Anchoring Plants - Playground sand

Hey guys,

So I've had my 20gal tank with P.Waltls in it running for some time now. The biggest challenge I face though is keeping the darned aquatic plants stationary! Those P. Waltls make a mess and are rowdy, so I will find that the plants end up getting uprooted constantly. For one, I know it's recommended not to use too much sand in the P Waltl tank, but then the challenge is how to I keep plants rooted? What's the best method? I was thinking about getting some small terra cotta pots specifically to keep the plants in. Would that work?

Otherwise, I was thinking about getting large rocks and tying the plants down with fishing line, but that seems like a bit of trouble.

Any ideas?

Hello,

First of all, Ribbed Newts are super neat!

Anchoring plants can definitely be a pain but they make all the difference, not only does it look cool but helps support the tank (animal Waste and oxygen wise) My axolotl is about that size and he can uproot the plants right out of the sand if he really wants to, and does sometimes when he thinks the leaves are food floating in front of him. I am a little unclean why you think having more sand is a bad thing? i have about 1 inch of white sand in the bottom of my tank and it supports almost all of my plants just fine. He only occasionally uproots them (once a month)

As for mounting plants on rocks and wood. it's a pain but it is so awesome if you do it right

Google the name "takashi amano" and check out the images. Hope it all works out.
post some pictures.

spiro666 said:

Hello,

First of all, Ribbed Newts are super neat!

Anchoring plants can definitely be a pain but they make all the difference, not only does it look cool but helps support the tank (animal Waste and oxygen wise) My axolotl is about that size and he can uproot the plants right out of the sand if he really wants to, and does sometimes when he thinks the leaves are food floating in front of him. I am a little unclean why you think having more sand is a bad thing? i have about 1 inch of white sand in the bottom of my tank and it supports almost all of my plants just fine. He only occasionally uproots them (once a month)

As for mounting plants on rocks and wood. it's a pain but it is so awesome if you do it right

Google the name "takashi amano" and check out the images. Hope it all works out.
post some pictures.

Click to expand...

Thanks! They definitely are a handful to watch. haha...

I have almost 2 inches of playground sand on the bottom of my tank and the plants get uprooted so easily. I also have a lucky bamboo in its ceramic pot in the tank and it seems to be working out well. I noticed a couple tiny snails though cleaning the algae. Hopefully that's not a big deal. It's just annoying having to reseat the plants every time they get uprooted. I have a number of fake plants mixed in as well. Sure would be nice to get a fully live planted tank goin on with lots of duckweed though

I also have a C Pyrrhogaster in a 10gal tank that I need to revitalize - live plants would be nice but I'm not sure if I should deal with putting much sand in his tank before he gets any better.

And I picked up a couple juvie C. Orientalis yesterday - I got a small critter keeper so I think they'll be fine until they grow larger. Hopefully they've settled into it. They were in a frenzy when they first got home - I'll have to check in on feeding them tonight.

For species that uproot plants I have read you can keep them in pots. I know the aesthetics are not the same but it would save you some maintenance.

I cheat and tie the root system to a river rock with fishing line. Then I place more river rocks around the base of the plant once its root rock is buried.