# Propagating Normal Plants in the Aquarium?



## ThisDragonisNerdy (Mar 28, 2015)

My mom propagates plants all the time simply by placing a clipping in some water. Soo.. Could I do that in an aquarium? Would certain plants be unsafe, or can I generally count on them being fine? For example, I think spider plant and basil would be safe. But it's hard to find out weather certain specific plants, like sweet potato vine, would be safe. I just randomly thought of this, and know I'm excited by the idea, because it would help the clipping grow faster and suck out aquarium water nasties, too.


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## AquaPlayz (Aug 14, 2015)

Amy stem plant can just be cut and the cutting will grow
Rhizome plants can be cut at the rhizome
Java ferns also have spores on there leaves that grow plants.
Aponogetons and swords have spikes that have flowers that can be propagated and some times plantlets on the spikes.
Floating plants will separate into individual plants
Mosses can just be torn apart
And alot of carpeting plants and vals propagate with runners that can be cut once the new plant is developed.
You can propagate terrestrial plants with a riparium planted.


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## ThisDragonisNerdy (Mar 28, 2015)

AquaPlayz said:


> Amy stem plant can just be cut and the cutting will grow
> Rhizome plants can be cut at the rhizome
> Java ferns also have spores on there leaves that grow plants.
> Aponogetons and swords have spikes that have flowers that can be propagated and some times plantlets on the spikes.
> ...


Sorry, I think I worded my inquiry wrong-my question is what household plants can one safely plop a clipping of in an aquarium?
And I don't understand that last line?


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## AquaPlayz (Aug 14, 2015)

Oh ok.
Anything really, just if you have fish that'll eat plants some you can't use.
I know for a fact pothos are poisonous, not sure on spider plant, none of them can be submerged for linger then 24 hours.
A ripariuk planted is a container that you fill with clay balls usually and suction cup it to the aide of your tank neat the top of the water so you an grow terrestrial plants and such in it.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

You could look up riparium plants. Herbs are common and then there's pothos as another common one. There's a bunch semi-aquatic plants. Right now I am experimenting with my anubias plant, sold as a fully aquatic plant. Mine melted and was almost dead so I planted it so the leaves are above water and it came back to life. 

Riparium is something it sounds like you want to get into


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## ThisDragonisNerdy (Mar 28, 2015)

@AqauPlayz Ohh, ok. I might have to try one of those. Yeah, I looked up it up and it said that pothos is poisonous for pets, but no one seems to know wether they are bad for fish. I'll do the safe thing and avoid that.
@Laki Oh, yes! This is interesting! I've heard of ripariums but didn't really know what they were all about. Just now I did a quick search, it's pretty much what I was thinking about!
I'll have to try that with the anubias; I was planning on getting some if I could find it at the pet store.

My mom was super excited when she learned that she could propagate basil, so I'll probably have that in some tanks. Spider plant, and anubias. And I can look into low-care riparium plants in general.. I want to try one of those pots for a terrestrial plant, maybe snapdragon? Where I am it's small, so it could probably work. Yes, this is awesome! Thanks for the responses! :-D Maybe I'll post some pictures when I get some plants in!


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## ApochSaint (Apr 19, 2015)

any type of Philodendron or Pothos will kill anything alive in the tank. there are a couple other household plants that are actually poisonous but those two are the biggest ones to look out for.


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## ThisDragonisNerdy (Mar 28, 2015)

Yep, I was aware of that, I'm definitely going to avoid those.

SO! Now I want my future, full-blown ripariam (presumably a 10 or maybe even a 20 high) to be dragon themed! I would have dragon tongue- a ripariam plant-, a dragonscale betta with dragon decorations and, if it would work with the set up, mini snap dragon. My life will be complete. :angel:
But seriously, does anyone have suggestions for other dragon named fish or plants? That would work in this set up, of course.


