Plants...?

[loopy119]

OK, probably a really stupid question, but how do you hold really light plants or plants without many roots into the substrait? I know that the stores use the lead wraps usually, but is that safe for fish/snails? I have a few plants that just won't stay in place and it is driving me CRAZY! My idiot fish keep bumping them out of place and I have to go diving into my tanks after them...anybody have any ideas? EK, c'mon share your wisdom oh mighty dagon! LOL!  :wink: Seriously though, I am going to have to re-plant my entire 10 gallon and half of my 30 gallon because the plants keep wandering around!

Rebekah

[wvgdiscus]

Re: Plants...?

I still use the lead. In a make do situation I have been to know to use fishing line weights also.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Plants...?

I remove the lead unless it's anubias or fern. The lead is usually too tight or the weight of it on the plant ends up killing whats under the lead which is where the roots come from so you are back to square one.

If your substrate it deep enough it will keep the plants down.

What plants are you trying to plant, what substrate and how deep is it? What I do for some plants that give me a hard time is just float it till the roots start shooting out through the bottom then plants. It works for some plants.

[loopy119]

Re: Plants...?

Just some easy plants in gravel...nothing too hard, just have a hard time keeping them still... I will try the fishing weights if the lead won't hurt the fish or anything...that's what I was worried about with that...

What can I do with Anacharis besides float it? I have some super-long strands of it that used to be short...can I break them apart? Do I just shove them down into the gravel? Some parts in the middle of the plants are growing roots...what do I do??? Some have kinda branched out at the top too... I also have this weird plant that kinda reminds me of wisteria (probably is) and it is growing stray roots at each node(?)...It only seems to have leaves at the top portion of the plant too... should I break the stemy part to the last node and try to plant that?

I'm sorry for so many questions, but I'm just kinda tired of my tanks looking like $h!t!!! LOL! They look very nice once everything is in its place though! I'll post pics once I get everything straightened out. More advice on the lead thing would be great too!!!

Rebekah

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Plants...?

You can re attach the lead weights so that it holds the plant and not crush the stem and that should work.

With anacharis I don't think they really put out rooting roots but just shove them into the ground and with trimming either cut them or pinch them off with your nails. The roots you see shooting out the sides is because there is no nutrients available through the substrate so the plant adapts and reaches out into the water column to find those nutrients it needs. You can keep trimming those roots off or add more nutrients to the substrate....Seachem flourish tabs works wonders to keep them alive.

The lead will be fine for the tank and nothing to worry about.... I think H2O2 will dissolve it and eventually cause problems so don't add that stuff to the tank.

[loopy119]

Re: Plants...?

Well, the anacharis kinda got bumped loose a while ago and has been floating freely in the tank because I kinda got too frustrated with it... LOL! I will try shoving it into the gravel again maybe with a weight or an odd shaped object on the bottom of it to anchor it in there....stupid fish LOL! I also have a huge pesky snail population in there that my kuhli loaches seem oblivious to...grrr... I guess I'll just have to live with them though...they aren't THAT bad after all... Thanks for the tips everybody!!! Keep 'em comin'!!!

Rebekah

[Tiapan]

Re: Plants...?

and i would suggest investing in a good long pair of tweezers, they really make planting easy, but i like broad tipped ones cus they less likely to break plant stems.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Plants...?

Oh yes! tweezers are the shizznit!!!!! I love mine!

[loopy119]

Re: Plants...?

LOL! Where do you get them from? Like walmart??? What section are long tweezers in?

Rebekah

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Plants...?

I know FishGallery had a basket of them for sale not too long ago...

I got mine from ADG which they are ADA tweezers but I am guessing you want something a lot cheaper then those.

[loopy119]

Re: Plants...?

If possible, yes. Cheep is good! Maybe my dad can bring some home from work! He's a mortician and a lot of times the ME leaves things like that in the bodies! Kinda gross, I know, but I'm used to it! A little bleach water and then a good rinsing should fix it!

Rebekah

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Plants...?

Yeah those would work great!

I think the ones at FG was like $10 or something like that...fairly decent compared to ADA's tweezer.

[PhishPhreek]

Re: Plants...?

If all else fails, try these

http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/2540

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94972

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92345

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96124

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94972

[Mzungu]

Re: Plants...?

Anacharis will put out quite a few roots if left floating. Eventually, they'll find their way to the substrate, but if you want to plant them just pinch off the plant where the root starts and plant it, that way you have some sort of anchor in the substrate. And eventually they'll put out a pretty big mass of roots. Anacharis is very forgiving, as well. I usually just cut off the portion below the certain roots I want to use and plant it that way.

Also, like EK said, if I get plants that don't have roots yet, I usually take the lead strip off and re-wrap it around a couple of stems more loosely. Plant bunches are usually wrapped pretty tightly, and the stem will just die and rot if left that way.

The same goes for your wisteria-like plant...just cut it right below the rooted portion and push the roots into the gravel.  :)