Anybody Tell?

[monica]

Can anyone tell me what kind of plant this is?

Not the fake, but the one that is growing in 2 sprouts there With a little more on the left. Let me know if you want me to add an arrow.

 

[mlawson]

Possibly Cabomba, but you get a lot of plants which look like this.

 

[DevUK]

Looks like Cabomba to me too

 

[monica]

Thanks!! I keep it in with some guppy fry and my guppies and platies, and also in with one of my bettas, though only one stem. They seem to enjoy it. I just bought a big bunch with like 6 stems in it, and I split it up so I have 3 stems in my community tank, 1 in my betta tank, and 2 in my fry tank.

 

[DevUK]

When it grows too long, snip it about 1/3 to 1/2 way down the stem from the top, just above some side shoots. Then, on the bit you've snipped off remove the bottom few side shoots so you have about an inch of clear stem and re-plant it

Should be able to keep doing that as it grows and each time it will root eventually (might take a few weeks).

 

[monica]

How do I re-plant it? I know when I bought it they kept it in a little sponsge thing wrapped with a metal clip thing, but I dont know if I can do that... Is there a better way?

 

[DevUK]

The metal clip is just a plant weight. It depends what sort of gravel/sand you have down and how thick it is. You should be able to do like I said (get an inch of clear stem) and then push it into the gravel gently. Best way is with a pair of tweezers, as you don't pus too much gravel out of the way when you push it in and it holds a little better. You might find they keep floating to the top, but stick with it and it'll look fine

You could of cours cheat and leave the plant weight around a few stems and push that into the gravel

 

[monica]

I actually have a bare-bottomed I dont like to use gravel and such because I know that fry can get stuck in gravel, and I know that sand makes your water cloudy... And basically I find that bare-bottom is very easy to clean

 

[DevUK]

Lol The mental images

Ok, don't worry about rooting them then In the pots is fine. You could still buy some extra plant weights and trim your plants now and then, and then weight a bunch together

 

[monica]

oh okay thanks!! The thing is... a lot of the plant pieces got sucked into my filter, and they are clogging... Can I just undo a filter and clear it out? Then put it back together?

 

[DevUK]

erm, pretty much. Just make sure if you wash the filter out, use water syphoned from your tank. Tap water will kill of the bacteria because of the chlorine in it, and you'll be into cycling your tank again

 

[monica]

Oh okay!! Thanks a bunch, DevUK! You have helped quite a bit!

 

[DevUK]

You're welcome