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## BettaSplendid (Jul 12, 2015)

I was wondering this very same thing just last night! You can clip a piece off a gardenia bush and put it water. In a few weeks or less you will get roots. I was wondering how safe gardenia would be in an aquarium, left to root. The fish wouldn't be exposed leaves or flowers, just stem and roots.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

Since we can't link to forums I can only post this project that I saw on another forum. This not one to look at on a phone or slow computer it has big pics.

First off go to your lhs, in the garden section they should have hydroponics baskets for about 4$:









Next, grab a GOLDEN IVY POTHOS PLANT (also known as devils ivy), usually cost 8-10$ per plant:









Next, take the plant out of the pot, clean away all dirt with a hose (DO NOT USE BATH TUB LIKE ME, GF IS STILL MAD LOL):









Make sure roots are clean and free of soil:









Snip about an inch off the end of the roots (this helps them establish quicker) and place in hydroponic basket, then carefully add pea gravel or aquarium gravel around them, making sure all the roots are NOT visible:

















The most difficult step is finding a way to suspend the basket in the water, I just used a recip and cut my DIY metal shelf lid and placed it in:









Now your done, just place on top of tank and enjoy! 









Lower N03, cool look, lasts forever, purifies water and the air!


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

The author warns the above plants can be toxic to some household pets.


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## Strawberry12 (Mar 6, 2015)

ApochSaint said:


> any type of Philodendron or Pothos will kill anything alive in the tank. there are a couple other household plants that are actually poisonous but those two are the biggest ones to look out for.



Really? Pothos is like the top riparium plant i've seen recommended everywhere.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

I think it's ok for fish but not your furry pets. I've seen people using it in fishtanks.


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## SplashyBetta (Jul 28, 2014)

I'm going on 5 months now with a pothos plant in Finley's tank. The plant is fully submerged. There was a short period of leaf die-off when first introduced, but now the plant is thriving with new leaves sprouting frequently. It's growing much slower than pothos above water, but growing nonetheless. No harm to the fish or water quality.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

pothos will kill cats and dogs if they ingest.


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

I have a pothos growing out of my tank also...never had a problem with it, not with my betta or my snails. I know it's toxic to furries, but I've never seen anyone have an issue with it regarding fish.


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## SplashyBetta (Jul 28, 2014)

Laki said:


> pothos will kill cats and dogs if they ingest.


Dogs and cats are very different from fish. You wouldn't feed duckweed to a cat would you? No, but it's perfectly fine for fish to consume. Many cat foods would probably kill a betta, but they're okay for kitties.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Look up "aquaponics" a lot of plants (including sweet potato corn, leafy greens like lettuce and spinach, and a lot herbs,.. even peppers, I've seen set ups grow corn!) can grow with wet roots. Some do better in wet/dry setups (pump turns on and floods a grow bed for an hour then drains and is off for an hour then on again) other do fine on rafts or NPT systems with constant submerged roots. I ran an auqaponic system for a while loved it, huge help with a pop monster plant munching pleco I had. Now I do ripariums (kinda the same thing but roots directly in the tank (aquaponics usually keeps plants out of fish reach) and non edibles).


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## Strawberry12 (Mar 6, 2015)

Laki said:


> pothos will kill cats and dogs if they ingest.



yes, but we're talking about fish, not dogs or cats.


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## aqua hero (May 13, 2015)

i have lucky bamboo, golden pothos and anubias growing out of my HOB. its not poisonous to fish. i used spare filtering sponge for their roots to grab on.


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## wildmountainthyme (Jul 13, 2015)

Question, for those of you that have done this, do you notice your tank water levels going down faster?

Ever since I placed some lucky bamboo and wandering jew into the tank (above water with roots in tank) i've noticed that I have to top off the tank every day because I lose over an inch of water in the tank overnight.


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## aqua hero (May 13, 2015)

wildmountainthyme said:


> Question, for those of you that have done this, do you notice your tank water levels going down faster?
> 
> Ever since I placed some lucky bamboo and wandering jew into the tank (above water with roots in tank) i've noticed that I have to top off the tank every day because I lose over an inch of water in the tank overnight.



most likely evaporation because its open top and the tank is heated.


