Planting in Holey RocK?

[PlantedTankLover]

So the texas holey rock I have in my cichlid tank got me thinking. Could I fill some of the holes (obviously the ones that don't go all the way through), with substrait and a root tab and plant maybe anubias in it? Has anyone does this before? Below is a picture of the tank. As you can see the holes are not very big, more like craters.

[Yankee]

I don't see why not as long as there's some light that can hit the rhizome of your Anubias and or other plants

[pmcarbrey]

I've actually always wanted to try this, filling nooks and crannies in a rock with root tabs and planting stems in it

[lochaber]

For anubias, java fern, and bolbitis(i think?), you could just attach them to the rock, no substrate necessary. use superglue, a rubber band, thread/twine, or wedge them (gently) in a crevice/gap.

you may be able to plant some other plant in the craters, but the roots would be really limited, so you should stick to something that has a smaller root system.

[l8nite]

I had a holey piece of lava rock that I just crammed a SS mesh pieces into the bottom of the holes and then "hooked" the roots of some various plants through the mesh.

Bulb plants also work really good for those holes

[PlantedTankLover]

Originally Posted by l8nite

I had a holey piece of lava rock that I just crammed a SS mesh pieces into the bottom of the holes and then "hooked" the roots of some various plants through the mesh.

Bulb plants also work really good for those holes

Would you happen to have a picture of that? Would love to see it. I dont have the best of luck with growing plants in this tank. So I've been playing with lights and adding excel every few days. Looks like I have some shopping to do. Oh my husband is going to kill me! Maybe he wont notice the plants. lol

[l8nite]

I looked through my tank journal threads, and I can't find a single picture of the mesh being put in or anything! Shame on me!

I found this one though that shows a couple of bulb plants growing from a hole:


Here are the roots when removed:

[PlantedTankLover]

That looks really nice! Yup I'm sold! Off to the for sale thread for some shopping :-)

[ADJAquariums]

hmm, do you think i could get a similar affect by drilling holes in the rock?

[l8nite]

Originally Posted by ADJAquariums

hmm, do you think i could get a similar affect by drilling holes in the rock?

It seems reasonable, but it might look too artificial if the holes are perfectly uniform.

[lochaber]

Originally Posted by ADJAquariums

hmm, do you think i could get a similar affect by drilling holes in the rock?

Sometimes you can find pumice stones under the name/brand 'feather rock' - It's really lightweight, and you can saw/poke holes in it rather easily. I've seen this stuff used to make desktop fountains and with bonsais and such.

Only thing is, is that it floats pretty easily, you'd probably have to treat it like driftwood, silicone it to a piece of slate or something until it gets waterlogged (not sure if that happens, or how long it takes...)

[ADJAquariums]

hmm, i like this idea, it could help get some plants that would normally be on substrate level higher up, making them easier to view. I think the pumice would work really well, or i can take a walk in the woods and see what i can find, we get a lot of old stone walls around here that have some superb stones in them, also some massive 200-300 pounders that wouldn't necessarily work