I got some plants!

[CaitxSith]

Yeah.. I got some plants on my tank. just 2. looks cool but i think one is a rhyzome plant..... and i think the other is stargrass... dang i don't know!!

i'll try to post a pic of my tank...

are there any special needs for stargrass/rhyzome plants?

btw, i left the roots undergravel and the bulb thingy above gravel...

i also got some fertilizer. should i add them now?

DANG! my kH is 1 degrees or something... WOW! lol. guess i can't add CO2 then.

*EDIT* NOOOOO!!!! I got the stargrass thingy picture, but my camera batts went out before i took the picture of the other one... and i'm out of AA batts!

http://img426.imageshack.us/img426/9361/sv400123kj9.jpg

[kcooley]

sorry but i dont see anystargrass...

i see some cambomba. is that what it is? a rhyzhome is just the way the plant reproduces, through rhizhome runners at the roots

[CaitxSith]

http://www.plantgeek.net/images/plantpics/Didiplis.jpg

this isn't it?

dang i need some batts so then i can take a pic of the other one....

sooo... i guess these are my first 2 plants then! and no co2 system (i have but kH is 1 deg)

and should i add fertilizer?

*EDIT* i looked at the petstore plant tanks and i saw a tag "cabomba"... so i guess this might be it then lol.

the guy also said the other plant was a anubia... and he said the one i got in the pic was a stargrass thingy..

argh! too scared to plant! lol my first planting. I sorta snipped the roots around 1 cm back. good thing?

[kcooley]

that is zosterfolia...stargrass...

the one above actually looks like water sprite. i was looking at the plastic plant.

[CaitxSith]

LOL

i guess this is my first planting then.. man i'm nervous... first time experiencing plant care first-hand! soo.....

yeah, add fert?

i'm switching plastic to live plant tank!

yay! my first step into plant care :D

[fishcatch22]

LOL

i guess this is my first planting then.. man i'm nervous... first time experiencing plant care first-hand! soo.....

yeah, add fert?

i'm switching plastic to live plant tank!

yay! my first step into plant care :Dthats a reeeeaaaal good batch you got there! remember, ferts won't do jack for your plants if you use carbon in your filter.

[CaitxSith]

wait... the black pad thing?

what's carbon do? I thought it holds the bacteria...

*EDIT* i found a string thing covered with hair (maybe 1 cm long) coming out of it. I also see some leaves curl.
on my other plant, on the other side of the leaf, i found black circles? I also found some weird growth thingy on the tip of the leaves...

[fishcatch22]

wait... the black pad thing?

what's carbon do? I thought it holds the bacteria...carbon is the black stuff in filter bags. it does hold some bacteria, but it's main job is to absorb any substances in the water, including ferts. if you use carbon, you just wasted your money on ferts. don't worry, those plants you have will do fine without ferts.

[CaitxSith]

wait... can't i just take it out? :confused:

i mean, i can take mine out...

[fishcatch22]

wait... can't i just take it out? :confused:

i mean, i can take mine out...you can take it out. your biological filter will work fine without it.

[kcooley]

is the stringy stuff purple? if it is, then it is normal.

they usually charge more for purple string.

i would recommend just using an iron supplement with fert tabs in the substrate

[CaitxSith]

my fert has iron...

no it's not purple.. it's fuzzy white.

what about the other plant?


ima try to get another pic, just that out of batts...

[fishcatch22]

my fert has iron...

no it's not purple.. it's fuzzy white.

what about the other plant?


ima try to get another pic, just that out of batts...camboba needs high light! I hope you have at least 2.5-3 WPG.

[CaitxSith]

wait, what? I thought it was stargrass! the plastic plants look like cambobas... eww the carbon finger hole thing has white fuzzy stuff on it! and when i took the carbon out, stuff flew out of my filter! looks like poop...

anyways, i put in the fert.

soo wait, my filter can't suck up poop anymore? i think i'll crash my cycle..

[sarcare]

You don't actually have to take out your carbon pad--it only works as a chemical filter for the first couple of days. After that it just works as another place for the bacteria to live. You just don't need to replace it with activated carbon. You can replace it with something that provides more space for the bacteria to colonize, but it isn't that important.

[kcooley]

you should shut off the filter, remove the pad and start it again.

the second picture is stargrass heteranthera zosterfolia, the first picture is water sprite. the rest are plastic.
iron should be in its own supplement so it can be added daily. iron precipitates very rapidly.

[CaitxSith]

wait so can i add fert and carbon?

[fishcatch22]

wait so can i add fert and carbon?no, you add fert and take out carbon, confused one.

[CaitxSith]

and keep carbon out?

argh i put the carbon back in :sad:

dreaming about what other plants to add...

[fishcatch22]

and keep carbon out?

argh i put the carbon back in :sad:

dreaming about what other plants to add...yes, if you have carbon in, ferts are useless. OUT WITH THE CARBON!!! sorry! accidental caps lock, but you get the point.

