What Your Aquarium Plants Need For a Stress Free Start

If you are adding aquarium plants to your tank, and I suggest you do, some simple steps will get them off to the right start.  Maintaining live aquarium plants is relatively simple.  What could be easier than aquarium plants, right?  You surely can’t kill them from lack of water.  While this is certainly true, it’s best to reduce the stress of changing their environment to the best of your ability.  Not doing so, will probably cost you some plants.  Of course the money to replace them even if you buy cheap aquatic plants is probably better used elsewhere.

Rooted and Bunched Aquarium Plant Preparation

Aquarium plants take five easy steps to get them properly prepared and planted in your tank.

1. Remove the plants from their pots or remove the bunching band from bunched plants.
2. Remove as much of the planting material from the roots as you can without harming the root system. (Be VERY careful with the thin roots of bunched plants.)
3. Remove any dead leaves from the plants
4. Spread the root system out.
5. Cut off dead, dying, or damaged roots.

Aquarium Planting Tips

1. Make a quick sketch to help you find the ideal position of all your plants.
2. Plant from left to right starting in the back of the tank.
3. First plant the background plants, next the mid-ground plants, and finally the foreground aquarium plants.
4. Scoop out a hole in your aquarium gravel or substrate
5. Set you plant in the hole and scoop your gravel over top of the root system.
6. Try to keep the nutrient layer in place to the best of your ability.

Tell us about planting your new plants.