# rearranging plants question



## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

I have a soil based tank, and want to rearrange the plants. I know that it's going to make a mess of the water column but am not sure if I should take Monet out the tank while I move the plants or leave him in it. 

Would all the sediment kicked up hurt him if I left him in the tank? 

Would it be best to empty most of the water out of the tank before moving the plants? Most of my plants are low, but my anacharis and banana plant flow across the top of the tank.

Any suggestions on how to arrange the plants would be appreciated, and also some for mid level plants. Right now I have 4 crypt, 1 buce, 2 anubia nana, 1 banana plant (don't know if I want to keep), and a bunch of anacharis. The tank is a 5 gal, and I have 7 inches between the top of the soil and the top of the water.

Here's some pictures of the tank so y'all can see what I'm dealing with


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## bluebutterfly123 (Feb 23, 2017)

I usually wait till water change day.. The I empty a little bit more than half the tank.. And remove my animals from the tank.. Snail and bettas(the bettas aren't scared of me so they come swimming to see what's up.. Don't want to accidentally hurt them.. 
Then the move the plants around.. The add water slowly.. Then my animals.. Then more water... 
The plants most likely established some more roots by now so be careful not to damage them...

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## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

bluebutterfly123 said:


> I usually wait till water change day.. The I empty a little bit more than half the tank.. And remove my animals from the tank.. Snail and bettas(the bettas aren't scared of me so they come swimming to see what's up.. Don't want to accidentally hurt them..
> Then the move the plants around.. The add water slowly.. Then my animals.. Then more water...
> The plants most likely established some more roots by now so be careful not to damage them...
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920W8 using Tapatalk


Thanks for the advice! I was thinking about doing something like that, but not sure how much water would be best to remove. I do know that I need some sort of plan for where I want the plants to be before I start messing around in there. 

Yep most of them should have rooted there selves by now, I'm sort of afraid to move the crypts but don't like how they look now that I have the big rock out of the tank. 

Do you know if it's safe to trim off the banana plants lily pads? The crazy thing is all the way on the right side of the tank, has put up 2 stems that grew to the top of the water then across the water to the other side of the tank, and it's working on putting up a third! I'm worried about those leaves blocking out too much light, and am wondering if it's too large of a plant for my tank.


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## bluebutterfly123 (Feb 23, 2017)

I'm sorry I'm not much help with aquatic plants, I don't even know much names.... My first time ever setting up some in my tanks... But I do know from mine.. If it's healthy then it won't mind a trimming.. Any leaves that get too high I cut.. And usually the plants don't mind at all... And depending on which ones you can just replant the trimming and have an all new plant😉 only thing is I wouldn't cut and move the same time... Move first.. Give the plants a few weeks and then cut . less stress on the plants.. If they're anything like mine... You'll see a few leaves start dying off while moving (I didn't think they would have such massive rooting going on)..

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## bluebutterfly123 (Feb 23, 2017)

If it's the plant on the far right... It looks like an easy trim.. Just cut as close to the bottom of the stem as possible.. It has healthy new growth so it should be no time before its back up there again😊

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## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

bluebutterfly123 said:


> If it's the plant on the far right... It looks like an easy trim.. Just cut as close to the bottom of the stem as possible.. It has healthy new growth so it should be no time before its back up there again😊
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920W8 using Tapatalk


I keep reading conflicting advice on whether or not banana plant lilies can be trimmed, just like I keep reading the wrong height for them. I originally read they get 6 inches tall, and thought the plant would be perfect for my tank, so I bought it and I'd say that the longest stems are well over 12 inches. Now that I've done a bunch of digging I'm reading that the height is... 6 - 18". If I had known that I would not have gotten it!


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## sabrinah (Jan 2, 2015)

If you're rrreeeaaallllyyyy careful you can manage moving plants around with minimal mess. Because it is your first time you could remove your betta just to be safe, but I personally do not remove my fish. I place one hand over the base of the plant on top of the substrate, with the plant in between my fingers, and I use my other hand to slowly pull the plant up while keeping firm pressure on the substrate. Once the plant is fully out I immediately push sand over the hole with the hand that was resting on the substrate. To replant I use planting tweezers, as you can just grip the plant by the base, stick it in the substrate, and wiggle a little while releasing and pulling the tweezers out. I've moved many a crypt like this with very little mess. Now if you were moving a sword or something things could get difficult.


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## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

sabrinah said:


> If you're rrreeeaaallllyyyy careful you can manage moving plants around with minimal mess. Because it is your first time you could remove your betta just to be safe, but I personally do not remove my fish. I place one hand over the base of the plant on top of the substrate, with the plant in between my fingers, and I use my other hand to slowly pull the plant up while keeping firm pressure on the substrate. Once the plant is fully out I immediately push sand over the hole with the hand that was resting on the substrate. To replant I use planting tweezers, as you can just grip the plant by the base, stick it in the substrate, and wiggle a little while releasing and pulling the tweezers out. I've moved many a crypt like this with very little mess. Now if you were moving a sword or something things could get difficult.


Thanks! Since Monet decided to damage his fin I'm going to wait a few more days to move the plants and I'll move him out of the tank to be sure the fin doesn't get infected. It'll give me a chance to practice your method. 

I don't have any plant tweezers, would using chopsticks work if I lightly bind them together and use them like I would tweezers?


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## sabrinah (Jan 2, 2015)

I have no idea if chopsticks would work, but please try it because I'm extremely curious now!


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