That's a really nice display! =) Is that a gourami swimming near the surface? How many liters/gallons this tank has? Have you considered replacing the plastic plants with real ones? They really improve the quality of the water and from my experience the fish like them better. ^^

Hah, you said everything I was thinking.

Great minds think alike? XD

YAY fishkeeping furs! Yes that is Gaston, my gold gourami swimming near the top. I just got him that same day. He's super rad and I'm really happy to get him since I'd wanted a gold gourami for a while. The tank is a 20-gallon and while I have thought about getting live plants I don't have the funds right now to set it up properly since all of the research I've done makes them look pretty dang pricey. I'm a college student living on my own and just got engaged so yeah. Planted tank isn't on the top of my priority list. Plus I usually take good care of my tanks anyway ^_^ One day when I'm more stable I most likely will look more seriously into a planted tank.

Having live plants isn't tricky at all, if you choose very easy and modest plants. You could buy one plant at a time and replace the plastic ones little by little (that's how I did it)? Many plants grow fast and will make sprouts, like my vallisneria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vallisneria

Don't you need a CO2 filter though? That's what I've seen when I did research on how to set them up. Plus sand since most of them said sand and not gravel, which seemed to be a can of worms in and of itself...

You could get an anubias and a few marimo balls to start - both of them are easy to find, fairly inexpensive, and pretty easy to care for.

I've had the Marino balls before because I was having an algae problem back in my 10-gallon and it died fairly quickly so I haven't gone back to them again for fear of that. I like the anubias a lot though. I'll have to do more research I guess because I'd mainly have no idea to start with any of these and I don't wanna have to re-do my tank for them, which is kinda what the research I saw said I'd need to do.

Wow, I've never heard of anyone killing a Marimo ball. You shouldn't need to rescape too much to add an anubias - perhaps remove the mountain piece you have now and replace it with a small bit of driftwood, with a plant attached.

I'm really partial to aquariums decorated only with natural elements - plants, wood, rocks, the like. Sure, it can be a bit more expensive than just using fake plants and things, but I think that it makes for happier fish and a healthier tank.

In all honesty I don't think they were in the best of shape. I wasn't sure what to look for as far as health-wise but I kind of got them from the cheaper pet store rather than the good one we have in town XD I was thinking of replacing the mountain for sure. But I need someplace for my Striped Raphael Catfish to hide since in the mountain is his favorite spot. Seriously I thought he was dead till I cleaned the tank and he popped out of it XD

I had the natural elements going on. I had the mountain and a few logs and stone decorations but I wanted to re-do it and I found the castle and loved it. Now I kinda wanna give a fairy-tale element to the tank, which probably means re-decorating again but it'll be fine. Especially is I decide to do live plants XD

A fairy-tale themed planted tank would be awesome! If you do that, post pictures, I love seeing what people do with their aquariums.

I totally will! I think if I do that I'll get a castle to be the centerpiece and just do plants after that. I still gotta do research on planted tanks though. Because if CO2 pumps are a must it's a no-go for now...

Oh, you don't need additional carbon dioxide to do a planted tank. Actually, if you're on Facebook, there's an excellent group for people who have/want to create low-tech planted tanks.

Oh cool! Thanks a ton I'll definitely look into it ^_^

You are very welcome! I love keeping fish, and I love sharing that passion with other people.