BASIC Planting/Cuttings Advice, please?

[mgkaelen]

hi friends, i'm looking into buying some liveplants soon for my 10g (to-be)planted tank. however, HOW do i plant my plants?
i just put the roots into the fluorite and hope for the best? will this be enough? how will i know if i did it correctly and they're going to grow?

also, when i do cuttings when my plants grow, do i use scissors? snip with my hands? how do i re-plant those plants? they won't have roots, so do i just dig them into the fluorite and hope for the best? i know this is a BASIC question, but i don't want to do it incorrectly and completely waste an entire batch of plants because i did it wrong!

also, if madasafish is reading this, i'm tryign to respond to your PM but i've had/am still having MAJOR problems on the AA site since the server has switched... i have been trying to make this post alone for 2-3 days !

thanks guys! any basic advice would be appreciated! also, please look for my other post about my lighting requirements... don't want to cram too much different information into the same post. thanks!

 

[madasafish]

Harhar. I am reading this post, but we've spoken since last night.

When you receive your plants, simply remove and pots and the cotton around the roots (if there are any). Push a hole into the substrate with your finger and gently lower the plant into the hole. Cover the stem (and roots if there are any) with fluorite. Pack the fluorite down around the plant so it doesn't start to float up.

You cannot take cuttings of all plants... You can with most "bunch" plants such as hygros, pennyworts, moneyworts, baby tears, anacharis. You can't just snip a stemmy leaf off an anubias and plant that, though... you need jointed, rooted material to replant these. Same with Java Ferns. The good news is that such plants often create runner or bunch-like stems when they grow well. ou can separate these and replant the individual parts. E.G. Java Fern has a long bar at the bottom that you could cut. I don't know if it's officially called a rhizome... Mini chain link swords, and other grass-like foreground plants will propegate by rhizome (runner) and you can separate the babies after they have gorwn to have of the size of the parent plant.

 

[TankGirl]

Some plants like to be "planted" and some do not. You can get away with it for anubias if you don't get the rhizome all the way under the gravel. java fern does not get planted at all, but secure their roots (crampons) to rocks, wood, or any other surface. You can tie them to something while you wait for them to attach themselves. If you have bulb plants you wait until the leaves start to appear then you plant the bulb most of the way in, but not all the way.

There are a lot of plants that will get too big for a 10-gal (speaking from experience, here!) so choose carefully. Dwarf illies are great if you have decent light, but avoid Amazon swords. Ozelot sword is another colorful small sword that would work if you have good lighting. Valisneria will probably be too long for a 10-gal, etc., etc. Plantgeek has a very nice plant profile section to study up on which plants to get. Pruning depends upon the plant, like Madasafish mentioned.

What kind of fish do you plan to put in there?

 

[mgkaelen]

hey tankgirl, JUST noticed your reply! i have trouble getting all responses to the entire thread sometimes =[

like madasafish, i'm making it into a dwarf puffer tank (along with some otos or some other compatible algae eater) !!! the boyfriend has become obsessed with them and wants an aquarium of his own after he got my 30gal for me for my b-day =]

 

[Guest]

Ozelot sword is another colorful small sword that would work if you have good lighting.

Umm, my ozelot sword is HUGE! it takes up an entire corner of my 90 gallon tank, and would overwhelm even more if I wasn't ruthless with the scissors, cutting off 3-4 big leaves every 2 weeks. The new leaves do have very nice red/brown color, but they all turn dark green as they age.

Now I'm not sure, but I think different retailers call vastly different varieties by the same name. Maybe there is a small ozelot sword somewhere, but not in my tank. Mine was purchased from Maryland Aquatic Nurseries.

 

[MantisX]

Heres a great link to a great site that shows how most plants should be planted. http://paul.aaquaria.com/Enter.html

 

[TankGirl]

My ozelot is almost dainty, I would say! It was sold to me by AZGardens as a "low light" (not!) small sword suitable for a 10-gal. Suitable for a 10 gal it is, but it did not thrive until I put it in the big tank with 2.9wpg. I quite frankly thought they were all small, so that was a foolish assumption, obviously!

 

[Guest]

I quite frankly thought they were all small, so that was a foolish assumption, obviously!

Not really foolish, I just think it's the industry's fault. Especially with swords and crypts, they are not uniform in their naming practices, which leads us consumers astray. Frankly, I've been considering getting rid of my ozelot due to its humongous size, but its hard for me to do when it is so healthy.

 

[TankGirl]

It is one of my favorites, and perhaps there are dwarf varieties (I did not get my plant book for Xmas so someday I will look this up!) or it could be that I am not providing it something it needs. As it is up on a terraced portion of the 55, I am content to enjoy it in its petite form

 

[vega]

You can try Java Moss (vesicularia dubyana) or riccia fluitans. they should be great for 10 g.

 

[TankGirl]

Riccia fluitans has to be tied to things, as it is naturally a floating plant, but looks very cool when you tie it down.

 

[mgkaelen]

thanks for the responses guys. i bought 20 various plants that i thought would fit in my 10g (size and lighting-wise) for $20(great deaL!) -- i'll tell you how it works out!