Do Plants Have To Be Rooted In Substrate?

[adude]

it is a complete mystery to me why my plants never seem to do well. i recently bought an expensive t5 light and i've been adding 'flourish' fertilizer for a while now but still nearly every leaf in the tank has yellow or brown tips that is probably a sign of whats to come.

one thing came to mind though, hardly any of my plants actually have their roots buried in the gravel. most of them are just held down by ornaments and held loosely by ornaments and other plants. all the plants are amazon swords and wisteria.

 

[FreedomFighter]

Honestly, I don't know.

But, my plants do seem to do better when planted in my substrate.

 

[benjoey]

It depends on the plants, what plants are you trying to keep? THe easiest plants to keep are java fern and anubias in my experience, my amazon swords just about survive with little growth in 6 months so maybe you could try them aswell

 

[anon02]

Some plants are grown only partly immersed (emersed) and they shed their leaves in favour of an immersed form. Some plants like hygrophila can be grown just as well not planted or even floating, but your sword may grow better if you plant into your substrate then give a gentle pull so that the crown (where the leaves sprout from) is level or just above the substrate

I`ve stuck some airline suckers on to rocks and I just push 4 or 5 stems into the rings and they are doing fine with just fish waste and half a dose of Flourish at each water change