[CaitxSith]

ugh i guess i gotta wait 1 week before adding fert again :sad:



sooo..... any comments or recommendations?

[sarcare]

Fishcatch--if the carbon pad has been in there for a while it is no longer active and will not take out the ferts. Just leave it alone, and when you go to clean your filter just replace it with another pad if it is convinent. Some filters have bio/chemical media mixed.

[fishcatch22]

Fishcatch--if the carbon pad has been in there for a while it is no longer active and will not take out the ferts. Just leave it alone, and when you go to clean your filter just replace it with another pad if it is convinent. Some filters have bio/chemical media mixed.oh, sorry, i though he said he had activated carbon. if it's a pad, you can and shoudl leave it in. sorry for all your confusion....

[CaitxSith]

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

i took it out!

:laugh:

*EDIT* now it's in xD

*EDIT* hey, do you think i stressed out the fish? i mean, taking the pad out and in and out and in...

argh i'm too scared to sleep... if i see fish stuck on the filter or dead plants, i'm going to FREAK OUT!!!!!

[kcooley]

noyou just put the detrius back in the water. it will filter

[fishcatch22]

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

i took it out!

:laugh:

*EDIT* now it's in xD

*EDIT* hey, do you think i stressed out the fish? i mean, taking the pad out and in and out and in...

argh i'm too scared to sleep... if i see fish stuck on the filter or dead plants, i'm going to FREAK OUT!!!!!halloween nightmare, eh?:D

[CaptnDan]

*EDIT* hey, do you think i stressed out the fish? i mean, taking the pad out and in and out and in...I doubt they even noticed... If the carbon has been in there for more than a few days, it isn't doing anything anyway... And adding or removing carbon isn't like turning a light on or off... There is no instantaneous change in the water, unless you released a bunch of junk into the water when you did it... and that isn't enough to freak fish out either.

[CaitxSith]

oooh. stuff flew out of the filter when i took out the carbon...

@kcooley
detrius?

soo.... nothing died... so far lol.

i guess i can complete the middle row after buying 2 more medium plants..

my stargrass looks awesome :D
but why is some of the leaves curled? When i opened the bag, it was like that...

[kcooley]

the grass will grow alright, dont worry about it.

detrius= fish poo.

[CaitxSith]

ok... i sorta put the rhyzome into the gravel put not over the rhyzome. is that ok? or should i make the rhyzome pop out. cuz its roots are quite short so i can't really plant its roots to keep it down.

and i have black circles on the underside of my fern.

pores?

[plah831]

that should be fine for the rhyzome. As long as it's mostly out of the gravel, it'll be good :)

The dots on the underside of the fern leaves are spores. They use them to reproduce. Their "baby plants" and sex cells (sperm, eggs) actually need to swim, even the terrestrial ferns have this limitation! They're a very ancient plant.

[CaitxSith]

hmm... and i guess only aqua plants have rhyzomes so i don't have to worry about that...

ok.. i just took the plant out and hung it onto my closeby plastic plant. i guess i just wait for the roots to grow and go down to the gravel then... i mean, since the rhyzome is mostly out, the roots will start to cling onto the gravel, right?

here's my fern thingy:
http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/2779/1161061133740740260uo8.jpg

sorry but i used my camera phone. at least it's not blurry!
my tank:
http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/1406/1161057093740726610rz6.jpg

yeah, camera phone here, too.

i don't know why, but i feel worried. maybe about my plants?
oh and are stargrass root plants? I put the roots undergravel and above gravel is just above the roots.
need picture? :)

*EDIT* sorry... hold on and i'll get the pics up

*EDIT*pics are up :D

[CaitxSith]

seriously, someone has to tell me if i'm allowed to double-post.

AAARRRGHHH!!!! :mad2:

i can't get my plant to stay in the gravel!! it has small roots so i can't bury...
and right now, it's floating...
what do i do, tie the rhyzome onto a rock? (RHYZOME, Not ROOT)
I can't get it to go stay undergravel without letting the rhyzome undergravel!
soo... tie the rhyzome with thread? How tight?
and are there certain types of rock i should stay away from? I have polished, flat rocks. So i'll rinse them, right?

[Sammie7]

That sounds alright. Tie it to the stones just enough to stay put and not choke it. Thread (cotton) should be fine as it will dissolve when the roots take hold and not hinder growth, like fishing line.

[CaitxSith]

so i can't use other thread? :confused:

hmm.... i keep getting scared that the rhyzome is below gravel and will kill the plant, but it really isn't!

soo... tie it to rock, and just wait?
sounds easy enough for me... how long can aqua plants live out of the water?

