Suzie-Q wrote:
Okay, so I bought a plant (oz-something sword?) and just dropped
it into my betta's 2.5 gallon tank. He liked it so much that I
decided to buy another plant (mini sword?). This time I read the
plant sign on the tank(s) at Wal-Mart. It said that I should
remove the plant from the plastic "pot" and then remove the
stuff that the plant is planted in -- some sort of fibrous stuff.
And then I'm supposed to stick the roots under the gravel to
anchor it and allow the roots to grow into the gravel.
When I tried to separate the plant/roots from the fibrous stuff,
I had the hardest time. Might have damaged the plant. It seems
that the sign/instructions also said something like that, by
removing the plant from the stuff, or by removing the stuff, there
would be less nutrients in the water (plant nutrients, which they
made sound like a good thing).

Okay, so should I remove the plant from this fibrous stuff or not?

I still have the oz-something sword in the plastic pot and fibrous
stuff.

Sorry if I sound like an idiot. I am where aquariums are concerned.

Thanks in advance.

(Note to Elaine: Looked at pix on your website and couldn't believe
how many plants you had in your old aquarium(s). I plan to buy many
plants when I set up my 10 gallon aquarium -- if I can figure out
what I'm doing!)

Ah, you saw one of my jungle tanks. :-) The 15 gallon is getting
there, but it seems like I've always just planted something new and it's
not quite photo ready. To do my planted tanks, I place a piece of
bogwood for the plecos or otos to nibble on, and then plant until the
gravel is about 2/3 covered. The plants spread from there. Your 2.5
will look very cool once the swordplants get going.

Plant your swordplants directly in the gravel. Have you ever grown
houseplants or or other potted plants? When they're rootbound you take
the plant out of the pot, trim the roots a bit, and repot in a larger
pot. The roots come back fine. Aquarium plants can regrow roots
exactly the same way. Gently remove as much of the rockwool as you can,
but it doesn't have to be every single bit of it. Then plant in the gravel.

If you have plain gravel rather a plant substrate, use an iron
fertilizer tablet at the roots. Swordplants depend on their roots a lot
for nourishment. Also, Flourish and Flourish Excel are great
fertilizers. Add a few drops a day and your swords will really take off.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com