Stem Plants Always Uprooted

[KimAnnKitz]

This might seem like a total no brainer, but I'm wondering if I can get any advice on this subject. My planted stem plants are getting uprooted replanted so much in one of my tanks that the stems are getting mushy before they can root. As a result the plants get pinched back to the good part and replanted. Sometimes I find them floating again in minutes or hours. I as assuming my mystery snails are doing this as they slide over them. I have put led weights on a few of the stems, which solves the problem with them floating but I don't know the long term disadvantages of the weights. I also tried the rubbery plant anchors that you cut an X in and insert stems. These seemed to cause the ends of the stems to turn to mush faster so I took them off...BUT they are working in two of my 2 gallon tanks. The plants that keep getting uprooted are Bacopa, Staurogyne Repens, moneywort, pennnywort and Ludwigia. I have a plant substrate with a thin layer of sand as the planting bed in the most disturbed tank and Tahitian Moon sand in another tank that also ends up with some "floaters". Any help or advice to keep these plants PLANTED so they can root? If I keep shortening the stems I am no going to have any plants left! It's making me crazy!

 

[Brookster123]

First off get the lead weights outta there right away, bad news for fish.. Push the plants as deep as you can into the substrate and get some river rock or black stones and create a perimeter around the stem, it will act as a anchor and defense..

 

[Sk3lly]

I dont know if this is good or bad advice but its what i do with my stem plants. I leave all the leaves on the stem. I then cut the lower leaves in half. I push the stem into the substrate as well as the lower 'half' leaves. It seems to anchor the stem nicely in my sand

 

[KimAnnKitz]

First off get the lead weights outta there right away, bad news for fish.. Push the plants as deep as you can into the substrate and get some river rock or black stones and create a perimeter around the stem, it will act as a anchor and defense..

Thanks...I kinda thought they might be bad news. I was just really desperate to keep the stems down. I will have to use "pebble" size river stones because i don't have the room to put 1 or 2 inch rocks around the stems. I did kind of try out this method but my rocks were too big and the snail pushed them around and the plants were floating again! they are like bulldozers in my tank!

 

[KimAnnKitz]

I dont know if this is good or bad advice but its what i do with my stem plants. I leave all the leaves on the stem. I then cut the lower leaves in half. I push the stem into the substrate as well as the lower 'half' leaves. It seems to anchor the stem nicely in my sand

Good idea! I will try this with my stems that have leaves low enough. I really hate to shorten some of them to the lowest leaves. I've already lost half of some of them stems that were at least 4 inches to begin with.

 

[molly100a]

Yes!!! get the weights off and push the stems in.