Thinkfish.co.uk

Posts: 16

Hey guys I wonder if any of you could help, I have an aqua start 500 and have been trying to get live plants going with not alot of success. They seem to last for 4-6 weeks and then they jst seem to detach from the base and thats that (mainly been cambomba (?spelling) as recommended by a friend.) Are the lights in the tank with 11W PL enough to keep them going? I do add plantamin, i dont have a CO2 pump in it, any one any ideas? Dave

Posts: 122

I am not an expert in these matters but ...

Try something else to see if it's just that species you are having trouble with. Wkikpedia lists Cabomba as having high-light and co2 requirements. Try something from this list or something similar, these are suitable for your tank. http://www.plantedtanks.co.uk/low-tech-102-c.asp

If you could answer a few questions it might help.
When you say the plant detaches itself at the base, what happens to the root? Does the plant detach from the root?
Does the plant show signs of distress before detaching itself?
What substrate do you use?
What livestock do you have? some fish like to eat plants or dig them up.

Posts: 16

the root normally seems pretty intact, its almost like theyve been pulled from the roots, and no they dont normally look bad before this happens. i have some gravel 5mm i think it is, there are corys, glowlights, and neons in there. I have got a few different species of plant in there at the mo and 2 out of 3 seem to be going ok so far, i have heard of someone who does just keep buying new plants every couple of months but not what im after doing tbh!

Posts: 122

It doesn't sound as though the plant is dying. The roots are intact and it looks healthy, then pop ...

I have two ideas:

Something is digging them up, although none of the fish you mentioned have a reputation for doing so. It might be the corys rummaging around in the gravel that accidentally dislodges them.
The substrate doesn't bind well enough to hold the roots. As the plants get bigger and more buoyant, they are uprooting themselves.

The only suggestion I can make is that you try surrounding the plants base with rocks. This will hold the gravel in place around the roots and stop the fish from ferreting about in the roots. Or you could try securing a plant to a small stone and burying the stone underneath the plant to hold it down. All pretty Heath Robinson I'm afraid.

Posts: 1874 Location: Teesside

If you like the feathery looks of cabomba, have a look at hornwort, Ceratophyllum demersum. It looks very similar and is a low light plant. But this plant doesn't grow roots. It can be left floating or weighted down so it looks planted - I use ceramic plant weights. The stems either snap or grow very long. When they snap, just put the new bit in the weight. And when they get too long, cut them up and weight another bunch.