making stem plants stay put

Kuhlifan

Kuhlifan

AC Members
Mar 28, 2007
904
0
16
Ohio
I've been fighting some stem plants that always seem to come loose. I have sand as a substrate and have really enjoyed the look of some stem plants. When I started the tank, I had some moneywort that has always done well. However, when I do clippings and try to replant, I basically have a tiny little stem with itsy-bitsy roots that always seem to result in floating plants the next morning. Most recently, I've been trying to not only replant moneywort, but rotala and red ludwigia as well. All three are about the same in this concern.

So, when you buy them from the store and they come with the metal band that leaves them in a tight little bunch, should I plant them in those bunches, or try to separate? What's the best strategy? I've also tried weighing them down with rocks, but my big brat of a pleco loves to have a little spastic fit and surge through the plants, ripping them up with wild abandon.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
 
all weights and stuff should be removed IMHO and not placed in your substrate.

i just started planting a tank with sand the other day and ran into that problem, this is what i did to help fix it.
1) use tweezers
2) use tweezers
3) plant the stem as far as possible into the substrate (remove the leaves that will become burried)
4) once the plant is at the bottom....wiggle the tweezers left/right a few times so that the displaced sand returns to its position (most likely above/next to your tweezers)
5) Remove tweezers from substrate by first sliding to the side about 1/2 to 1 inch and then pull them up through the substrate.

-chris
 
Yeah, I've found that wiggling the plant as you put it in the sand seems to help, and then when I pull my fingers out I scoop sand into the holes with my other fingers as I go. It can be frustrating though. I've got a 20 extra tall...two feet high. Even if I take five gallons of water out first I still pretty much have to go in to my armpits to plant something.
 
What type of tweezers do you use? It would seem that very fine tipped would be beneficial if you're trying to avoid making a "crater" when you plant, but most fine-tipped tweezers are kind of sharp. It seems like it would cut a very small-stemmed plant. Rotala is a very fragile plant to work with.
 
I use the lead weights and then stick them into the sand. Or use a small rock heavy enough to hold the stem down and tie with fishing line and bury the rock and roots into the sand. Also, if the sand is deep enough, not even Goldies should be able to get them out. I had my stems on one side of the tank with 3-4in of sand and they didn't get those up.
 
rotala stems are'nt much bigger than needles sometimes. It takes a while for the roots to anchor them.

I've thought about drilling holes in rocks and sticking the plant through them, but I don't know if that would work either :)
 
My pleco does the same thing, if a plant gets in his way it's outta there. I just try planting the plant in different spots untill I find one that my pleco is ok with. I guess it is his home so he kind of decides.
 
I really should get rid of mine, I just hate to. We got him years ago before I fully understood stocking, especially pleco stocking. He's about 8-10 inches long now in a too-small tank with a too-small footprint.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom