# Plants - propagation and moving plants



## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

So I have ordered these plants: anubias barteri, jungle Val's, java fern, java moss, water sprite and hornwort. From what I understand, the last three are fast growing and the first three are slow growing. I've never had plants before so I'm hoping I can keep them alive  I have the lighting and Seachem Flourish but the tank for now is not an NPT - I might get a 20 gallon long upgrade and I am planning on making that one an NPT, if I do end up getting it...

I am wondering how FAST these plants will propagate. One, to fill in my tank and two, because I want to move the new plants to different tanks and possibly give some to a friend of mine who is planning on setting up a 10 gallon and a 40 or 60 gallon tank (and I've convinced him to do NPTs as well ).

Now from what I understand, this is how it works... Please correct me if I am wrong because I don't want to harm my plants by doing it wrong 0_0

Anubias - they can split at the rhizome? Do they grow new plants on the leaves?
Java fern - same as anubias?
Jungle Val's - sends new shoots through the gravel (I'm not quite sure exactly how that works) and I can cut it with sharp scissors like grass?
Java moss - if I cut this, will the part that I cut off continue to grow on its own?
Hornwort - same as java moss?
Water sprite - also same as java moss?

I'm assuming the last three grow fast if they are thriving. I'm a little more concerned about the water sprite. My pH is 8 but I want to get IAL to lower it and help my fish, as well.
Um, I'm kind of wondering how long propagation generally takes in terms of weeks/months. I don't know what my definition of slow and fast is, lol, other than that ones are slower than others, blah blah.

Oh, edit: I forgot the second question, lol. How can I move plants to the new tank without harming them and how can I move an entire planted tank when I move out of my house without harming the plants?

Lol thanks 
Sincerely,
Iknownothingaboutplants D:


----------



## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

Anubias - they can split at the rhizome? Do they grow new plants on the leaves?
-not sure about this one
Java fern - same as anubias?
Java fern forms plant lets on its leaves wen it's time to propagate. They usually only do that when they get to the end of their lives
Jungle Val's - sends new shoots through the gravel (I'm not quite sure exactly how that works) and I can cut it with sharp scissors like grass?
Correct!
Java moss - if I cut this, will the part that I cut off continue to grow on its own?
You can cut it into pieces, this is a slow grower at first and then once it gets used to your water it'll end up growing at a pretty decent speed.
Hornwort - same as java moss? 
Cut it in the middle of the stem, or wherever you want and replant the top
Water sprite - also same as java moss?
Same!
Also, it's fern based so if a leaf falls off, let it float and it'll form a new plant let from the leaf.

Propogation time is different for all the plants. Not sure about anubias, but with java moss it'll take quite a few months since it does it itself.
Jungle Val will send runners out when it is happy with water conditions...probably a month or two after having them
Hornwort is a fast grower, you could probably do that once a week or every other week
Java moss, it really just depends. I think I split mine 1x per month
Water sprite, probably every few weeks.

Not sure about moving an entire tank, but the plants aren't as fragile as you think. I uproot mine and toss them from one tank to another without any harm. I'm not careful at all unless I'm packing them up to ship.

Hope I answered everything well enough!


----------



## tekkguy (Jan 28, 2013)

Since most of the questions were answered already ...

Anubias: Yep, just cut the rhizome wherever you want. It'll form new plants from each piece.

Make sure when doing any trimming that you use very, very sharp scissors. It's much easier for the plant to heal itself that way.

Also, as far as pH goes ... yeah, IAL will lower your pH by adding tannic acids, but it does nothing for the dissolved solids that are probably causing the high pH. You might consider a mixture of your hard tap water and distilled or RO water to naturally settle at a lower pH. The extra tannic acid will lower the pH, but that isn't really what the plants have a hard time with ... it's sort of an artificial lowering, since the kH would still be really high.


----------



## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

Is it likely that these plants will adjust to my water? I'm afraid of mixing tap &RO water for fear that I won't be able to get it exactly the same each time.

Also, is flourish all I need? I know Seachem makes root tabs, but isn't jungle Val the only rooted plant I have on that list?

What are some other good beginner plants in case I decide I like them and want more lol  I really would like fast growing plants to help the water quality.


----------



## tekkguy (Jan 28, 2013)

The plants shouldn't have much trouble adjusting ... you will likely have some melt at the beginning (especially with the anubias), but new leaves will grow out.

Unless you have heavy root feeders (you don't), you don't need root tabs. All aquatic plants will receive nutrients from the water column ... and you have mostly water column feeders anyway. 

