How to transfer plants from the pot to the tank?

[Ssur]

Hi,

Sorry to ask this, but does anyone know or can show me any threads, on plants transplanting. E.G. buying plants from a LFS and transplanting them to my own tank at home, any procedures, curation to be done?

Sorry if this has been brought up before, I tried searching but can't find.

[|squee|]

There really isn't any procedure Ssur. Choose the plants you want, and the owner should bag them up for you the same way as fish. I usually ask for inclusion of a bit of tank water if I don't return home immediately/the journey is long.

The plants you buy are most likely potted (example: various cryptocorynes), tied to a small peice of wood (example: Anubias species), or grown emersed and given to you as it is (example: Hemianthus callitrichoides).

For potted plants, read this.
For plants tied to wood, you can choose to cut off the fishing line binding them and anchor it to your own wood, or you can simply place the entire thing in your tank. Plants that come as it is are just planted.

Washing the plants throughly before planting is a good step, to wash off any insecticide/grime/snails/anything before you plant the plants. Take this time to trim old leaves and deformed leaves, as well as do a visual inspection.

There're certain ways to plant the plants too. Do let us know if you want information on that

[Ssur]

Hi Terence/sqee,

I kinda knew we had to like qurantine the plants and do some washing, incase any bad soil or conditments are stuck in the wool pots.

Back when i had a 3ft, they had lead clips to hold the plants down, do they still have that now?

Thanks for the advice, very useful indeed.

[|squee|]

Ah so you're experienced. Pardon me if I sounded like I regarded you as a newcomer

They still do, although I encounter that not very often. I used to keep those lead clips... now I throw them away.

[Ssur]

Ah so you're experienced. Pardon me if I sounded like I regarded you as a newcomer

They still do, although I encounter that not very often. I used to keep those lead clips... now I throw them away.

No worries, i am a newcomer to online forum knowledge, and for aquariums, limited sources. Really learnt alot since loggin onto this forum, and still am.

Previously on my 3ft, this is like 3-5 yrs ago, my plants dont root, and will float up, this was very troublesome and sometimes messy. But i never went into detailed regime of Co2 or gravel conditions. I just did liquid fert, and dont even know what my ligthing was.

[vinz]

To keep new plants rooted you need to make sure they have enough roots to hold them down initially. Depending on the size of the plant, trim the roots to about 1 inch to 2 inches in length. Trim away any rotting or dying roots.

Also ensure your substrate is deep enough. Generally, 2 inches at least for the larger plants. For foreground plants, perhaps an inch for smaller tanks. Usually, I would make sure it's at least 2 inches.

Also make sure you use the right gravel. They should be 1 to 3mm in diameter. If they are too fine, the gravel will compact over time and suffocate or crush the roots. Roots die, plants detach and float. Too coarse and they won't hold the plants down initially.

Plant properly. Try not to damage the roots or stems during planting. Get a pair of planting tweezers. They help a lot. Just hold the tips of the roots and plunge the tweezer into the gravel. Because of the skinny tips, they don't dislodge the plants like fingers do when retracting. I used to be stubborn and refuse to spend the money for a pair. But when I did, I realised how much easier it is to plant with them.

To keep the plants rooted as they grow, give them conditions to grow healthily. I.e. light and fertilisers. Supplementary CO2 may or may not be necessary, depending on your tank style. There are 2 main schools... high light, fertilisers, and CO2, or low light, less fertilisers, no/low CO2. Both are practised by AQ members and you can find lots of posts about them.