish and vacuum once a month along with a water change.

If you stayed on the site long enough you would have found a link to plant anchors (which I provided to you below).

Follow the instructions accordingly. You will need to "glue" some gravel to wiegh the plants down by means of using aquarium sealant.

Good Luck.

You can buy certain plants with suction cups on the bottom that hold them to the tank bottom. However, I think gravel is ok in a tank. If cleaning it bothers you, consider investing in a long lasting, good quality gravel vacuum. Petstores have a variety to choose from.

Good luck to your fishies ♥

Many pet stores sell metal strips (tape) that's used for holding plants down. If you can't find any, and don't mind emptying and drying out your tank, you might try using silicone sealant (check the packaging to make sure that brand is ok for aquariums) to glue down the plants. It can be easily removed with a razor blade if you want to move your plant around later.

I am not sure what you can use to substitute gravel but I would like to suggest algae-eaters-(loaches & catfish). They help clean the tank. Check your pet store to see if there are any substitutions. They may be able to help.

Hoped that helped you.

...if you can...empty the tank... "super glue" the plants to the bottom... let the tank set for 24 hours... wash it out and it's set to go...but don't expect to EVER get the plants out without a fight...