How do I swap a plant out safely?

[susangc]

My little 3-gallon tank appears to have finished cycling:

• Ammonia: 0
• Nitrite: .5
• Nitrate: 20

My Java ferns are looking kind of spotty, so I'm going to add some Flourish and cross my fingers

I'm mostly worried about the Sword, which is turning yellow. I'm hoping the Flourish will help there as well, but if it doesn't...

How do I get that sucker out of there without triggering a toxic spike? I'm using small gravel as substrate.

Susan

 

[ChrisP]

Nitrite should be at 0 when you have finished cycling.
If you want to remove a plant what I do is just gently give it a tug be gentle with the roots as there probably deep, if you have problems just push some of the substrate away frm the root and dig it out, it may get a little dusty if you have gravel but it causes no harm and will settle down pretty quickly.

Toxic Spike?

 

[Lateral Line]

Pulling the plant out should not spike your tank. Adding fertiliser is unlikely to help. If your plants aren't doing well, it is castly more probable they are not getting enough light.

 

[susangc]

I was being generous with the nitrite because even a 0 reading causes a color change on my test strips.

Thanks for the response -- I've had spikes in previous housekeeping situations, but it sounds like I'll be okay if I don't mess with the gravel too much. Since I can't add more light, it probably means Java moss for me.

Susan