Plant questions...

FishForums.net Pet of the Month
🐶 POTM Poll is Open! 🦎 Click here to Vote! 🐰

Rocky998

Kinda crazy, but somehow they let me stay
Tank of the Month 🏆
Joined
Jun 25, 2021
Messages
13,761
Reaction score
11,779
Location
NC, U.S.A
So I have multiple questions to do with aquarium plants...

1- Which is a better way to attach non-substrate plants to rocks or driftwood, glue or fishing line?

2- If glue is the better option which "glue" should I use?

3- How should I get the plants... potted, as a mat, or bare root?

I'm sure I'll come up with more questions as there are answers that will come in lol... But thanks in advance for any answers you all have.
 
So I have multiple questions to do with aquarium plants...

1- Which is a better way to attach non-substrate plants to rocks or driftwood, glue or fishing line?

Personal choice! :D Neither is better, just whichever you prefer!

I use glue since I can never tie fishing line properly and I get all stressed and annoyed, lol.
2- If glue is the better option which "glue" should I use?

Superglue. It's aquarium safe (at least the branded stuff is) and it cures instantly when put in water. Just be careful since you will glue your own fingers together/glue yourself to wood/glue yourself to plants, and also careful not to spill the glue over the sides of the decor, since it'll look white once it's cured. I find it easiest to dab a spot onto a metal plate, then use a toothpick to transfer it exactly where I want the glue.
3- How should I get the plants... potted, as a mat, or bare root?

Any way you like! Just means different approaches to planting them.
I'm sure I'll come up with more questions as there are answers that will come in lol... But thanks in advance for any answers you all have.

:D
 
Question 3 first...this will depend upon how they come in the store/online supplier you use. Some nurseries like Tropica use little pots with rock wood, others may use something similar, or different. Depending upon the plant species, you will plant it as a single plant, or separate them if more than one plant, or with stem plants singly or in bunches. The potted plants are nice because you can place them in the substrate to see where you want them before un-potting them and actually planting them.

Question 1, I personally willnever use glue, but others do with no issues (so they say). I like to attach Anubias and Jave Fern to chunks of wood, and I try to find a crevice to carefully poke part of the rhizome in, thus avoiding any fasteners. Question 2 I must leave for those who do this.
 
Question 1, I personally willnever use glue, but others do with no issues (so they say). I like to attach Anubias and Jave Fern to chunks of wood, and I try to find a crevice to carefully poke part of the rhizome in, thus avoiding any fasteners. Question 2 I must leave for those who do this.

Fair enough! But what about mosses? That's the only time I've used superglue, since the moss (grown in-vitro) was just a load of separate strands otherwise! So I've used superglue to attach moss to a coconut hut, and glued to bits of sponge I'd stuck to the end of some "branches" on a piece of wood to try to make a tree :)

I don't think I could have tied it down with fishing line without it all floating off. Maybe there's another method?
 
Fair enough! But what about mosses? That's the only time I've used superglue, since the moss (grown in-vitro) was just a load of separate strands otherwise! So I've used superglue to attach moss to a coconut hut, and glued to bits of sponge I'd stuck to the end of some "branches" on a piece of wood to try to make a tree :)

I don't think I could have tied it down with fishing line without it all floating off. Maybe there's another method?

My Java Moss just "appeared" on wood, and it has spread all over the place. In my 29g, it was on one chunk of wood, and now, after 2 years, there is moss on every other chunk. I just let it do its thing. Photo below shows this tank. There may be nothing wrong with glue, I just will not add such things to a fish tank out of principle. The fact that I never lose fish to disease (except the two times new fish brought in an internal protozoan, I now QT) may have something to do with my practice that nothing but water, wood, dried leaves, rock, sand, plants, conditioner and minimal plant fertilizer goes into the fish tanks.
 

Attachments

  • 29g Sep 8-2021 (2).jpg
    29g Sep 8-2021 (2).jpg
    378.7 KB · Views: 30
Superglue. It's aquarium safe (at least the branded stuff is) and it cures instantly when put in water.
Which brand (or brands) do you use? I live in the U.S. and I dont know if you live in the U.K... Lots of times the U.K. has different brands than the U.S....
 
Which brand (or brands) do you use? I live in the U.S. and I dont know if you live in the U.K... Lots of times the U.K. has different brands than the U.S....
Gorilla glue is good, look for one that's cyanoacrylate...
 
I use thread, tied off with a double knot. This is much easier if you get someone to put their finger on the first knot while you tie the second. (I have been known to do it sitting on the floor and using a toe to hold the first knot :blush: )
 
So I have multiple questions to do with aquarium plants...

1- Which is a better way to attach non-substrate plants to rocks or driftwood, glue or fishing line?

2- If glue is the better option which "glue" should I use?

3- How should I get the plants... potted, as a mat, or bare root?

I'm sure I'll come up with more questions as there are answers that will come in lol... But thanks in advance for any answers you all have
I bought a hundred little plastic pots designed to hold fertilizer for potted plants. They have webbed sides. I cut off lid and part of the bottom anchoring spike on some. Shoved plants in & added gravel to prevent floating or simply shoved them into deeper substrate, Similar to aquatic plant holders at a fraction of the cost
 
I use thread, tied off with a double knot. This is much easier if you get someone to put their finger on the first knot while you tie the second. (I have been known to do it sitting on the floor and using a toe to hold the first knot :blush: )
I tie my own fishing line while fishing that requires twists and a double knot, so I think it should be just second nature although sometimes the line has its own mind 😂. Thanks.
 
I use thread, tied off with a double knot. This is much easier if you get someone to put their finger on the first knot while you tie the second. (I have been known to do it sitting on the floor and using a toe to hold the first knot :blush: )
I tie my own fishing line while fishing that requires twists and a double knot, so I think it should be just second nature although sometimes the line has its own mind 😂.
Gorilla glue is good, look for one that's cyanoacrylate...
Oh ok. I actually think we have some lying around somewhere. Thank you.
 
I do have a question for the gorilla glue... I heard it cures "instantly" when put in water, is this true? Also is gorilla glue safe for the fish or plants? It seems kinda dangerous but maybe in thinking too much?
 
Gorilla glue make several products, you need their super glue range. It comes in liquid and gel.
 
You can also use aquarium sealant/glue.

Plants that come in pots do so, because that's how they've been processed back at the plant nursery and it makes them easier to transport.
Occasionally, if the substrates deep enough and I don't want to separate the plants in the pot, I simply plant the whole pot.
Usually, I'll remove the pot and peel away as much of the packing as I can and then plant that. I'm also in the habit of breaking up the plants I get, to spread them around the tank.
That fibre that they come in makes a useful protective cushion when you want to add weights around a plant.
 

Most reactions

trending

Staff online

Back
Top