What to do with New Plants in a New Tank

[joel.uejio]

Hi all,

I have some threads in the noob forum as I'm starting a new tank, but also have some specific questions about plants that I thought I would post here:

Here's what I have plant-wise:
20 gal long with 1.5" of pool filter sand as substrate, AC 50 HOB filter
1 Java fern rubber-banded to a piece of driftwood -> seems ok, but has some black spots on the leaves
1 ?Amazon? sword plant held down at its base by a rock with its roots waving in the water -> very new, seems fine so far
4 various anubia (think some are nana) that came in little black plastic cuppy-things with the roots embedded in some green foamy material -> I've removed the cups, split open the foamy, and pushed into the sand a bit -> seem to be doing fine, some have noticeable root growth

So the questions:
Are these good placements for the plants?
Should I completely get rid of the foamy material that came with the anubia?
Is it going to be a problem if I want to move them around as I build out my tank?

Thanks all for any help and advice!
Joel

[inkyjenn]

1. the plants will be fine. with anubias, just make sure the rhizome (the stem part where the roots and leaves sprout from) is not completely buried under the sand. the amazon sword should have its roots buried under the sand though. the ones that are just out and about may rot off as new ones grow.

2. get rid of the foamy stuff. its called rockwool. it just makes a mess if you leave it on.

3. rearranging plants is half the fun of owning them. you should be fine picking them up and moving them about from time to time

[Cluunox]

I have been told the black spots on the java fern are normal and some will turn into sister plants that will eventually break off and float around till they catch on something and anchor themselves or you stick them somewhere. So far this is working this way with mine.

[timwag2001]

I have been told the black spots on the java fern are normal and some will turn into sister plants that will eventually break off and float around till they catch on something and anchor themselves or you stick them somewhere. So far this is working this way with mine.

yup

[customdrum]

if you decide to plant the amazon make sure not to bury it to far in the sand just like the anubias or other ferns, you dont want to bury the rhiazome or part above the roots or it will rot off and maybe die.

[joel.uejio]

Cool. So based on this advice I got rid of the rockwool (as much as I could without ripping out chunks of root), and then tried to semi-plant everything as instructed.

I ended up making quite a mess in the tank, but all the debris has settled and the plants are in good shape I think. My danios now seem to be having a lot of fun playing tag amidst the foliage.

Thanks all!