Floating glosso

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geoffgarcia

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Apr 22, 2004
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hey all, I have planted glosso a few times in my tanks in the past and am always looking for new things to experiment with...

I had the idea of floating a bunch of glosso at the top of my tank, from what I remember in the past this causes roots to sprout all along the stem (as opposed to just at the bottom).

I got 3 bundles of glosso recently and they were bundled SOOOOO tightly together, why, i have no idea....anyway, it was a chore to seperate them all and eventually i got tired and just crammed them into the gravel in clumps.

Initially I was trying to plant one stem at a time at 1" intervals. For the ones I managed to do this for they look very good! and they have leaned over and are getting entwined in each other (growing horizontally). The ones I dropped in clumps are basically just growing vertically.

What I'm wondering is:
Should i uproot the clumped ones and let them just float, and wait for them to sprout their roots (which should take about 1 week) then drain the tank so there is only about .5" of water and let the roots take hold for another week before filling it back up?

There is nothing else in the tank so I have free range to play around here...


Also, for future plantings, how do you plant your individual glosso stems?
I found my hands to be rather uncoordinated in digging out a hole and getting the stems to stay down. Is there a tool that works well for this? I've seen those tweasers on some websites and always wondered how effective they would be?


here is some info and pics of my tank (pre plants, the two in the pics are fake)
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37280
 
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Using a tweezers is a must when planting Glosso!

Stick the ends down in the substrate, release, and gently pull the tweezers out. The tiny stem ought to stay. It requires patience!
 
Torf, is it worth using those extra long aquarium tweezers? or do you just use regular house hold ones? is there some equivalent that can be purchased at a local supermarket or random store?

I always think that since the roots are so small that if you tweezer them and put them in the substrate that when the tweezer opens it will create a gap in the substrate and the stem will float away...

will the roots suffocate each other out if they are planted in clumps?
Why do sellers ship the stuff with all the roots wound so tightly together?


anyone have thoughts on the floating idea?
 
geoffgarcia said:
Torf, is it worth using those extra long aquarium tweezers? or do you just use regular house hold ones? is there some equivalent that can be purchased at a local supermarket or random store?
Click to expand...
I just use regular household ones, but it would be nice to have something a little bit longer. Press the Glosso down all the way until only the tops of the plant are exposed. It will grow right out of the substrate and spread it's runners under the surface more easily.
I always think that since the roots are so small that if you tweezer them and put them in the substrate that when the tweezer opens it will create a gap in the substrate and the stem will float away...
Click to expand...
As long as your substrate isnt too big, and you push the stems all the way in, they won't float out. Withdrawing tweezers out of the substrate won't leave much of a void and the substrate will fall into place quick enough.
will the roots suffocate each other out if they are planted in clumps?
Why do sellers ship the stuff with all the roots wound so tightly together?
Click to expand...
It is far easier to ship and verify a quantity that way. There may be other reasons for doing it that way as well.
 
Hey geoff, I use tweezers I bought from the local pharmacy. They're fine tweezers (they have a pointed tip instead of flat/angled). If you use a shallow cup/bowl to float the clumps in, you should be able to teeze the individual stems apart using the tweezers. Still, be prepared to have a floater occasionally come up on you. It took me 3 beers...I mean 3 hours to plant mine in a 90gal.

HTH
 
You wanna talk frustrating!!!! Try planting them in a tank with two Rosy Barbs in it.
You plant maybe 30 - 35 plants and two hours later 20 of them are floating. I watch the little peckers pull them and curse.
BTW happy.....I have much better control planting with the wide tipped tweezers. Can't seem to get them to go all the way in with the pointy tips.

Len
 
hahhah!
Thanks for the advice all!

Aright, so my question now, I had planted a few chunk groupings....
should i uproot them and replant?

PS, like I said, I have nothing else in the tank, so it will probably be easier if I just drain the tank 95% and then do this right?
 
I would. I tried planting some in a clump and some grew out of it but I would say at least 1/2 of the clump died. That's just my exp..
 
Glosso is light needy. If shaded the lower plants will die. I suggest that you follow Happychem's advice and pull the balls out, place them in a shallow bowl, delicately pull them apart as best you can. While doing this, look for individual plants(usually 2 leaves with roots attached) and cut them off and separate them into another bowl.
As you continue to do this the ball will get easier to get apart.
IMO, there's no need to lower the water and I don't think that would make it any easier. Just take your time and be patient. You'll get the hang of it.

Len
 
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