Plants

[ncjharris]

Ok, may seem a silly question...

when adding new plants to an aquarium, do you need to take them out of the plastic pot that the come in?

I only ask as the ones we have bought have their roots wrapped in a cottonwool type stuff and then are in a plastic pot, with holes in.

Do they need to be taken out of these and planted in the substrate, or will they survive/grow in them. Substrate is fine/medium gravel between 2 - 4 inches thick.

 

[Lateral Line]

I always take them out of the pots. Cut the pot if necessary to avoid damaging good roots. Tease the mineral wool away carefully. Once you have done so, you will often find there is more then one plant there, these can be spread about. Trim off any obviously rotten material and plant into your substrate. With rosette type plants, make sure not to bury the crown.

There are times when it is better to leave them in the pots, typically if you have fish which burrow around or generally move the substrate about alot - they will constantly uproot bare plants.