[plah831]

hmm... and i guess only aqua plants have rhyzomes so i don't have to worry about that...

no, terrestrial plants also can have rhizomes. For example, ginger is a kind of rhizome, I believe.

aquatic plants don't tend to do well out of water, unless the air is super moist. I'll take my plants out for a few minutes while I rearrange stuff, and their leaves start to dry out and look bad. They perk up pretty quickly when back in the water, though. But they're different from terrestrial plants in that they lack the structural supports to stay upright in air.

[CaitxSith]

but my fern is definately aqua......err right?

[plah831]

the java fern, right? Yes, it's aquatic, but I've never seen spores on the undersides of mine. Actually, both sides of the leaves look pretty identical, unlike terrestrial ferns.

[CaitxSith]

err... it's not java fern... or at least doesn't look like it. sorta two pronged, some of it. but the second prong is like, shorter.
other side i think looks different... or is it because of the spores... hmm...

[jennfier]

The pics of your tank is not that sharp but I don't think you have stargrass either. The pic you posted from plantgeek.net is a stargrass but I can't see any stargrass in your tank.

[CaitxSith]

kk... lots of pics here...

2 are my result of tieing the plant with thread. the plant still floats away, but the thread won't let it drift away too far...
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/3175/1161293633741547630ri4.jpg
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/8236/1161295203741553070ya0.jpg

and the other is my "stargrass"..
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/743/1161357333741768120gs3.jpg
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/5334/1161360263741778120nw6.jpg
eh? eh? :D

[jennfier]

Your 'stargrass' looks like Water Sprite or Asian Ambulia, not sure, but that's definitely not stargrass.

[CaitxSith]

ooook.... so if it might be water sprite, i'll just check on plantgeeks.com.
how is my thread tieing?
and can anyone confirm that the fern plant thingy is an aqua plant?

ty for helping, all :D

*EDIT* NOOO!!! I put the water sprite in the middle but it's a large plant! DO i just pull the water sprite out and replant it or something?

[Star_Rider]

the fern thingie..looks like single fronds of java fern..there are a couple different species of jave fern. jav fern has rizomes

[fishcatch22]

I think you have water wisteria or water sprite.

[CaitxSith]

so IF i have water sprite (which is true, probably) why is it so small (19 cm tall)? I thought it's a tall plant... if it does go tall, i'm going to have to replant it... how? just pull it out and plant it again?


darn.. i wanted java fern on my driftwood...
oh well... i'll just attatch something else then.
the lfs dude said that the plants were anubias... but yet he said he didn't have shrimp but I found a couple hiding under leaves... i wish i had some but I don't know how to care for shrimp!
pH-7.2 constant (constant AND good pH! Yay! lol)
kH-1 degree
2 plants
1 driftwood
black neon, silver tip tetras, and soon to be neons along with that... and of course, my famous pleco lol.

[plah831]

watersprite can be replanted or floated. It's real easy to propogate, just cut off a piece and it will eventually grow new leaves and roots :)

[CaitxSith]

no certain location to snip?

and still, how do I replant? pull it out?

and still, why is it small? I though water sprites are supposed to be backdrop plants...

[plah831]

no certain place to cut. As far as I know (and I'm not sure which species of watersprite you have), any green part of the plant will sprout new leaves and roots very easily. I've even heard that parts picked off by fish that don't get eaten start growing.

I don't know what you mean by replant? It's come out of the substrate, no? If so, just redig a hole and put it in there.

It's small because it's young or they gave you a clipping. If it doesn't have roots yet, then it's a clipping. It will grow, and grow like mad in most cases, so don't worry :)

[aquaman325]

cool. I have a plant that started out small in 1 tank and now fills all 3 of my tanks! (I had to move pieces of it)

[CaitxSith]

i mean like, to take out the plant, do I just pull it out of the gravel? Or do I just do it carefully or something...

hmm... leaves that grow roots? so THAT'S the hairy root thingy hanging on my leaves...

ugh i just noticed... the light on my lid goes only in the center. will it reach the back? And another thing... I have a "hang on back" power filter (eheim of course)... wouldn't it shade the plants on back? I mean, a part of the filter sticks out into the tank.. and that part would shade the plants below, no?

and btw, it has roots...

hmm... 3 batches of watersprite... I guess I can put one in the back middle, and the others in the 2 back corners...

[plah831]

your HOB really shouldn't cause a shading problem. I have those, too, and all my plants are doing great! The light will still get to the back of the tank. But since you're dealing with low light plants and a low-tech light fixture, I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you do notice plants back there doing poorly, maybe you could rearrange so that the lower light tolerant plants are back there.

you can just pull it out of the gravel. Roots are resilient, IME, and will grow back pretty soon. Actually, it's recommended to trim the roots when you get new plants, because it stimulates their growth. Besides, water sprite is so hardy that it doesn't really matter :)

[CaitxSith]

ugh.. now the only thing in my way of sticking my hand in the water is that big fat open cut...

UPDATE

well... the plant attatched to the rock is starting to grow its roots back...