planting instructions?

[shawmutt]

My tank is doing very well, I'm getting shrimp this weekend, and almost all the plants are doing very well. The only problem is the moneywort. How am I supposed to plant it? I just took the bunch, removed the weight, and stuck it in the substrate, but it doesn't seem to be doing well. Should I separate the stems?

Also, most of my plants are sprouting roots all over the plant. What does this mean?

I found a cool tool at the lfs tonight, I'm going to try it out and see how it works:

http://www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=106&PROD_ID=01010120020101

anybody have this?

 

[treedae]

yeah, you have to separate and plant each stem. Pain in the butt and you'll get lots of "floaters" until they develop roots, but you'll really like how it looks after you're done.

nice tool. i've been trying to find a nice clipper on arms and wasn't able to find one at my lfs.

 

[medge00]

money wort is mostly a floater, I've found.... but I love it!!! esp. when its partially planted, partially floating.

you'd be surprised how good a pair of tweezers and surgically scissors can be for planted tanks!!

 

[TankGirl]

I have used that same kit, and found the scissors to be somewhat awkward - I mainly use the forceps, and they are great for planting stems.

 

[Robert H]

Moneywort, (Bacopa) is definetly not a floating plant! With good light and C02 the stems form roots in the substrate and grow fairly quickly. From your signature it sounds like you have 3/watts per gallon, which should be plenty, and you have DIY C02 which might be the problem. You may not be getting enough C02 into the water, but give it a couple weeks. It should take root within 2 or three weeks.

If mine sit in my tank unsold for more than two weeks, they become very well rooted still bunched together. Separating the stems is a good idea, but I never found it to make any difference. I just yanked up a bunch that had six inch long thick roots and the stems were 22" long! It broke the water surface and was about 5" above the water and flowering!

Also, most of my plants are sprouting roots all over the plant. What does this mean?

It is common for many stem plants to do this, but in some cases it means the light is not reaching to the bottom of the plants. The stems will then form roots closer to the light and may rot at the bottom. This can happen if the tank is over planted or if there are floating plants blocking light. It seems you should have plenty of light and if the Moneywort is not being overshadowed it should take root in the substrate.

Robert Hudson
www.aquabotanic.com