Moving live plants

[leadfish]

New to this fishkeeping business....we have a 10 g with 2 live plants and 2 plastic ones. Unfortunately I can't tell what kind of plants they are....we purchased them very early on and I did not keep the information tag that came with it...I now know better...

A couple of times while cleaning/vacuuming the tank, the live plants were pulled out by accident.....is this OK? If so, how often can the plants be moved before they die? We want to provide some variety to the set up for our fish.

Thanks!

 

[quintessential]

My advise would be to leave them alone so that they can root into your substrate.
No roots = no grow = dead plants.

 

[Jen]

If its accidental, I wouldn't worry about it. I wouldn't move them intentionally though. Once the roots spread out and grab hold of the gravel the vaccuum won't be able to pull them out.

I have successfully moved plants around as they get bigger and don't fit where I had them originally. But I wouldn't do it every day.



P.S. Welcome to the forums! You're gunna love it here!!

 

[Lateral Line]

Echo the others. Try to clean around the plants. A few lost roots will not do much harm to a well rooted plant, but if you are forever damaging the roots, it will inhibit growth. Also the plant may not be able to anchor itself and float free if the root ball becomes too small.

 

[leadfish]

Thanks for all the advice....This web site is a great source of knowledge.

 

[Jen]

It sure is... and we are only more than happy to try and answer your questions... so feel free to ask anything!

 

[TwoTankAmin]

You can replant stem plants a lot- crypts on the other hand hate being moved. So the answer really depends on which plant.

 

[tdiii]

I also think you should do some research on the kind of plant you have. Some plant don't even care if they are uprooted (anacharis) others are more sensitive. It will be a lot easier for you to care for them if you know what they are. Go to www.liveaquaria.com look in there plant section for some good pictures to help with identification.