Do I Need Substrate?

[Nurse_Sarah]

Hi everyone,

My tank is now fully cycled. I have decided that now i want to add real plants to my 16 gallon freshwater tank.

I have been told by a local pet store that I do not need to lay down subtrate and that the plants will root in my rocks.... they have also told me that if i buy plants that are in the small pots, all i would need to do is bury them in the rocks and that should work as well...

is this true?

I would rather not empty out my tank and put in substrate if i dont need to.

thanks

 

[minnnt]

Do you have no substrate at all? Plants will do better if rooted in a substrate. The tank will look more natural too.

There are some plants that need to have their roots exposed to the water such as Anubias and Java Fern and can be tied to rocks or wood etc.

Plants will do better with their roots stretched out so that they can gather any extra nutrients they may need. A specialist planted substrate is not necessary but is helpful.

 

[Nurse_Sarah]

Do you have no substrate at all? Plants will do better if rooted in a substrate. The tank will look more natural too.

There are some plants that need to have their roots exposed to the water such as Anubias and Java Fern and can be tied to rocks or wood etc.

Plants will do better with their roots stretched out so that they can gather any extra nutrients they may need. A specialist planted substrate is not necessary but is helpful.

Hi, thanks for your reply..

I only have the black rocks in my tank at the bottom.. i am not planning on putting any substrate under it.

Maybe i will just buy one plant and see how it does in the pot but buried under the gravel... see if it lasts.

 

[Liquid skills]

agreed that they do better with substrate but they still can live without it if you dnt wont substrate then just put them in ur rocks u have no harm done

 

[Nurse_Sarah]

ah great! thanks for the information!

 

[Caprichoso]

You can have potted plants do very well in a tank but not just how they come from the lfs. The reason being is the plants are tightly wrapped in a very small pot and it would be very hard for the plant to get it's roots out and grow nicely. You can purchase some clay pots and fill them with aquatic planting medium if you don't want to have a substrate. Also, there are plants that don't need substrate as they take much of their nutrients from the water column. Example being java fern and anubias. You can just attach the rootlets to one of the rocks you have in your tank.

Edit to add: hornwort is another plant that doesn't have to be planted in substrate and it will grow in almost any tank condition.