Tips for keeping my micro swords planted?

[s_in_houston]

Pieces of my microswords (Lilaeopsis brasiliensis) keep uprooting and floating to the top of my tank. I use Seachem Flourite substrate, and I don’t have this problem with my other plants.  

I can think of some (ahem) root causes to this. But maybe there’s a trick/gimmick I can use to keep them down at least until they grow longer roots?

[clownbaby]

Try plant weights! I used these when I got some stem plants that did not want to stay in the substrate for the life of me. If you can't get any, you could diy a plant weight by tying the plants together with some fishing line / elastic and place a pebble on top of the plant once you bury it. Or tie the pebble to the plant. 

I hope that helps ya out.

[JoeQ]

Get creative! Put plant weights or rocks on top of roots & let the roots grow into the substrate like below

 

Here I cut an aquatic pot and  pinned it down to guard corries from digging up a crypt flamingo.

And here i suspended a plant weight from a rubber band which I then wrapped around a tiger lotus bulb to hold it down. In the background you might also notice a crypt spirellas (sp) that I simply pinned down its roots with a plant weight to self root!

Edited September 4 by JoeQ

[s_in_houston]

Okay y’all I busted out my plant weights. I first tried just placing a couple strategically without attaching them. Didn’t work.

So I took one and bent it to clamp into a bundle of the micro swords and placed those a little bit into the substrate.

If this works, they should now have room below them to actually grow roots since I didn’t feel the need to push them super deep into the substrate. 
 

The weight will be tricky to remove but I’ll figure that out later.  

Thanks, all!

Them. Plus some of my meddlesome inhabitants. 

[clownbaby]

On 9/4/2024 at 4:23 PM, JoeQ said:

Get creative! Put plant weights or rocks on top of roots & let the roots grow into the substrate like below

 

Here I cut an aquatic pot and  pinned it down to guard corries from digging up a crypt flamingo.

And here i suspended a plant weight from a rubber band which I then wrapped around a tiger lotus bulb to hold it down. In the background you might also notice a crypt spirellas (sp) that I simply pinned down its roots with a plant weight to self root!

Gonna steal some of these ideas due to my care-free oto who seems to love redecorating haha

On 9/4/2024 at 6:46 PM, s_in_houston said:

Okay y’all I busted out my plant weights. I first tried just placing a couple strategically without attaching them. Didn’t work.

So I took one and bent it to clamp into a bundle of the micro swords and placed those a little bit into the substrate.

If this works, they should now have room below them to actually grow roots since I didn’t feel the need to push them super deep into the substrate. 
 

The weight will be tricky to remove but I’ll figure that out later.  

Thanks, all!

Them. Plus some of my meddlesome inhabitants. 

I love your shrimp !!! they look like little bananas 🍌❤️

[s_in_houston]

On 9/5/2024 at 10:20 AM, clownbaby said:

Gonna steal some of these ideas due to my care-free oto who seems to love redecorating haha

I love your shrimp !!! they look like little bananas 🍌❤️

Neocaridina. When I bought them this coloration was called (I think) golden-backed. I’ve seen similar looking ones advertised as 24 karat and I think even laser-backed. As long as you don’t mix colors, they’ll keep that nice yellow. 

And I think a combo of my mystery and nerite snails plus Pygmy corys plays a big part of the probleM for me. 

[s_in_houston]

Update: My system being put to the test. 

[s_in_houston]

Update again: The snail won by a long shot. I’m ready to give up. I guess I can try clamping it tighter. 

[Woowala]

Tie it to the weight with some string or a mini ziptie and bury the weight. 

[s_in_houston]

On 9/5/2024 at 7:10 PM, Woowala said:

Tie it to the weight with some string or a mini ziptie and bury the weight. 

There’s very little left that to my novice eyes looks viable. I extra tight clamped those pieces and I stacked some aquarium gravel and I did my best to push the gravel so it would settle. I’m pessimistic. But we’ll see.