Uprooted Plants

[catfish4ever]

I'm going to lose my mind in a minute, ive just added an american sword plant to my aquarium which seems to be settling well, however I have added some saggitarius subalata and my fish keep uprooting them, it seems an impossible task for the roots to settle, I have to replant them every hour or so, any help? I TTY to cover the roots in gravel but some have still been uprooted.

 

[fluttermoth]

Use some larger pebbles/stones around the roots to hold them down for a week or two, until they've rooted

 

[TwoTankAmin]

It will be a losing battle.
 
The way to have gone was plant 1st, let the plants establish, 2nd do any cycling that may be needed, 3rd add fish.
 
With enough plants you can avoid step 2 and just stock gradually.
 
The hardest plants to try and add after a tank has been stocked are the more delicate ground covers. But anything small and lacking long/large roots when planted is likely not staying planted long enough to establish in the presence of many fish we tend to keep.

 

[catfish4ever]

It will be a losing battle.
 
The way to have gone was plant 1st, let the plants establish, 2nd do any cycling that may be needed, 3rd add fish.
 
With enough plants you can avoid step 2 and just stock gradually.
 
The hardest plants to try and add after a tank has been stocked are the more delicate ground covers. But anything small and lacking long/large roots when planted is likely not staying planted long enough to establish in the presence of many fish we tend to keep.

Brilliant so unless I restart my tank it won't work hurrah what a waste of time and money

 

[elmo666]

In the past I've used small pieces of slate to create a narrow "gulley" in which to plant. This had the additional benefit of being able to create a greater depth of substrate in that area.

 

[Alasse]

What sort of fish do you have? And you can plant a tank after its established, it just requires a bit more thought if you have digging fish. 

Get yourself some pebbles/rocks (depending on the plant size and fish size that are doing the uprooting), put the plant back into the substrate and put the rocks around the base, you can even zip tig a pebble/rock gently to the plant base and bury it under the substrate with the roots....oh and make sure you have a decent substrate depth too, not deep enough and you will have even more trouble keeping the plants rooted.
 
If the plants dont have a brilliant root system, you can plant them in a different container (doesnt have to be an actual tank) and give them a chance to get a decent root system, then transfer.
 
It can be done, dont give up hope

 

[catfish4ever]

What sort of fish do you have? And you can plant a tank after its established, it just requires a bit more thought if you have digging fish. 
Get yourself some pebbles/rocks (depending on the plant size and fish size that are doing the uprooting), put the plant back into the substrate and put the rocks around the base, you can even zip tig a pebble/rock gently to the plant base and bury it under the substrate with the roots....oh and make sure you have a decent substrate depth too, not deep enough and you will have even more trouble keeping the plants rooted.
 
If the plants dont have a brilliant root system, you can plant them in a different container (doesnt have to be an actual tank) and give them a chance to get a decent root system, then transfer.
 

I'll try the rock method, thanks for the positive comments t though
It can be done, dont give up hope