plants sold in tubes-

[brennae]

Has anyone purchased these plants? They come in tubes with a gel substance around the roots. Petsmart and Petco both have them now. Some of the plants marked aquatic don't look aquatic to me. I am afraid that if I buy one of these plants and put it in water it will have problems from the plants not being in water for so long? They sell anubias, swords, hairgrass etc.

 

[heyheyitsrae]

I've noticed some say semi-aquatic, maybe the ones that dont look fully aquatic are labeled thus and you didn't read it? To answer your question, I haven't bought them myself (yet) but I read on another forum that submerging them in water too fast may drown them.

 

[jkdubs2]

IME you have to look them up online to find out if they are fully aquatic or not. I have bought ones that say aquatic and look them up later and they were only semi aquatic. Whenever I buy from large chain stores I always look up plant no matter if they are submerged in the water or in the tubes.

 

[Atxpunx]

^+1. Take your phone. Look 'em up. I've seen them in tubes, mostly stick with the anubias and java ferns.

 

[greenwater]

I have bought 12 or more in the last few months and all are alive and doing very well. Yes, they do sell plants that don't belong in a tank but they are marked on top of the container. Make sure the jelly in the bottom is damp. I have seen them drying out and dying in the store.
TOPFIN is the company.

 

[JRMagno]

After buying plants in tubes and in tanks from petco and THEN doing research I have found that the majority of the plants they sell are river bank plants. These plants general grow with just the roots and some stalk submerged and can live fully submerged, but ONLY for a few months. Be careful when buying from them and research them just like you would a fish

 

[brennae]

I was really interested in buying the Anubias in the tube but I worried it would melt when I submerged it. $4+ is alot of money to waste.

 

[Atxpunx]

I've never had a die off with an anubias. I melted an anubias away with heat and only had a rhizome left, I put it in a better tank situation and now it's growing brand new leaves.

 

[brennae]

I've never had a die off with an anubias. I melted an anubias away with heat and only had a rhizome left, I put it in a better tank situation and now it's growing brand new leaves.

ok good. I don't always see anubias in the tank of plants and I really would like to add some to my tank. My other option was ordering them but with the heat I don't think that is the best idea.

Thanks guys!

 

[Elpez]

I bought a crested java fern in a tube 2 months ago and it's doing great. I did not noticed much growth yet but it did get greener and brighter.

 

[Zevyn]

I buy these all the time because they're usually in better shape than any plant in a tank in every LFS or Petco I've been to (but that's just my area so I'm not being general here). Petsmart labels their semi-aquatic tubes, but Petco doesn't. In fact, Petco keeps semi-aquatic plants in their planted tanks and will tell you they can be submerged, heh.

I have several Amazon swords, Argentine swords, Anubias and Java Ferns that have been doing well for several months. Never had a problem with them, but they're low-maintenance easy to care for plants to begin with.

 

[brennae]

I buy these all the time because they're usually in better shape than any plant in a tank in every LFS or Petco I've been to (but that's just my area so I'm not being general here). Petsmart labels their semi-aquatic tubes, but Petco doesn't. In fact, Petco keeps semi-aquatic plants in their planted tanks and will tell you they can be submerged, heh.


Thanks for the tip on Petco- I shop at Petco, Petsmart and an overpriced LFS. I really want to start a Walstad tank and obviously I need a lot of plants. I didn't want to go buying $40 worth of plants in tubes only to have them die on me. So I will just stick to the plants I know- swords, java ferns, anubias etc. I saw some other really cool ferns but maybe they were the semi-aquatic kind?

 

[Zevyn]

Yes, the 'aquatic ferns' (Trichomanes javanicum I believe) they sell in the tubes aren't aquatic. Another popular mislabeled plant that looks like it would be neato in the tank is the Coconut plant, or the tankful of Lucky Bamboo stalks Petco sells from their planted tanks. I keep 10 stalks of Lucky Bamboo in my 37 tall, but I submerge only the roots (and it's dirt cheap if purchased online; I'd never buy it from Petco). Not the best export for nitrates and such since it's slow growing, but it looks great above the tank.

 

[Bbarb27]

Our LFS has a very poor selection of plants in infected tanks, so I've purchased quite a few plants-in-a-tube from Petco. Anubias, java fern, swords and wisteria. All have flourished in my tanks. Just make sure that you only buy aquatic plants, as the plants at my local petco aren't marked when they are semi-aquatic.

Our Petco gets shipments of plants in about every 2 weeks. I check back periodically and try to buy the plants on or close to the day they arrive, as often the plants that sit on the shelf for weeks look dead in the tubes.

 

[Pleky plec]

The ones that say semi- aquatic are for ponds. I've made the mistake of buying a semi-aquatic plant, which was peacock fern. The ones with the blue labeling are able to be submerged. The ones with the green labeling are for ponds and are only to be halfway in the water.