plants wont stay down

[matt2615]

I have some plants and some of them wont stay down in the gravel what do you guys use or do you use anything? If you do use something could you tell me where you got it or how to make it?

[Bmeasure]

I'll tell you what.... if you tell us which kind of substrate you are using currently that would help out a bunch. Regardless of which substrate you use you simply must develope a technique by which you deliver your plants into the substrate. For long stemmed plants I use a pair of long tweezers with a curved end that I plunge the stem into the substrate and pull it backwards (away from the tweezer tips), then upwards. This technique may sound anywhere from easy to complicated depending on your level of expertise, but regardless, it takes time to develop the proper technique if you are new to this. Practice makes perfect. Very simply, a novice will find that this techniqe looks very easy, but it requires time and skill to develop. The way to find out how hard it is, is to try it for themselves.

[matt2615]

I'm using like rock gravel stuff i bought at petsmart each piece is about the size of a dime. I will try that technique it sounds good. thank you

[plah831]

i have that round river bed type gravel, too. many of my plants are coming out, too. i've used the metal (zinc) plant weights, but the bunching of the stems just makes them rot. i am going to upgrade to some plant-specific substrate because i think most of the problem is that the plants aren't growing roots fast enough. good luck!

[Mgamer20o0]

i use gravel i got from loweys. i would think the small type gravel would do better.

[tetramoon13]

I believe the recommended substrate depth is 3 inches. A smaller grain size will hold your plants better. I currently use eco complete, and have found it to be pretty easy to plant in.

[Dangerdoll]

what fish are in the tank?

[dougall]

What plants are you trying as well.

[matt2615]

The plants I have are camboba, banana plant, giant hydro and one more but im not sure what it is. And as for the fish I have one female betta, two african dwarf frogs, four neon tetras and a guppy. And I am planning on buying some plant specific substrate whenever I get enough money for it. Thank you for your help.

[plah831]

my cabomba is a pain, in terms of pulling out of the gravel. my giant hygro came potted so it already had good roots, that helps a lot.

for affordable plant substrate, try drsfostersmith.com. they have 20 oz for $7.99! they recommend using 1 oz per gallon. that's what i'm going with because it also doesn't have all the extra added stuff (copper, other metals) and pH buffering ability that the other more expensive substrates have. i don't need the frills, just something that will hold onto nutrients and allow roots to grow through it easily.

good luck!

[Bmeasure]

The plants I have are camboba, banana plant, giant hydro and one more but im not sure what it is.
First thing I'd like to mention is that you need to keep some of your plant selections on the DOWN-LOW.....no need to mention your "herbal-arthritis-stress-reducer" on such a public server! :clap: Not sure if anyone got that one, but seriously...

I will also suggest a quality nutrient-rich plant substrate with much smaller grain-size. Part of your problem is probably lack of technique, but your larger pebbles are difficult to plant in, and the plants have a hard time taking root in those epoxy coated aquarium gravels, especially the larger grain sizes. Plain sand would be better, IMO. Best is to go for a quality 1-3mm size substrate. I have been happy with Flourite and Eco-complete, and mixtures of either with each other or sand/ etc.

[Bmeasure]

OK i'm trying to bump this because it won't add it to the top of the list, but just stays put in older files. Let's see if this fixes it.