Today, i went to PetCo's and picked up 4 aquarium plants (don't know species, not labeled). they came "potted" meaning they are in the little black plasitc mesh buckets planted in the spongey green nutrient thing. My question is, am i able to just put the whole thing in my tank and bury it under the gravel? i am going to rinse it first, but im just worried that there might be bacteria or anything on it and thats why im told to remove the plastic thing and the spongey green thing. i hate planting it with just the roots, it doesn't hold too well. but if i have too i will, if i don't thats good.
Quick Planting Question
- Thread starter icecubez189
- Start date
Boy, you're taking chances picking up any ol' plant without knowing it's lighting needs or how big it grows. Hope you have good lighting on your tank, in case these are medium or high light plants.
Don't bury the whole thing in your substrate. Take the plant out of the black mesh bucket, and carefully remove the wool from around the roots. Then, if they are plants that are root feeders, you can plant the roots.
WARNING: For all I know you picked up an anubia or java fern plant of some kind. These type of plants actually should NOT be buried in the substrate, only attached to driftwood or a rock. Burying the roots could actually kill the plant. That's another reason why it's good to know what type of plant you've got.
Maybe if you posted a pic someone can ID the plants for you?
Good luck
Don't bury the whole thing in your substrate. Take the plant out of the black mesh bucket, and carefully remove the wool from around the roots. Then, if they are plants that are root feeders, you can plant the roots.
WARNING: For all I know you picked up an anubia or java fern plant of some kind. These type of plants actually should NOT be buried in the substrate, only attached to driftwood or a rock. Burying the roots could actually kill the plant. That's another reason why it's good to know what type of plant you've got.
Maybe if you posted a pic someone can ID the plants for you?
Good luck
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thanks, at first i was going to go for the amazon sword-in-the-tube-with-plant-feeding-gel thing, but it was $10 for a large one.
i decided to check out the plant variety tank and picked out these 3 different types:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/icecubez189/PICT2503.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/icecubez189/PICT2502.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/icecubez189/PICT2501.jpg
if you can even remotely ID these, that would be nice.
for lighting, im using a puny 15watt 18 inch flourescent, im hoping to upgrade to a 40 or 60 watt, but i cant find any 18 inch length thats at least 40 or 60 watts! theres so many different kinds, i was probably looking at the wrong selection. if you could help me with lighting selection, that would be great as well.
i decided to check out the plant variety tank and picked out these 3 different types:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/icecubez189/PICT2503.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/icecubez189/PICT2502.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/icecubez189/PICT2501.jpg
if you can even remotely ID these, that would be nice.
for lighting, im using a puny 15watt 18 inch flourescent, im hoping to upgrade to a 40 or 60 watt, but i cant find any 18 inch length thats at least 40 or 60 watts! theres so many different kinds, i was probably looking at the wrong selection. if you could help me with lighting selection, that would be great as well.
NICE LOOKING PLANTS!
#1 anubias or crypt- its hard to tell w/out seeing the whole root. if its got normal plant roots its a crypt, if there is a rhizome (large stem w/ leaves&roots growing from it) its an anubias
#2 ???-prolly wont survive w/ your current lighting though
#3 crypt or small sword- crypt will survive w/ your light, sword will not
as for your lighting situation, pick up a versa-top glass cover from your LFS. then go to your hardware store and look for undercabinet flouros (rectanglular style work the best, not exposed tube) 18in $5. you can either lay them on top of the glass or build a hood to mount them on.
#1 anubias or crypt- its hard to tell w/out seeing the whole root. if its got normal plant roots its a crypt, if there is a rhizome (large stem w/ leaves&roots growing from it) its an anubias
#2 ???-prolly wont survive w/ your current lighting though
#3 crypt or small sword- crypt will survive w/ your light, sword will not
as for your lighting situation, pick up a versa-top glass cover from your LFS. then go to your hardware store and look for undercabinet flouros (rectanglular style work the best, not exposed tube) 18in $5. you can either lay them on top of the glass or build a hood to mount them on.
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thanks, i spent 20 minutes picking out the ones i thought looked best
anyways, here are the pictures of those roots:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/icecubez189/PICT2504.jpg
close up:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/icecubez189/PICT2505.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/icecubez189/PICT2506.jpg
close up:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/icecubez189/PICT2507.jpg
i decided to leave the other one in the bucket and plant it like that, as i have seen other people do the same in their aquarium, is that ok?
anyways, here are the pictures of those roots:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/icecubez189/PICT2504.jpg
close up:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/icecubez189/PICT2505.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/icecubez189/PICT2506.jpg
close up:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/icecubez189/PICT2507.jpg
i decided to leave the other one in the bucket and plant it like that, as i have seen other people do the same in their aquarium, is that ok?
Ms.Bubbles said:Boy, you're taking chances picking up any ol' plant without knowing it's lighting needs or how big it grows. Hope you have good lighting on your tank, in case these are medium or high light plants.
Don't bury the whole thing in your substrate. Take the plant out of the black mesh bucket, and carefully remove the wool from around the roots. Then, if they are plants that are root feeders, you can plant the roots.
WARNING: For all I know you picked up an anubia or java fern plant of some kind. These type of plants actually should NOT be buried in the substrate, only attached to driftwood or a rock. Burying the roots could actually kill the plant. That's another reason why it's good to know what type of plant you've got.
Maybe if you posted a pic someone can ID the plants for you?
Good luck
Just to clarity for Mr. Bubbles as his statement is a touch misleading.
Burying the roots is ok. It's the rhizome that needs to be above substrate level to recieve light.
twig said:
Twig, the poster asked if he should bury the whole plastic mesh bucket. I am saying no. Clear?
well, my tank is now setup with everything, hopefully i'll be able to get a more powerful lighting system.
i read that for planted tanks without a CO2 system, its best to get only 2WPG or less and treat plants with things like Flourish or TMG.
anyone have any suggestions on an 18inch flourescent thats 40watts?
i read that for planted tanks without a CO2 system, its best to get only 2WPG or less and treat plants with things like Flourish or TMG.
anyone have any suggestions on an 18inch flourescent thats 40watts?
#1 of the first pics was an anubias, and youve got some rot from it being in the wool. scrape the mush off then slice a small amount of the newly exposed healthy rhizome off to encourage new growth.
tie this plant to a large rock or driftwood otherwise it will die if planted in the gravel.
tie this plant to a large rock or driftwood otherwise it will die if planted in the gravel.