Betta Bulbs, And A Few Other Q's

[AshleySpatula]

so before i bought my 20g i had a few bettas in bowls. i saw this little package with what looked like little turds in it called 'Betta Bulbs' it said 'guaranteed to grow plants in 30 days.' they were cheap so i bought some. they DID grow plants, and ones that weren't too bad looking at that.

they got way too big for my betta bowls though! so when i got my tank i moved all of them (4 or 5) to my tank and they are getting huge. they are very nice looking too now. and i have since bought another pack, planted the turds and am awaiting more plants

just thought i would share that with anyone looking for inexpensive begginer plants (i bought a 20g kit with basic filtration and basic lights)

now for the questions...

when i set up my tank i used regular gravel not really knowing much about the planted tanks and what was needed. i want to add more plants so i will need a substrate and CO2. my question with this is...

If i buy a 20lb bag of eco-complete, do i take my regular gravel out? can i mix it? if i do a layer of gravel and a layer of substrate which should be on top and which should be on bottom??

about two weeks ago i bought some chain sword, i planted it but it keeps coming up. it's now a floating pain in the A**. i want to just take it out it makes me so frustrated. but i dont know what to do with it. any suggestions on that?

i think earlier today when i did a water change and TRIED re-planting my chain swords and burying my turd bulbs, i might have mowed down some of my snails (european ramshorn that stay pretty small) with gravel. if i accidentally bury them can they get out??

thanks so much for reading my long post, i await your responses!

 

[DevUK]

Turds... Ace

With Eco Complete, its mainly intended for use on its own, but you can mix it with a little gravel, or if you prefer the gravel look, layer gravel on top. You'll need to find out what depths you need of each though but I think its about 3 or 4cm of eco topped by a few cm of gravel (search the plant forum, lots of eco related threads ) This does depend on how large your gravel is though. Generally "pea" gravel is whats advised (1 - 3mm sized stones).

As for the chain sword, you might find one of your fish is pulling it up. What fish do you have? Some love routing about in the gravel and cause all sorts of problems. You may find you get it in better using a pair of tweezers. they help you get the plant stem deeper without moving all the gravel out of the way. Really helped when I planted my tank (untill I lost them )

As for the snails, it depends if you crushed their shells or not, and also how big the gravel is. If its quite fine gravel they will probably make their way out. Most snails will dig into the substrate during the day for shelter anyway.

 

[AshleySpatula]

i dont think my fish are rooting them up i have small fish like tetras, danios and a male betta. i see most of my snails now, so i think they are all safe and my gravel right now is about pea sized. but those european ramshorns only get to be a bit bigger than a pea! thats why i like em. cute and small.

 

[afishdude]

try putting a weight on the plant then putting it in the substrate. it holds it down pretty good.

 

[DevUK]

I just got a potted plant with not too much in the way of roots, its a large clump essentially. I've tried to put it into the gravel, and just weighed it down with a small stone for now Its not floated away yet

 

[AshleySpatula]

thanks for the info guys very helpful,
now my new question is...
i just got some pearlgrass that i ordered in the mail and it looks like a clump of sprouts (like the kind people put on salads) it's like an unending tangle of plant and roots.
i want to try to untangle it but whats the best way to plant it? is this something i need to hairnet to a rock or something?

 

[garuf]

thanks for the info guys very helpful,
now my new question is...
i just got some pearlgrass that i ordered in the mail and it looks like a clump of sprouts (like the kind people put on salads) it's like an unending tangle of plant and roots.
i want to try to untangle it but whats the best way to plant it? is this something i need to hairnet to a rock or something?

http/i20.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/ae/da/9f86_1_b.JPG
if it looks like that then its best planted as one or 2 stems in a bunch together in the substrate they'll soon take root and start to grow, just try to avoid disturbing them too much.

 

[AshleySpatula]

thanks for the info guys very helpful,
now my new question is...
i just got some pearlgrass that i ordered in the mail and it looks like a clump of sprouts (like the kind people put on salads) it's like an unending tangle of plant and roots.
i want to try to untangle it but whats the best way to plant it? is this something i need to hairnet to a rock or something?

http/i20.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/ae/da/9f86_1_b.JPG
if it looks like that then its best planted as one or 2 stems in a bunch together in the substrate they'll soon take root and start to grow, just try to avoid disturbing them too much.

thats it! ok i will try that.

 

[garuf]

thanks for the info guys very helpful,
now my new question is...
i just got some pearlgrass that i ordered in the mail and it looks like a clump of sprouts (like the kind people put on salads) it's like an unending tangle of plant and roots.
i want to try to untangle it but whats the best way to plant it? is this something i need to hairnet to a rock or something?

http/i20.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/ae/da/9f86_1_b.JPG
if it looks like that then its best planted as one or 2 stems in a bunch together in the substrate they'll soon take root and start to grow, just try to avoid disturbing them too much.

thats it! ok i will try that.

its real name is hemianthius micranthiods (sp) which is often abbreviated to just HM if your looking for planting tips try searching for its proper name there's bound to be some