# How to with plants



## 5-O Cummins (Sep 4, 2008)

I recently purchased some real plants for my tank. The anubias came in black plastic containers which my LFS told me to keep them in and just stick them in the sand. I've read to take them out, leave them in, is it personal preference or a right way to do it?


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## Britnick (Apr 18, 2008)

Donâ€™t leave them in the pots and certainly donâ€™t burry the pots in the sand, the rhizome will rot.

Take the plant out of the pot, very carefully, and pull away the material the plant was potted in. This is usually a wool variety and takes some work to get all of it off. Then you can separate the plant into smaller plantlets (if you like), if you see an obvious place to do so, and remove any dead leaves by pulling them off. Trim the roots up and then attach the rhizome to a rock or wedge it into a gap in the aquarium dÃ©cor. You can use cotton, fishing line, elastic band, etc to attach the rhizome to a rock/wood/etc.

The Anubias will take a few weeks to attach itself to the rock and it may well loose a number of leaves, but the plant should be OK. A little plant food will help improve growth and plant appearance.

Anubias don't need much light or looking after post planting.

Good luck


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## 5-O Cummins (Sep 4, 2008)

Ok thanks. Now do the anubias have to be attached to a rock etc or can it be placed in the sand? I've got some java fern attached to my driftwood but not to many spots as far as rocks for the anubias to go.


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## Britnick (Apr 18, 2008)

Anubias cannot be planed in the sand like say Vallis. The rhizome will rot away. If you want it to look like they are planned in the sand, use a small stone to attached the Anubias to and then burry the stone in the sand so that the base of the Rhizome is still above the sand. The plant roots will then grow happily over the stone and into the sand.


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## 5-O Cummins (Sep 4, 2008)

Thanks for the great info. For now I wedged them in rocks and crevasses. When I get more time I may attach a couple to small rocks and put them in the sand like you said. :thumb:


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## Britnick (Apr 18, 2008)

Your welcome and good luck


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## gymdog (May 24, 2007)

can someone tell me how to quarantine aquarium plants?


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## Britnick (Apr 18, 2008)

OK, this really depends on the plants in question and why you want to quarantine them.

The way I have done it in the past is to put them in a large opaque container placed near a natural light source (but not directly in sunlight) and treat them with snail destroyer for 24 hours. Rinse them and prepare them for planting.

If you want to grow them on before planting then you will need an additional setup.


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## gymdog (May 24, 2007)

the reason i asked about the quaratine was i have been to different fish stores to purchase plants. when i put plants in a tank that up until that moment has been disease free i have to think it is from the plants. most of the companies that make produces to combat the diseases tell you cannot add there product to a planted aquarium. i just want to kill the problem before it gets in my main tank.


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## Britnick (Apr 18, 2008)

Thanks 

Sounds like a good idea. I think my suggestion still work.


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

if its just to stop bacteria getting in, then methalyne blue might be the answer.

LFS use it to sterilise the nets in between tanks, so by making a strong solution, just dipping the plants in that would have the same effect, leaving them in 5 minutes should kill off any bacteria. and then should be fine to add.


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