What Am I Doing Wrong

[petertr]

Wondering if someone can suggest a way to hold my plants in place.


Got some plants that are bunched with a lead strip


2 of them are the first 2 in this thread - http/www.fishforums.net/content/United-K...lants-For-Sale/
Plus there is another one that is reddish in colour, but I have no idea what it is called.

For some reason, the plants keep breaking free, and I find them floating on top of the tank.


The sustrate is quite fine gravel, about 3mm diameter stuff - you can see it in the link in my sig



Can someone suggest a way to keep them where I put them??

 

[BigC]

How deep is your gravel,
I usually have a gravel bed of around 60mm deep.
First 30mm is purely unwashed gravel with a plant substrate additive, top layer is 30mm of wellwashed gravel.
If you have bunch plants then strip the btm leaves to about 20mm and poke yer finger in the gravel whilst pushing the stems in. I dont use weights.
Regards
BigC

 

[n3ont3tra]

Are you sure the fish aren't uprooting them? My old pleco used to uproot them by accident.

 

[petertr]

Are you sure the fish aren't uprooting them? My old pleco used to uproot them by accident.

Very possible. They do always seem to be uprooted over night.

 

[petertr]

Well, I've given up.

Went as far as trying them up in larger bunches with an elastic band before putting the lead strip around them.

And they were still uprooted overnight!

 

[Million]

that sounds like catfish mischief to me, maybe try to plant them with rocks around the base until a sufficient root ball is estblished to keep them in place

 

[Athena]

Not sure if this will help - but I had the same problem with plants in one of my tanks until I piled little pebbles all around the base of the plant. I never worked out which of my fish was the culprit but it always happened overnight - the only fish in there were 2 German rams, a few guppies, pair of sailfin mollies, 2 ADFs, 4 Ottos and a few neons. My bet is on the male ram but I've never witnessed it happening, LOL.

Anyway, with the added weight of the pebbles around the base the plants tend to hold a lot better now.

In another tank I have two pink convicts and they are a nightmare with plants - have totally given up worrying about it now because they literally shift things around how they want it to look and no amount of pebbles will stop them as they just bulldoze things like that out of the way! I'm forever having to dredge the top of the tank to get rid of all the leaves and stems that they've torn off the plants in the process of dragging them about the tank!

Athena