I am getting ready to start cycling my 55 gallon (need a few questions answered on filter set up from the guy who sold me it and i will start) and have started adding plants to it. Store bought plants so far. However I have a few questions on plants, both native and non. Can you help me with them?
1. What is the best way to safely sample native plants? I assume using a garden spade to dig them from the substrate (i also assume that by being in water their root systems will not be very wide or deep). I heard stories of native plants having harmful creatures as hitchhikers on them.
2. a few of the store bought plants have shriveling leaves, should i remove them now or see if they recover. (made the mistake of being lazy about putting on the tanks light, i think that is the problem, i added plant food though).
3. I tried adding aquatic plant bulbs, they have not grown and i will have to remove them as a "decay web" has started to form on them. I had doubts on them growing as they looked alot like the shriveled, dead, freebie bulbs you get with orders from gardening catalogs that almost never grow. But I do wonder, how long should you normally wait for bulbs to start growing before you remove them. (obviously the white "rot webs" means these ones are already no good).
*sigh* at least i am (unwillingly) starting the cycling before my filter is even added.
Edited by FirstChAoS, 05 June 2009 - 01:46 AM.