New aquarium plants quest

[Juan colin]

Hello everyone today i got some new aquarium plants and i was wondering if i should keep them in the pot for a while or just plant them directly because ive heard both

[Brandy]

Long term, I like plants out of pots unless I have a very agressive digging fish in my tank. Personally, I don't like the look of the pots. I think the plants coming in are at their healthiest and should be situated where they are going to be to begin acclimating to your tank. Plants, as a rule, don't like moving, and will go into shock each time they do. So I plant them however I want them to grow going forward...

I do make ONE major exception. Anubias have a mysterious disease known only as "rot" that is not totally well understood, but in my experience it is totally contangious between Anubias plants. I have had issues with them before, and so I QUARENTINE them. Seriously. I un-pot them and put them in a jar on a window sill in tank water with a little fertilizer. They have to make it a week or two with no squishy softness before I will let them near my tanks.

[lefty o]

if you know where you want them, i would plant them.

[Lefty469]

Expanding on the original question; Do you acclimate the plats to your water?  I meant to ask this before, but must have failed to do so.  My plants just arrived today and are still soaking in the bag.  I'm going to ad some tank water, but am curious what everyone else does for success.

This will be my second attempt with Scarlet Temple.  Hoping that the Easy Green that comes so highly recommended actually works.  I started using it about a month ago, and I have an Annubius at work that looks like it wants to make a baby.  It shot one tall stem up, and grew a tiny leaf that has a whitish thing sticking of that leaf.

Sorry about the picture quality.

[lefty o]

pretty much just plant them.

[Guppysnail]

I acclimatize to my water with a squirt of easy green to give them a jump. I do this for 10 days with airstone to be sure no parasites etc...had damselfly nymphs hatch in my shrimp tank 😞. NOT from coop though.

[Randall from Texas]

I toss mine into a tank soon and I can unbox them. Let them sit in the pots till I can spend time and plant them right.

[Taco Playz]

I'd plant them right away. I've never used the pots because right when I get home from the store I'm so happy that I just put them straight them in. The roots will be more happy in substrate too.

[tonyjuliano]

On 6/11/2021 at 10:05 PM, Brandy said:

Anubias plants. I have had issues with them before, and so I QUARENTINE them.

I agree and do the same.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I dip them in hydrogen peroxide 2-3 MLS per 1 gallon leave in for 2 minutes then put it in your tank or quarantine. 

[ARMYVET]

On 6/30/2021 at 10:40 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

I dip them in hydrogen peroxide 2-3 MLS per 1 gallon leave in for 2 minutes then put it in your tank or quarantine. 

What does the dip do for the plants?

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Reduces bacteria, algae, fungus on the plants, I find that some vendors are better than others with this. I’ve gotten bacterial blooms right after adding plants. 

[Odd Duck]

On 6/30/2021 at 5:26 PM, Lefty469 said:

Expanding on the original question; Do you acclimate the plats to your water?  I meant to ask this before, but must have failed to do so.  My plants just arrived today and are still soaking in the bag.  I'm going to ad some tank water, but am curious what everyone else does for success.

This will be my second attempt with Scarlet Temple.  Hoping that the Easy Green that comes so highly recommended actually works.  I started using it about a month ago, and I have an Annubius at work that looks like it wants to make a baby.  It shot one tall stem up, and grew a tiny leaf that has a whitish thing sticking of that leaf.

Sorry about the picture quality.

That’s a flower on your Anubias.

I’m apparently very mean to my plants because I bleach dip them all to minimize risk of pests and diseases.  I’ve very rarely had any issues unless I didn’t dip long enough (hello, bladder snails).  I did have one group of Anubias start to rot, but they all recovered.  And I had one group of Buces nearly all rot.  But I don’t believe it was from the bleach dip in either case because I have loads that I’ve dipped that way and never had issues.

I use 3/8 cup regular bleach (not splashless, it’s not concentrated enough) per 1/2 gallon of water for 3 minutes (3/4 cup per gallon).  Then rinse in tap water, then soak in dechlorinated water (4-5 times normal amount of dechlorinator) for at least 10 minutes.

Wear a nitrile or rubber glove when swirling the plants around, or any time your hands might go into the bleach water.  Don’t wear your nice clothes, either.  😆 

 

Edit to add that I don’t do anything specific to acclimate.  Just try to put them where they’re going to stay if they’re root feeders.  But I’ll put attached Buces or Anubias in whatever tank I think will give them the best start if I intend them to eventually go elsewhere.  Like if the intended tank isn’t ready or it’s a plant I plan to sell at a swap meet.  I have a couple tanks that are plant grow out tanks.  If I get crypts in and the package got too hot or too cold (crypts will get a little too “soft” feeling), I sometimes plant them in containers first and put them in shrimp tanks because the shrimp will clean them up fast for me as they melt.  Once they’re recovered, I’ll plant them where and when I’m ready.  Crypts are notorious for melting under adverse or changing conditions.  If they come in great, I’ll put them directly where I want them (after their dip).

Edited July 1, 2021 by Odd Duck