If you find that some of the drawbacks of live plants are a little too much for you, there is nothing wrong with choosing artificial decor for your aquarium. Fake plants are most often made of plastic, and some can look almost real. If you put your mind to it, an aquascaped tank with artificial decorations can look just as good as a tank with real plants.
Plastic plants are easy to remove and clean when they get mucked up, and replacing them is simple. You can also rearrange your tank any time you wish. In fact, rearranging decor in a tank is one way some fish keepers keep semi-aggressive species in check. Territorial behaviors can be minimized when the territory is changing all the time. Some fish that live in brackish water require artificial decorations, as freshwater plants will quickly perish in their tanks. You may also find the durability of artificial decorations preferable in African cichlid tanks, as these fish have a tendency to move a lot of gravel around, and can easily unearth plants live or artificial.
Vacuuming your tank is a breeze with fake plants. You don’t need to worry about the root system, and you can even take the decorations out as you clean the tank. And, you won’t have to worry about vegetable matter accumulating on the substrate.

Artificial decorations don't quite have the same magic as live plants, natural driftwood and stone, but they are a bit easier to clean.

Life with artificial aquarium plants is free and easy. But as you probably realize by now there are some drawbacks as well. The first has to do with appearance. Many plastic plants look terrible, and some even come in colors that don’t really exist in nature. The bottoms are lightweight plastic, designed to grab into the gravel, but this rarely works. Instead, they often float to the top, causing a whole lot of aggravation.
There are also some really good artificial plants out there. They have weighted bottoms so they stay where you put them, and at first glance they look very real. These are the decorations you want if you intend to go artificial. However, they are somewhat expensive, and adding three or four large ones may end up costing as much as the tank itself.
Of course, the biggest drawback is that fake plants do not have the same natural properties as their live counterparts. This means you need to be more on the ball with water changes, algae removal and general tank maintenance. You may wish to over-filter your tank, and you will probably want to add some filter media such as activated carbon to help deal with waste chemicals.
Can fish tell the difference between live and artificial plants? Fake decorations serve the same purpose as live, providing shelter and a realistic environment. However, it seems reasonable to assume that fish that live in aquariums with artificial decor are missing out on something. For some it may be a dietary supplement. For others, there may simply be a sense of well-being that comes with natural items.