Plantslayer stalks again!

[Jchillin]

Great job! TG is right about moving the rhizomed plants onto the wood. Tying with thread works very well.

The anubias is epiphytic

Really? I never knew that

 

[TomK2]

At the LFS, the anubias where planted in the gravel. They told me they were growing there like that for quite a while. If I don't have something to tie them to, how do I get the roots out of the gravel? just bury a part of the stalk, and leave the roots out on one end, and the stem out on the other?

 

[TankGirl]

You can definitely grow anubias in gravel, and sometimes it does better there, just tuck the actual roots into the gravel and leave the rhizome (woody, thick stem part where the leaf stems come from) out of the gravel so water can circulate around it. Java fern is the same way.

After it has been like that for a while if you decide to move it it will carry about a softball sized wad of gravel with it, attached to the roots, so keep that in mind.

 

[TomK2]

Thanks.

I just pulled them out a bit so that they are just barely being held by the roots, wit everything else out of the gravel. I don't want to un-pot the crypt just yet, since the flourite kicks up a lot of muck when disturbed. Can I leave it like it is for a while, or am I better of getting it out of the pot sooner?

I seeded the filter yesterday, and put 3 full size zebra danios (from my main tank- the very same "cycle" zebras on cycle duty again) . The plan is to let it run for 4 to six weeks, then put the zebras back into the main tank and go with a school of neon tetras, and some shrimp.

 

[TankGirl]

It is up to you, of course, but I'd go ahead and get the crypts out of the floss, suffer the fluorite cloudup, and then you'll be done with it.

Sometimes crypts will "melt" (literally) when they get moved and put in different water, so since they have just recently been put into your tank I'd go ahead and get all of the disturbing out of the way, so to speak.

That said, I have dumped thinned out masses of crypts into a barrel and left them on the deck for a month because I did not have the heart to throw them out, and replanted them in another tank with drastically different water params and suffered no melting issues. Maybe some more expert opinions can be offered about what makes crypts melt.

 

[TomK2]

Ok, I got off my butt and took it out of the pot. Couldn't get all the floss out, boy were the roots intertwined in that stuff. And I had to use a scissors to cut away the plastic pot since the roots were really tangled in that too. I does look much better now, and there were so many roots that I bet it will do better now. The muck wasnt that bad either, so I am glad you motivated me.

 

[An t-iasg]

My anubiases (is that a word?!) are all in gravel - regular gravel, not a special plant substrate. I have two petite nanas and a coffeefolia. I have a plant weight on them. I put the weight around the roots and not the rhizome. I try to tuck the weight into the gravel a bit so you can't see it as much, but it's still a little visible. The rhizome is right above the gravel, and some of the roots are as well. Some of the roots are very "curly" and some are growing straight up from the rhizome! I don't try to bend the roots too much. If some are sticking out of the gravel, that's ok. One of the petite nanas has two new leaves! I've only had it for two months.

I also cut the crypt pot away with scissors or a utility knife. I rinse under the faucet to get all the wool off. The roots can be very intertwined, and a lot of times I've separated the roots and found two, or three separate plants!

I have never had flourite so I wasn't sure if you also needed a root tab in the flourite. Thanks for clearing that up, Liz! A root tab would be very good for the crypt, Tom, and may help prevent melt. A good root system is beneficial too.

I know crypt melt can be puzzling. A few times, I've had a very long crypt root and I trimmed it a little. The crypt didn't melt. I've also moved crypts around two or three times and they were ok. Then one time, I turned the tank light off, but forgot about the room light. It was on until about 3-4 am. The next day all the crypts were melted. Only one came back.

How much floss is left around the crypt? If it's a lot, it may rot and cause some problems to the roots. Try to rinse it under the faucet and get as much out as you can. It's an additional disturbance to the crypt, but if the crypt has a lot of roots, the melting aspect should be diminished.

 

[TomK2]

I pulled a bunch of floss from around the root ball. But on the interior of the root ball things were a dense tangled mess, and I felt I was tearing up the plant trying to pick at it. I was surprised at the lenght of the roots when I removed the plastic pot and floss.

How long does it take to see crypt melt? BTW, If I am fortunate enough to keep these alive, how do you trim them? I figure you clip the anacharis anywhere you like, but a crypt?

 

[An t-iasg]

I was surprised at the lenght of the roots when I removed the plastic pot and floss.

How long does it take to see crypt melt?

Yes, it's amazing what you can pull out of those pots! I'm always happy when, after standing at the sink for a good 15 minutes, trying to get the crypt out of there, I'm rewarded with more than one crypt!

IME, crypt melt happens quickly - sometimes the same day. I just planted some crypts at about 5 pm today and one of them is rather droopy right now. It was only about an inch long to begin with (it didn't come in one of those pots). Maybe tomorrow you'll see some melt with your crypts, if it's going to happen. I just clip the melted leaf away. Usually (usually!) the whole entire crypt doesn't melt. Hopefully yours won't; that's where having a good root system comes into play. If a good root system is present and there's only one leaf left, it will grow back. Only one of mine did grow back after having all the leaves melt.

I clip mine right at the base of the leaf stem -- if a leaf melts, I clip the whole leaf and its stem away. Try not to disturb the roots or that "tuber" as you clip and you'll be fine. I give the stem a good squeeze with my thumbnail and fingernail. If that doesn't make a clean cut, I get out my long plant scissors. For my tiny crypts, my fingernails are ok. I wouldn't even try to cut a stem from my 12-inch high red wendtii with my fingernails!

 

[TankGirl]

You've got it right, Deb - crypts are pretty easy to keep cut back, and I use my fingernails often to split plants myself. Cut the decayed leaves off right down to the rhizome, depending on whether it is on a runner or not.

Tom, once the plant takes off you'll find new crypt plants coming up all over the place, and it will self-propagate in the substrate with runners. Even if it melts, if the roots are in good shape a new plant will arise, like a phoenix, lol.

And another word on anubias sp. - they do have stiff curly roots and I generally do not worry about them if I am planting in gravel, as they can be in the water column or in the gravel and do just fine either way, tucked underneath or left out. I have an anubias that floundered when tied to a rock, and only started to grow leaves when planted in some sand, but once it was established I took it out of the sand and tied it back to the rock and there it resides now, putting out about one leaf per week.