stitches

is there any way to maintain the growth - what i mean is trimming etc.? i see some suggestions across the web about trimming but i'm so new i'm not sure if they mean the leaves that grow above water or if this could help maintain the width and spread of the roots. i know the roots should be in 2.5 gravel at the least -- how would this work with gravel hoses and cleaning? sorry for all the q's!

Hello all! I recently took a trip to my local fish shop and accidentally walked out with an amazon sword -- NOT the anubia congensis I assumed I picked out. I'm very new to aquatic plants and didn't realize this until I was attaching other plants to driftwood (which are in second tank, not shown here). A second trip to the same shop confirmed that i got the wrong plant but they offered advice which sums up as, "it looks great, just plant it in the gravel." However, after taking a look around online for advice and tips on how best to do this I realized that my 10gal tank is probably too small for this adorable plant baby. Everything I've come across says it's prob not the best set up (too small, etc). any advice? I love it and my betta seems to enjoy swimming through this new plant, she keeps going between the leaves, so i would love to give it a shot if i can manage the growth and such. right now the gravel is at about 2 inches because I like to keep it low and with one fish (she is a solo, no tank mate gal), weekly water changes keep the tank healthy and maintained. you can see the sword in the pic below. it's still in the pot but out of the fertilizer pad thing plants come with. I have no intention to keep it in the pot but unsure of what to do. thanks for your time and expertise!

right, that's exactly it. outside of maybe bits of left over unseen fish flakes that i didn't/couldn't catch during water change/food cleaning, i can't imagine they're actually eating from the foraging. this to me seems like they're looking for food. but the food just sits there, ignored. i'm in socal not anywhere close to a pond but i may do a google search to find one close by.

Hi @bayfish28! and anyone else that can help! Just curious to know how you finally got them to pay attention to the food and eat it. your situation is so close to mine. i have a 10 gallon, 5 cories, one java fern and a tiny baby anubia. the tank is newly cycled (been prepping it for my betta). i've had the cories about 2 weeks and do not see them eating. i've tried freeze dried blood worms sinking wafers frozen blood worms fish flakes (shop said it'd work, it didn't) vibra bites (my betta loves these)... yet, it doesn't seem like any of the food disappear but have had a few spikes in ammonia because of the uneaten food lol not fun. i do see them foraging but... what are they eating? i'm very new to the fish world and i'm worried i'm doing something wrong.