Plants in Plastic tubes at PetsMart?

[dapellegrini]

My local Petsmart has completely removed their Aquatic plant setup and now has a shelf full of "Aquatic Plants" in plastic tubes with some kind of clear gel beads that keep the container moist... Has anyone else seen this? Still look like a majority non-aquatic plants, but I am intrigued by the idea and wonder if anyone has had any luck with plants like this.

It's like they have put the plants in a state of suspended animation... I have a hard time believing that these plants would work out... but they are much more expensive than the ones they used to sell...

 

[mr funktastic]

they will grow fine in your aquarium as long as u get ones that are aquatic. yes there are still lots that are not for the aquarium but a few people on this site have bought them and planted them with success. i have neevr seen them near me but i want to get one just to see what they are like.

 

[crazyred]

They are WAY too expensive!!! Go to a good plant website and order a package. PetSmart plants cost too much!

 

[dapellegrini]

They are labeled "TopFin Live Plants" with a no-snails guarentee... I cannot find them anywhere with Google, but I have also spotted them at the local Petco... Could this be the future of LFS aquarium plants? They are running $7-$15 a plant here.

 

[schulze]

Ive seen them at all the petco's and petsmarts that I visit. They want about $4.99 per plant and everything is labeled as background plants... which doesnt work out for me cuz i want forground .

 

[DarylF2]

I've purchased a number of these from my local PetCo. They're prices were better than you are mentioning (about $3 for small plants up to about $10 for pretty large plants). They are in plastic tubes "planted" in a "substrate" made of clear gel granules.

Assuming the plants looked healthy (some were clearly in BAD shape, as they had sat on the shelf too long), they did well for me. Be certain that the plants you get are true aquatic plants, though, as that company sells a number of plants that are NOT true aquatic species that will do poorly or die when planted underwater...

 

[maxwell1295]

Petco plants aren't too bad for plants depending on what you're looking for. They do have some non-aquatics mixed in with the good plants. I haven't seen any forground plants there. The stores I've been to have Wisteria, Amazon Swords, and Brazilian Swords.

 

[newfound77951]

I think the "brazilian swords" are really peace lilies (Spathyphyllum), a non-aquatic that can survive for quite a while in your tank.

 

[malkore]

more than half of those plants are not 100% true aquatics. I mean, how can an AQUATIC plant survive for weeks outside of water in a blister pack with moist 'gel' around the roots?

the answer..not very long...but terrerium plants do ok like this.

 

[dapellegrini]

I agree with malkore... non-aquatic issue aside, if plastic tubes is the future of live plants at the LFS, I think I am going to be doing a lot more business online.

 

[Thebluyak]

or inter member business, check the for sale/ trades often, I give out plants every so often and when I do its normally alot of plants at a time, I know a bunch of other members give out for cost of shipping or a few bucks extra

 

[Mosaic]

Just saw this thread linked from another.

I bought some to try. I spent $15 for two tubes. The last time I spent that much for plants, I was able to plant my 10g and 2.5. :\ I went with the two most aquatic looking-ones. The Spathyphyllum was in decent shape, and a week later, it's still alive. The Selaginella has already melted.

I contacted customer service. I'm done with Petsmart for fish stuff now. I stopped buying animals there a long time ago, but mine generally had some nice plants. Now I have no reason to go back.

 

[dapellegrini]

As newfound77951 mentioned, Spathyphyllum is not a true-aquatic plant: http://www.plantgeek.net/plant-235.htm

Probably want to take that back too.