How to Insert Plants into Your Aquarium

In this article, we will explain how to insert aquatic plants into your aquarium and prevent these buoyant plants from rising.

If you have fish and plants in your aquarium, you will want to put most of your plants in the back, which will provide a nice background. Your fish will then be kept more to the front of the tank, and your plants will serve as a background to highlight the main attraction of your aquarium: your discus. 

Since aquatic plants are buoyant, you may need to use a weighted base to help them stay in the sand, unless they are already weighted at the base. Some stores attach lead strips to the bottoms of aquatic plants. If you are growing your own plants, you can buy sheet lead to hold down your plants. Cut the sheet lead into strips that are a quarter-inch wide and two inches long. Bend these around the plant’s crowns. Be careful to not crush the stems. Once the plant has taken root, you can remove the lead strips if you want. 

Lead Strips

Besides lead strips, you can use flat stones to hold down your plants instead. These are not as easy to use as lead strips, but they are a pretty option. They are also more readily available; it is easier to obtain flat stones than lead strips. To hold down your plants with flat stones, lay the base of the cuttings horizontally on the sand. Then place down the flat stones so that they hold down the cuttings. Once the plants take root, you can hold them down with small stones around their base.

Flat Stones Holding Down Plants

To insert plants into your aquarium, you can use planting sticks if you choose. Planting sticks consist of two slender strips of wood, and each stick has a smoothly rounded groove cut in one end. One notch holds down the plant’s base, and the other is used to press the plant’s roots into the sand. These sticks allow you to view your plant’s positioning through the front glass while you insert your plants into your aquarium at the same time. Watching the effect through the front glass allows you to insert your plants more accurately, and helps you to choose the best position for your plants. Planting sticks are made out of materials that do not rust, such as certain metals or plastic. 

When you are inserting crowned plants, disentangle the roots and spread them out in a radiating pattern. Then completely bury them under the sand. Make sure that the plant’s crown is above the sand’s surface. 

If you have a cutting with no roots, cut off the lower half-inch of the crown with a razor blade before putting it into the sand. Most likely, the cut tissue will produce roots.

Some plants look best when planted separately, while others look best in a bunch. If you are planting them in a bunch, be careful to not overcrowd them. 

QUESTIONS

• What are different ways to insert plants into your aquarium? 
• Why are planting sticks useful? 
• Why is it important that your plants are held down?