How Can I Keep My Plants in Place?

[STCxB]

Hey Everyone,

I recently switched my axolotls from their 29 gallon bow front into a nice new 55 gallon. I made some 3D concrete background pieces and siliconed them in. I cycled it and now everyone is moved in and doing great! I got them some more plants and now they are being little jerks about digging some of them up. They had Java Fern in their old tank and they never uprooted the plants and they are leaving them alone here, as well. I got them some other plants that don't have the same root style, and instead are more of a stem that grows roots and they are digging them up (not sure if it is intentional or not). I am trying to find some method of keeping my plants in the sand a little more permanently. I know they'll eventually uproot the plants, but I'd prefer to not have to replant them every 18 hours. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

 

[BananaBearzz]

I'm not much of an expert on this subject, but I'll try to help. I think it would do some use to put some type of ornament in front of where they dig up the plants. (It may help block the favored "digging spot")
I hope this gave you an idea or something.
Take care!
Banana

 

[Otterwoman]

You can use fishing line to tie them to something heavy - maybe clay pot holders or some other decoration.

 

[STCxB]

I was thinking of trying to get these rocks that glow in the dark (not under black light or blue LED) that my old PetCo sold and putting them in front of the plants. I remember them being about 1.5" in diameter or so. I don't remember what they were made of though and they may have been intended for a terrarium, not an aquarium. My PetCo by my new apartment doesn't have them so now I have to hunt them down or find something else. Haha.

I feel like I've heard of people using bread bag clips to anchor plants. Is that a thing or am I just making things up?

 

[layna]

i just got some aquarium safe little plant pots :happy:

Just tie them to it and put the pot on the floor

 

[Sweetie]

An inch and a half is a bit dicey in terms of being eaten by an axie, so I wouldn't risk stones of that size. Have you thought of trying some plants that attach to rocks or driftwood, thus avoiding the uprooting problem altogether? There are numerous low-light, low-temperature plants that you can grow (tie them on with cotton thread which dissolves or fishing twine, until their roots attach) on rocks or wood, such as java moss, or ferns like bolbitis and microsorum.

 

[STCxB]

Hey everyone, thought I would give a quick update on what I figured out with my plants. I bought a piece of Mopani wood and somehow convinced some plants to root in its nooks and crannies. I also got a few pieces of river rock about 3 inches in diameter and tied some Java fern to them.

The first picture is of the day I put the piece of wood in, and the rest are from today. The wood leached some tannins (I didn't let the wood soak quite long enough before putting it in the tank) and I'm slowly working to get rid of them. The wood has some algae growth but I'm not concerned, and the plants are really taking off now that they can root. I also decided to get some water lily bulbs and see what happens with them.