Plants

[David]

Sorry but as I am relatively new with planted aquaria, I need some advice. Currently I have 1 Java Fern, 1 Amazon Sword, 1 Micro Sword, and 1 Anubias Plant. Is there anything special that these plants need? I am thinking of getting some different plants if these do well. Do they need anything like nutrients or CO2 injections? Also what the heck is a rhizome?

 

[cutecotton]

i'm not plant freak either, the only things that i've kept are cambomba, hydros, and some anarchis.

but if you can set up a co2 system for htem that'll be great, they'll love it and it'll stop them from going yellow and dying on ya you can make a DIY or go out and buy one

 

[David]

Can you tell me what part of a plant the rhizome is though?

 

[cutecotton]

no clue

 

[Undawada]

The rhizome is the little white tube that the roots grow out of.

Co2 is not absolutely neccessary, I don't have it... but I would reccomend adding a plant fertilizer.

 

[David]

Darn. Cause I looked on some sites and it said that you shouldn't bury the rhizome under the substrate as this ill kill the plant. How the hell am I supposed to do that if I don't know what a rhizome is?

 

[David]

Oh ok. Hmmm. I may have buried it. Not sure but I've had the plant for like a week and it seems fine...

 

[David]

How can you not bury the rhizome if it's like the lowest part of the plant?

 

[Undawada]

I'm not sure why you're not supposed to bury the rhizome, I assume it has something to do with absorbing nutrients or some such.

If your plants are doing ok, I wouldn't worry... maybe next time you're doing tank maintenance just gently brush away some gravel to expose some of it to be sure.

 

[David]

Alright I'll do that. BTW the Anubias is doing great it looks really robust and healthy. But I can't say the same for the swordplants and java fern. They have several holes in them as well as some frayed and brown leaves. Is this a big problem? Will it compromise the health of the plant? Because they were like that when I bought them. I'm just wondering how long it will take them to heal and grow.

 

[yhbae]

Java ferns are real easy to grow. They don't require much lights, they take all nutrients from the water directly and they are almost impossible to kill... Give them some time and see how good they will look eventually.

See my 25g tank link to see what they could turn into. I bought $3 worth of them 1 year ago, and now I don't know what to do with all of them!

 

[Undawada]

Remove any brown leaves ASAP. They quickly pollute your water, and the plant spends a lot of it's energy trying to save dying leaves, and that decreases the health of the plant.

As for the holes, they will fill in as the plant gets healthier, but if they get really bad you should remove any dying leaves to give your plant another shot.

This how your rhizome should be planted...

The roots should still remain buried... if your plant has very small roots, anchor the plant to something or weigh it down with "plant anchors" (available at most LFS), the roots will grow eventually and hold the plant upright.

 

[yhbae]

Now that diagram is really helpful - I am thinking of getting into anubia as well... Thanks!

 

[yhbae]

Hmm I have a question - can you bury the roots into the sand? Will they do ok in the sand substrate?

 

[Undawada]

The substrate shouldn't make a difference as far as the health of the plant. Sand may even hold the plant in place better.