Downoi help please

[Twood9615]

So i recently ordered several plants from peabody's paradise (I recommend this site to everybody) ad they gave me a free downoi with my order. The plant is in great shape but it doesn't have a very strong root structure and so every time I plant it one of my rams will just go and pull it up. Is it possible to let the plant float for maybe a week or two so it can grow more roots or will this not work? I would really love to have this plant in my aquarium so please let me know if this would work or if I just need to find a way to keep it in the substrate.

 

[wildroseofky]

You can let it float until it grows more roots. I got some a few months ago and they put out baby plants. I cut the new plants off but couldn't keep them planted. My fish kept pulling it up. I let it float until some longer roots grew and then planted it. My fish pulled one up again so I let it float longer until bigger roots grew. I read an article that said if you let it float it will form new plantlets quicker. I am trying that with one of my plants right now. I would add a piece of root tab under the plant when you put it in the substrate. This seemed to make mine grow quickly. The tank I did not put root tabs in did not due as well.

 

[Fresh2o]

You can also try using toothpicks to keep them in place. Worked for the most part with some very small Staurogyne repens I had. The fish weren't the problem; it was the Malaysian trumpets snails.

 

[Twood9615]

How would you use the toothpick to anchor it? and I also have 3 small S. repens but they haven't been bothered yet so I'm not sure why the downoi is having problems?

 

[wildroseofky]

Some fish and snails will eat Downii. I put a plant in my 29 gallon and the next morning it was gone. I suspect my Molly ate it because he has started eating my water sprite and cambosa. He will be moving to another tank soon.

 

[Twood9615]

Oh okay, it's mostly the GBR that nips at it but I haven't seen it actually bite anything off it will just nip and go away so I'm not too worried about it being damaged I just want It to stay in the substrate, and luckily the plant is forked so I just put the tooth pick between the fork of the plant and buried the toothpick and it seems to be working perfect how long should I wait to remove it from the plant?

 

[Fresh2o]

I found that placing the toothpick at an angle is helpful versus straight because since it is at an angle it tends to keep the plant down. Better yet, use two tooth picks at opposite angles (as if you were making the letter "X"). I don't have any experience with Downoi so I do not know how well it would work.
I would give it a few weeks to allow the roots to take hold. Honestly, I just left mine in there (lazy me). They were covered with dark algae and with the plant growth they "disappeared".

 

[Twood9615]

Alright haha ill do that for sure, thanks for the help!