I have some Bacopa australis that I'll probably be giving away on the board soon. That's a very good beginner plant and grows fast. Crypts are are really good as well, and if your lighting is good I love banana plants. Both of these are slower. Any stem plants are going to grow much faster than others. Anacharis is ugly and can have some issues at high temps, but it grows super, super fast ... honestly though, if you have a lot of water sprite, you won't have much worry about the water quality.

If you are planting, you will not be performing very large water changes (or at least you should not be), so mixing RO probably won't be much of a problem. You need to get it close, not exact, and it's easy to test. Start with 1 gallon of tap water, treated and aged 24 hours (for gas exchange). Remove 3 cups. Add 1 cup RO. Test the pH. If it's good, you know 1 gallon, minus 3 cups, plus 1 cup RO gives you the right balance. If it's not yet "low enough" add 1 cup RO. Test. etc. When you find the right ratio, just repeat that every time. It won't change unless your tap water changes ... and small changes are ok, because you won't be changing a lot of water at once. It's just a much more natural, "sure" way to alter your pH. After all, it's not like you can measure the amount of tannic acid in a leaf and dose that out appropriately.


----------



## sarahspins (Sep 5, 2012)

None of those plants are difficult to grow so they should be fairly tolerant of changing water parameters.

My experience with Java moss (and any other mosses, actually) is that it seems to grow fuller/faster if you chop it up first. For example if you are growing it in stainless mesh, it grows best if you cut it into shorter lengths - I just use scissors and chop it into about 1" lengths.

If you mix RO and tap it's more important that your GH stay somewhat consistent, rather than the precise amounts of each that you use... however, fish and plants are more forgiving of variations in GH than something like shrimp are, so if you are off a few degrees it doesn't really matter, as long as your water doesn't get too soft.


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I would recommend growing the java moss in a mesh or tied to a rock/driftwood. In my own personal experience, the stuff gets all over the place if allowed to free-float. But that's just me. Otherwise, all your questions have been answered very well.


----------



## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

Anubias - they can split at the rhizome? Do they grow new plants on the *leaves?

Yes, you can cut the rhizome to propagate...extremely slow grower.*
Java fern - same as anubias?
*Yes, Also proagates by growing plantlets from dying leaves.*


Jungle Val's - sends new shoots through the gravel (I'm not quite sure exactly how that works) and I can cut it with sharp scissors like grass?
*you cannot shear val like grass.. the blades will melt eventually if you do so, if you don't want such a tall plant, I'd recommend saggitaria or draw saggitaria.*

Java moss - if I cut this, will the part that I cut off continue to grow on its own?
* Best to tie this to wood so it attaches. 
with moss you simply trim it. doesnt grow fast in the stem plant sense... but grows fast amongst aquatic mosses *

Hornwort - same as java moss?
*you can cut the stems in half, I don't recommend on pieces shorter than 4in.... as they tend to have some trouble growing when in super short segments... *

Water sprite - also same as java moss?
*Can practially grow from a leaf or leaf fragment...kind of like a java fern...*


----------



## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

What kind of mesh are you referring to?

I'm not really planning on trying to make the tank look super pleasing to the eye. Actually, because it's a sorority and I could not find any decor that had enough holes for my liking, I wasn't planning on putting any decor in it... Just plants and silk plants to fill in until the live plants grow out. But I think I could probably do some neat things with java moss...

I have some decorative fishing net that I am planning on using to decorate the outside of the tank a bit. But if I could find a small sunken ship decoration that didn't have any holes... Oh, imagine the possibilities, lol. (I also have an anchor that I made out of pewter that can hang on the outside of the tank... this is too exciting.)


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

My LFS uses a small metal mesh; I have no idea where they get it. You can also use plastic craft mesh (same as you use to make dividers). It just has to be weighted down somehow. Easiest method is to just tie it to a nubbly rock or driftwood. My java moss is tied to driftwood.


----------



## tekkguy (Jan 28, 2013)

I have java moss super glued to driftwood, wrapped around driftwood, and just free floating. It's pretty versatile.


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Super-glued? I didn't think Super-Glue was water-safe. Mine is tied with fishing line. Last week, I made the mistake of thinking it was secure enough to remove the line. Wrong. The moss had grown over the line so when I tried to remove it, I pulled up all the moss from the wood. Had to retie it.


----------



## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

I have aquarium safe silicone and plastic craft mesh.

I've not had good experiences with metal in my tanks o.0


----------



## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

super glue is water safe... dried ofcourse


----------



## tekkguy (Jan 28, 2013)

Yes, super glue is super safe (lol) ... look for cyanoacrylate super glue or super glue gel (ie regular dollar store super glue). The gel is better, because it has a longer working time and doesn't drip everywhere.


----------

