hi everyone! I've decided to get some plants put into my tank. Its a barebottom tank and l dont really want to put any gravel in. l've got 1 large treated log/rock thing. What plants can l put in??? Can l just attach em to a river stone or something or do they need more root space???? Any help would be appreciated!

They need more roots space i'd imagine. Put them in littloe pots. I have noticed that every one with bare bottom tanks and live plants pots them and puts them in. Good Luck!

You can attach Anubia's,Java Fern,Java Moss,etc. to stones.It takes some time to get them established,but that will work.

really sounds good . If l put the one's that require subtrate in pots is that ok??? How big would the pot need to be? I dont want a large unnatural looking pot in my tank

One thing I have discovered is that hygrophila will grow unpotted. I have a lot of hygrophila in my planted tank (planted in substrate), so I am always pruning out a lot of it. Rather than throw it out, I decided to just gather up a nice clump and put a plant weight around the base of the clump and sink these into my bare bottom tanks. I put a few river rocks around the base to keep the clump from moving around. These clumps have been growing like mad in my barebottom tanks for about 6 months now, and now I am pruning them

Banana plants are free floating. They have roots that look like a banana bunch.

I don't know what kind of plants they sell at the lfs but it seems to be pretty limited. Don't think they have many varieties. Anyway they have plants which have their roots wrapped in some cotton and placed in a tank and ones that are already attached to driftwood. Definetly don't have banana plants. Hygrophila sounds great, so is it like grass or something???

Here is a link with a description and picture of hygrophila. There are many varieties of hygro, but the type that I have used in my barebottom tanks is polysperma. It is usually available at most fish stores.

http://192.38.244.204/go.asp?plant=051

o rite, now l just feel silly. Yes l think l've seen that plant wrapped in cotton at the shop.

Don't feel silly Most fish stores don't have the names on plants, so it makes it very hard to know what things are. I really wish that stores would name their plants

ok thanx alot. l'll go look 4 some hygrophila soon

I am going barbottomed, too, and I also did not prefer the look of pots -

Here's what I found - check it out!
http://www.aquariumguys.com/plantingrocks2.html

They look great in my new planted tank - I think they will work out very well when I switch them to the barebottom! Don't forget to show us your new set-up!

They look neat Hope we see pics of your tank when it is all decorated

i will! im gonna wait a month & if the fish are all good (1 has already died ) ill go & buy some plants. l've done some research, think ill buy banana plants, anubias & anacharis. already waaaay over my budget & the anubias is ultra expensive but i figured it was better quality than bits n pieces

oh also i have some blue algae growing, i mechanically remove it & just finished cycling & iv seen an algae bloom. can plants get rid of the algae??

Is it suspended algae in the water (green water) or algae growing on surfaces?

For the blue/green algae you have to step up water changes and gravel vacs to get rid of it. It generally appears when there is a bit too much food in the tank. It is bacterial in nature and not a true algae.

its growin on surfaces, im not certain but i think it might possibly be stress coat that im changing the water with. when the stuff drys i put a bit in the tank and it looked similar to the coats on the glass and ornaments

I don't know if this has been mentioned but you can use baby food jars for plants too, easy and cheap!!

i use the bottom of water bottles. like ice mountain and dasani.

hopefully ill b gettin the plants 2day. i have some PP. how long should i use it 4 when quarantining the plants??

i finally bought the plants. after almost 2 months . anyway only bought anacharis or elodea whichever its called, also bought a val plant. i quarenteed em with some ppl & left em in a bucket with some light. i cant put it in the tank yet because im salting the tank 0.3%(yet again). boy the anacharis seems to be growin already. i think its growin roots in the middle of the stem.

Yes, they will root in the middle of the stem. When plants have roots along the stem it makes them very efficient for removing nutrients from the water

really, thats great news!. iv been havin some troubles with nitrites & nitrates, im assuming thats what you mean by nutrients.

Yes

argh... i cant wait 2 put the plants in but i have 2 make sure that all the ich in my take is gone, so its gonna be another few days.....