Stem plants are not doing so good

[AnneK]

hello

its been almost 2 weeks since I started my tank and last week started planting. After afew days, i noticed that my stem plants are....well going transparent from the bottom and upon closer examination, it seems to be rotting.

I dont think it is my lights and my tank base has been laid with base fert. I have CO2 injection as well. Could anyone tell me what have i done wrong?

I have not placed in any fish yet....but i have read in other threads that i have to put in yamatoes shrimp(incidentally are those shrimps that people buy to feed their fish), Otto(I havent a clue what that is), and SAEs....to prevent algae growth?

Thank you in advance

[David]

Hi annek

based on your description of your plants condition, it may be that you have not prepared your plants for planting.

In general of stemmed plants

remove any lead weight. leave about 7 to 10 nodes and cut off the rest from the bottom and never the top. where the cutting is, it MUST end with a node. remove leaves on the last three nodes as this is going to end up in the substrate....if there are roots, trim them back. Use a tweezer, grip it gently and plunge them in the substrate. the distance from plants is leaf tip to tip.

In general for rosette plants

remove pot and as much wool as possible, remove old leaves. trim back the roots leaving about 1.5cm from the crown of the plants. dig a little hole with your hands into the substrate. plunge the plant in gently as deep as you can. cover the plant properly with substrate and finally give a gentle pull upwards till the base of the crown can be seen.

[wks]

Hi Anne, I believe some stem plants which u bought did not have any roots. Just float them on the tank water. Wait for new roots to develop, then plant them as what david suggested.