# LIVE PLANTS?



## NIKE (Jan 27, 2003)

I'm trying to go for the natural look in my new tank, so i purchased some potted live plants.I have baried them in the gravel several times but when i plug in my power 901 the seem to become flying objects.I asked at the lfs what i can do to keep them to stay in the gravel and suprisingly they told me







i don't no.at least they were honest for once.does anybody have some tips they could help me with i would appreciate it. thanks in advance


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## marco (Jan 2, 2003)

id just use some fake amazon sword plants. there always good. besides that. i dont know what else to tell you..


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## Croz (Jan 29, 2003)

i use some nice looking rocks and coral to put around the base of the plant to protect the roots from the current i also have a powerhead 901 and had the same problem. but now they are good. One of my swords i planted in the hole of a lava rock you can buy at your lfs. That worked magnificently. hoped this helped you out.

Croz


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## Sir Nathan XXI (Jan 29, 2003)

Keep them out of the direct stream of the powerhead, what kind of plants do you have and how bid are they


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

other than using pots, add more gravel and bury them deeper, bury each bit on its own and not in groups, you can also buy lead weights to wrap around the bottom of the plants to weigh them down, choose plants with roots.

all will help.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Innes said:


> you can also buy lead weights to wrap around the bottom of the plants to weigh them down, choose plants with roots.


I would never use the lead strips which are used by stores to wrap together plants








Lead is a toxic and dangerous heavy metal (I mean, it's very dangerous to man, so why not to fish in a confined environment?)

But the idea itself is fine, just don't use lead for it!


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

I don't like the weights, not because they are lead, but they can squash the plants stalks, but they are safe (the ones you buy at the fish shop), my mother used them for years, and when I inherited her tanks I foung about a hundred of them mixed into her gravel, I removed all the ones I found, but I still find them every so often.

but in one of those tanks I have a 15 year old talking catfish, so I guess they must be safe.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Wow, is it still alive??? I remember it was sick or nearly dying some months ago (back on ezBoard: remember ez







).


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

yeah, it has made a full recovery, that was when it was behaiving oddly by just lying around in random places, well it is back to hiding with its head in a rock.

I nearly lost it again a month or two again, when I had a disaster in my tank, it was found floating at the top of the tank and could hardly move, so I moved it into a differant tank and it hardly moved for 2 days then got better.

now it has more of an appitite than ever before, and it is doing great!


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## GARGOYLE (Feb 12, 2003)

The lead plant anchors are safe to use in fish tanks. I have a few but dont seem to do the job in any tank with good water movement. I had to use a couple on each plant. Now I just move rocks and gravel around so I could place them around the plants without disturbing them.


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## bobme (Feb 17, 2003)

Yea i wouldnt recomend right in front of the power head or filter inlet.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Innes said:


> yeah, it has made a full recovery, that was when it was behaiving oddly by just lying around in random places, well it is back to hiding with its head in a rock.
> 
> I nearly lost it again a month or two again, when I had a disaster in my tank, it was found floating at the top of the tank and could hardly move, so I moved it into a differant tank and it hardly moved for 2 days then got better.
> 
> now it has more of an appitite than ever before, and it is doing great!


 That's great! How big is that bad boy? Mine seem to have grown in width (they're a bunch of lazy as hell fatso's...







), but not in length. What do you feed it, how much and how often? I know they can reach 5-7" in length, but mine are still almost the same size as when I bought them, some 5 months ago (2-3").

I want them to grow big and look evil and prehistoric


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

it is about 4-5" but it is very fat, it usually only comes out for food late at night, and it likes catfish pellets, algea wafers and sinking catfish disks.
and I add them every night, but it doesn't always come out and get any.


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## NIKE (Jan 27, 2003)

cool info. i will look for some of the weights,and possible buy some more rocks i used a 100lb bag in my 125gal already but maybe some more to rap arround the plants.the plants were planted underneath the powerhead i thought that it would be better there as the current would pass right over top but









this is the type i planted Echinodorus osiris (south america brazil) echinodorus rubin (cutivar) ludwigia arcuata (centra america usa)


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