Potting Plants?

[onidrase]

I was going to have all the plants set on driftwood and rock, but that seems to take up a lot of space, and I want the tank pretty heavily planted. so new approach, using pots to keep the firemouth from digging them up.

First off, this is my stock list:

1 firemouth
10 tiger barbs
5 upside down catfish
37 gal tank, 78 degrees, 75 gallon filtration, LED lighting (not sure what sort of light they put out, so I'm aiming for plants that can take on a wide variety of light variations)

currently, I only have 1 live plant mounted on driftwood that was sold as an assorted plant. I have no idea what it is, but it looks kinda like java fern. so I took a "eh, why not" gander, here's a picture if anyone of you can confirm or deny my assumption:

Also, that little leaf with the darker coloration at the tip, the one on the bottom, should I cut it off or leave it?

Anyways, Does anyone know how to pot and what to pot aquarium plants in? I've read on websites that people pot them to keep digging fish from uprooting them, but I really have no idea what they're talking about. I'm mostly aiming for anubia species, and java fern for the background. But both of them for one reason or another are somewhat hard to come by here. alternative plant suggestions that can be used in my tank are appreciated

Any help appreciated, thanks much.

 

[dasmall1]

You could always just put some of your substrate into a pot.. or a gravel or nutrient-rich substrate. Otherwise, rock wool is typically used for less long-term purposes.

That's definitely java fern. Microsorum pteroptus. You could just remove the entire leaf from the rhizome.

 

[onidrase]

You could always just put some of your substrate into a pot.. or a gravel or nutrient-rich substrate. Otherwise, rock wool is typically used for less long-term purposes.

That's definitely java fern. Microsorum pteroptus. You could just remove the entire leaf from the rhizome.

What kind of pot do I plant it in? Just any regular old red clay pot from the hardware store?

 

[onidrase]

I also read somewhere that anubias actually don't do so well when planted into the substrate rather than anchored to a rock or driftwood. Is that true?

 

[SO19Firearms]

I also read somewhere that anubias actually don't do so well when planted into the substrate rather than anchored to a rock or driftwood. Is that true?

Same as JF - Leave the Rhizome (woody bit) exposed.