I hate to say this

[Tropical-Fish-Forums.com]

After, over 20 years of keeping fish, i have to admit that algae grower is probably a good title for me.

I, have kept about every species of fish you could name, quite successfully, but for some reason, live plants just will not co-operate with me.

Is there any reason you couldn't just leave them in the little pots they come in??

[Sophie and Mom]

It would restrict root growth, limiting the growing potential of the upper plant.

[EnigmaticGuppy92]

i have thought about drilling holes in the pots before to reduce the restriction of the roots but still best removing from the pot and planting in the substrate

[jsuereth]

I put mine in terracotta pots. Dirt in the bottom, substrate capped on top. Works like a charm:



If a plant is doing poorly, pull the whole pot and remove any potential anaerobic bacteria.

[ThinkTank]

Some people use clay pots with plants in bare-bottom setups. If you want to leave it in a pot get a bigger one so it can grow a bit.

[Psionic]

I have plants in my discus tank that I weight down. It makes it easy to brush them aside while I siphon and do wipe downs.


-Val

[Hoppy]

One reason so many of us excel at growing algae instead of plants is that we use far too much light. What are the dimensions of the tank you are using, and what lighting are you using, including the brand?

[dundee]

Originally Posted by Tropical-Fish-Forums.com

After, over 20 years of keeping fish, i have to admit that algae grower is probably a good title for me.

I, have kept about every species of fish you could name, quite successfully, but for some reason, live plants just will not co-operate with me.

Is there any reason you couldn't just leave them in the little pots they come in??

I highly recommend Diana Walstad's book and method. See the link in my signature for details.

[GMYukonon24s]

I agree with Hoppy. I thought in the beginning just get the best light and it does magic. On my low light tank everything I put in there grows nice. So it showed me how much light I really need. Less light the better especially in tanks with algae problems.

[bpb]

+1 on too much light. Some plants love higher light, but low light plants really need barely anything. I've got anubias, java fern and moss growing quite vibrant and pretty thick in my 75 gallon with only 54 watts of T5 normal output lighting and zero ferts. Granted, the green spot algae seems to flourish in that lighting level too.

[depech]

It got to be more than just lights. All of my plants are developing holes. I tried Seachem Florish, and it's not helping!

[bpb]

Perhaps it is. What are your plant species you're trying? Water temperature? Water parameters? Current fish stock in the tank in question? Some species are easier than others, and some species hate new tank conditions. Alot of the plants I've successfully grown, have died almost completely, only a month later to explode with new growth and shoot up to the surface in no time at all. This happens especially with wild collected plants. My ludwigia repends and hygrophilia corymbosa both shed every leaf they had when plucked from the san marcos river, only to grow completely new leaves and roots off of seemingly dead stems once I planted them in my tank. Basically the same thing happened to all of my java fern too. The java fern took 6 months to acclimate though. The fast stem plants were quicker to respond.

[depech]

I have six different species of rotala, 5 different species of ludwigia, java fern, crypts, and anubias. All of them have holes developed on their leafs.

Tank: 20G long
Temp: 75C
Parater: PH: 7.1
Stock: chili Rasbora, pygmy cories, colony of fire reds

[bpb]

Substrate and lighting? Photoperiod? Any other dosing besides flourish? All those stats seem fine to me. I'm no expert. I just know what has worked for me and what hasn't. All I have are my own observations

[depech]

OGMC capped the play sand.
3x14w CFL for 8 hours a day
No other dosing