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My plants keep floating to the top of the tank. The fish pick at them and nibble on them, and up they go. Nothing I seem to do keeps them planted. I've tried the plant anchors/weights but the plants slip out of those (or die if I make sure they don't. Does anyone have any ideas?

Have you tried any of those aquarium pots with mineral wools (like the ones Tropica plants come in)? That will allow the plants to develop a root system and once it's developed, you can plant them directly into the substrate.

Hi,
First, the little plastic pots that plants are shipped in
are NOT to be planted in an aquarium. At the farm they sit
in trays of running water that is filled with nutrients
designed to make the seedling or plantlet grow. They
are not designed to be permanent. And the "rockwool"
will, when planted in a tank, rot, and turn the water
foul. They will create an area of anaerobic bacteria that
can cause serious problems within a tank.

As far as the initial question, what are you using for a
substrate. If the grain size is too large, the plants
may not be able to root and hold. What fish do you have
in the tank. There are some fish that are simply not
"plant compatable" as they view them as food, or because
they view them as hiding places for foes. In either case
they attack the plants and the end result is that the plants
float to the top of the tank.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I've got a reasonably course gravel which I suspect is a major part of the problem. It really the plants that come with no roots that seems to be the problem, so possibly some of the potted plants that already have an established root system may help, but they have different types potted.

The fish are platies &amp; cories and they definitely like the plants. The cories love playing in the fluffy plant (sorry have no idea what type of plants I have), and the platies like to eat the long grassy type.

The grassy ones (which had roots) seem okay (except I have to replace every now &amp; then as they get nibbled away). It's the 'hiding' plants that never survive long, and I've tried a few different type now.