Getting plants to stay down!

[Smitty]

Howdy,

Thanks to fort384 I now have some nice new grass-like plants (Blyxa Japonica) but I'm having a LOT of problems getting the things to stay rooted to the bottom of the tank. I think my Cory Cats are digging them up. I have to re-plant them every day, sometimes once in the morning when I get up and again when I get home from work.

I need help figuring out how to get them to stay down and I have no idea. Any help?

 

[Purrbox]

Your best bet would be if you can relocate the cories to another aquarium until the plants get established.

 

[neilanh]

Plant them deep enough to hold. once the roots take hold they'll be fine.

I've never seen my cories dig up anything, though. Any other inhabitants that could be doing it?

 

[Smitty]

Well, in planting I put them down where the green of the plant are even under the gravel.

I don't know what others would dig them up. I also have various barbs, various rainbow fish and a single pleco but he never goes near any of the plants.

How about tying them to larger river rocks or something? What would you use to tie with that can be easily cut off later without digging them back up?

EDIT: I have no were else to put the cories (4 of them) other than to return them to the pet shop and I really don't want to do that if I can avoid it.

 

[neilanh]

you can tie them using thread or fishing line

 

[FastFly67]

I read here (or maybe somehwere else) to lash them onto toothpicks (i broke them in half) and tied with cotton string and anchor them that way.

 

[JustOneMore20]

It helps to have some over sized tweezers so you can push the plants in the substrate as far as they'll go without being covered. I have issues with little Blyxa plants, but I just push them into the substrate and they eventually stay there.

I have these tweezer things and I wouldn't have a planted tank without them now: Reef Aquarium & Planted Aquarium Care: Aquatic Forceps . I have the curved ones and they are a life saver when it comes to some plants.

 

[fort384]

Once they get established, you will be good to go. The root system they send out is extensive. It is like removing a tooth to uproot them after they are in 1 spot for a couple of weeks.