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## wildmountainthyme (Jul 13, 2015)

aqua hero said:


> most likely evaporation because its open top and the tank is heated.


it's not open top, I have a full hood. I only have them sticking out of a small hole in the back (about a square inch).


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## aqua hero (May 13, 2015)

wildmountainthyme said:


> it's not open top, I have a full hood. I only have them sticking out of a small hole in the back (about a square inch).


well then im not sure probably. i have alot of plants in my HOB but it doesnt have a huge effect on the water volume


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## wildmountainthyme (Jul 13, 2015)

aqua hero said:


> well then im not sure probably. i have alot of plants in my HOB but it doesnt have a huge effect on the water volume


Yeah it's odd. I have 2 10g tanks, and this one I just converted to sand substrate with all natural plants, and then I put in the bamboo/wandering jew. 

My other tank is the same type, with the hood, and some aquatic plants and some silk, and it's not having the same issue.


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## aqua hero (May 13, 2015)

wildmountainthyme said:


> Yeah it's odd. I have 2 10g tanks, and this one I just converted to sand substrate with all natural plants, and then I put in the bamboo/wandering jew.
> 
> My other tank is the same type, with the hood, and some aquatic plants and some silk, and it's not having the same issue.


have checked for leaks? if there isnt any then maybe it is the plants. what aquatic plants do you have?


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## wildmountainthyme (Jul 13, 2015)

aqua hero said:


> have checked for leaks? if there isnt any then maybe it is the plants. what aquatic plants do you have?


No leaks. I checked. I've had this tank for months, 10g, it's always had some live plants but I recently added some more. I have wisteria, a tiny bit of hornwort, 3 small to medium java ferns, 2 anubias, some tall green plants with spoon-shaped leaves (not sure of their names, sorry) and a dwarf lily. However this started happening before I added most of the aquatic plants, but after I added the bamboo/wandering jew. I will try to post a picture in a minute (from my phone).

Edit: added photo. You can see in the photo below that the water level is about an inch or so below the hood (usually I have it much higher). The plants are on the right sticking up from the back.


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## aqua hero (May 13, 2015)

wildmountainthyme said:


> No leaks. I checked. I've had this tank for months, 10g, it's always had some live plants but I recently added some more. I have wisteria, a tiny bit of hornwort, 3 small to medium java ferns, 2 anubias, some tall green plants with spoon-shaped leaves (not sure of their names, sorry) and a dwarf lily. However this started happening before I added most of the aquatic plants, but after I added the bamboo/wandering jew. I will try to post a picture in a minute (from my phone).
> 
> Edit: added photo. You can see in the photo below that the water level is about an inch or so below the hood (usually I have it much higher). The plants are on the right sticking up from the back.


yeah then it could be the plant then. nice tank set up. i would show mine too but its really ugly right now because im preparing for an awesome aquascape using bonsai trees. 

but i can show a picture of my betta


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## wildmountainthyme (Jul 13, 2015)

aqua hero said:


> yeah then it could be the plant then. nice tank set up. i would show mine too but its really ugly right now because im preparing for an awesome aquascape using bonsai trees.
> 
> but i can show a picture of my betta


Great shot! Mine is not really "finished" since it is divided I've just been adding plants without really any kind of layout in mind.


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## Strawberry12 (Mar 6, 2015)

wildmountainthyme said:


> Question, for those of you that have done this, do you notice your tank water levels going down faster?
> 
> Ever since I placed some lucky bamboo and wandering jew into the tank (above water with roots in tank) i've noticed that I have to top off the tank every day because I lose over an inch of water in the tank overnight.



how long has this been happening? It could just be the weather if it's been the past few months, I lose so much water during the summer months.


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## wildmountainthyme (Jul 13, 2015)

Strawberry12 said:


> how long has this been happening? It could just be the weather if it's been the past few months, I lose so much water during the summer months.


it just started happening last week.


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