What are the pro's and con's?

The plants aren't hard to take care of all. You just leave them alone and they'll live on their own.

Pros of live plants:

Absorbs CO2 (in daylight)

Gives off O2 (in daylight)

Absorbs toxins

Harbors beneficial bacteria

Serves as food source

Inhibits algae growth

Cons of live plants:

Can cause O2 deficiency at night

Creates waste when decayed

Can carry parasites

Not easy to clean

Requires good lighting

Pros of plastic plants:

Does not affects O2 levels

Does not create wastes

Does not carry parasites

Easily removed and cleaned

Does not need special lighting

Cons of plastic plants:

Does not absorb CO2

Does not give off O2

Does not absorb toxins

Does not carry bacteria

Cannot be used as food source

Doesn't inhibit algae growth

Personally, I recommend live plants. They're really not hard to take care of. Just make sure that if a leaf or something starts to fall off or rot, take it out. (For most, it doesn't happen often) Just keep up with it and it won't be a big deal. =]

umm, in your case the plants arent the problem. If your tank is less than 75 gal, you're pleco is going to outgrow it (assuming its either a gold nugget or common), and the redtail shark is going to own the bottom of that tank and will fight the pleco when its on the bottom. Angel fish with 1 tiger barb is just asking for trouble, its not a good idea to keep tiger barbs with long-finned fish but its usually ok if they're in a school of at least 5 or 6, but I dont think even a school would be a good idea with a angel. Live plants are a good addition to any tank but to get them to grow and thrive they need the lights on for around 8 hours a day and this is a big factor in brown algae growth, a lot of fish like to tear up live plants and eat them but those species are ok are with plants

Plants are awesome! Live plants are softer and therefore more likely to cause fin damage than plastic plants if one of your fishes starts dashing around and runs into them. They also eat up phosphates and nitrates that can contribute to algae growth, and improve water oxygenation.

Depending on what you have already, you may need to get a miconutrient plant supplement for your tank to add during weekly water changes, or beef up your lighting (some bulbs emit a light that isn't quite the right part of the spectrum to be helpful to plants) and they do take longer to replant than plastic ones if you pull them up while vaccuming the gravel, but other than that, most plants are pretty easy going.

If anything they will decrease your fish keeping time, because they will help keep your water cleaner.

Live plants help remove nitrates from the water. They also help prevent algae because they use up the nutrients in the water before the algae gets a chance.

Some plants are easy to take care of and some are more difficult, but if you pick hardy plants they really aren't that much work. Things like anubias, java fern, Amazon sword, hygrophila, cabomba, and anacharis are good for beginners. For the best results you should use a special plant substrate. Good lighting, about 3-5 watts per gallon, is also important.