Plants in Clay Pots

[nabilbb]

Hi All,

I have BB discus tank and planning to add plants in clay pots. can anyone help me on what kind of "soil" to put on those pots?

Thank you,

[jmf3460]

a good idea for the clay pots, which I use as well, is to get the floramax at petsmart/petco and use it then add root tabs as needed. I also cap my potted plants with sand because it keeps the poo from sinking down into the gravel and makes siphoning easier.

[alron2]

Jacklyn,

Do you put anything over the drain holes to keep the material from coming out?

Thanks
Ron

[jmf3460]

I do not, but I will tell you I like to use glass jars even better than the clay pots, it lets me see the roots and they do not have a hole in the bottom, see these pictures. oh yea I do put a couple dots of silicone in the corners of the bottoms of my glass jars first just so its not glass on glass when I put them in the tank.
8914889149

don't get me wrong, the clay pots work well too but I prefer shot glasses or small mason jars bc I like to see the roots and such

[nabilbb]

Thanks Jacklyn,

Do you have Algae problem with the plants? if so, what do you use? any kind of fish?

[jmf3460]

Thanks Jacklyn, do you have Algae problem with the plants? if so, what do you use? any kind of fish?

hmm good question. I do not have algae problems in my discus tank, but I do not use bright lighting. I use relatively dim lighting over my discus tank, but my go to fish for algae in a discus tank is ancistrus. I have 4 in my 75 gal tank. I also have 2 ottocinclus in there as well.

[jmf3460]

in other tanks I also use nerite snails and amano shrimp to battle algae. liquid co2 helps as well as injected co2. many people can battle algae by altering their lighting alone

[Bill63SG]

I have done the clay pot route and when I did I put a piece of sponge in the hole.

[Kyla]

i like the glass pots/jars for the same reason as jacklyn - i like to be able to see into the roots. i havent been using any fertilizers lately, and the plants are growing well. ive got eco complete substrate in my pots. dont forget to occasionally poke around in the pots with sticks to aerate the substrate to prevent gas pockets from forming.

my fave algae eaters are SAE (Siamese algae eaters, esp for hair algae and black beard algae) and farlowellas for cleaning of the leaves.

the nice thing about having plants in pots is that if u have multiple tanks and dont want to put algae eaters into ur main discus tank, you can just rotate potted plants from the discus tank into ur other tanks for "cleaning" by algae eaters, then rotate them back into the discus tank when the algae is gone.

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm182/kylasfish/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsrm26wbqx.jpg (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/kylasfish/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsrm26wbqx.jpg.html)

[Mrs. J]

Love this idea and would like to try it. Do you have an online plant source? Here in Hattiesburg MS there is little to choose from except Petco or Petsmart and they have few if any swords or possibly saggitaria. I had planted tanks in past over 40 years ago with my first discus and they did well. Good luck for the novice. We raised tropicals and traded them for supplies, etc. I have bb tank 90 gals with 6 inch discus from Hans grown out from 3 inches, but prefer the bare bottom to substrate. I was in the horticulture business for a long time so just need a good source for healthy plants. A little nervous about introducing anything into the tank. THese have been very healthy....no issues of any kind and I tend to be SUPER CAREFUL. Any advice would be appreciated. Julia

[jmf3460]

Julia,

I have gotten all my plants from trades or purchases from fellow members of another forum similar to this one. you should join theplantedtank.net it is a forum and people are all the time getting rid of their plant clippings after a trim. I have some swords available right now if you need some. I had my amazon sword (echinordorous amazonicas) shoot up a runner with like 10 plantlets on it and I have them planted down in my tank but would be willing to part with them, they will get too big for my tank anyway with two full grown plants already in there. PM me if interested.

[rickztahone]

Love this idea and would like to try it. Do you have an online plant source? Here in Hattiesburg MS there is little to choose from except Petco or Petsmart and they have few if any swords or possibly saggitaria. I had planted tanks in past over 40 years ago with my first discus and they did well. Good luck for the novice. We raised tropicals and traded them for supplies, etc. I have bb tank 90 gals with 6 inch discus from Hans grown out from 3 inches, but prefer the bare bottom to substrate. I was in the horticulture business for a long time so just need a good source for healthy plants. A little nervous about introducing anything into the tank. THese have been very healthy....no issues of any kind and I tend to be SUPER CAREFUL. Any advice would be appreciated. Julia

theplantedtank is a great place to try to get some plants off members. Additionally, you can visit this website:
http://www.substratesource.com/?p=products&c=p

They are a sponsor for Scapeclub (a plant/shrimp local forum) and have treated all of our members well and they carry great healthy plants.

[Mrs. J]

Thanks for the info and resources Julia

[Lighthouse7]

So in the glass containers there doesn't need to be holes in bottom? - Lighthouse

[jmf3460]

So in the glass containers there doesn't need to be holes in bottom? - Lighthouse

no holes necessary underwater. holes are for draining terrestrial plants, no need to drain aquatic plants.

[Lighthouse7]

Thats great to know! Now i can look for glass containers instead of plastic, glass looks so much better. - Lighthouse

[jmf3460]

Thats great to know! Now i can look for glass containers instead of plastic, glass looks so much better. - Lighthouse

make sure to run a bead of silicone around the bottom or put dots in the corner so you don't scratch your bb tank. oversized shot glasses work well, juice glasses, pint sized quart jars and the jelly jars work well. and for big swords, mason jars etc.

[rickztahone]

make sure to run a bead of silicone around the bottom or put dots in the corner so you don't scratch your bb tank. oversized shot glasses work well, juice glasses, pint sized quart jars and the jelly jars work well. and for big swords, mason jars etc.

well glad to know there is ONE other reason why oversized shot glasses are good to have ;)

[jmf3460]

I cannot think of any other reasons Ricardo

[DISCUS STU]

I generally use common sand. I use Gorilla Glue or Crazy Glue to adhere a small piece of plastic on the drain hole. My Plecos like to nest in the well and throw sand onto bottom of the of the tank. This glazed pot from Home Depot houses an 18" Radican Sword. They're really spectacular when they get to this size. 89288

[pitdogg2]

I generally use common sand. I use Gorilla Glue or Crazy Glue to adhere a small piece of plastic on the drain hole.

I just use a small rock to cover enough to keep substrate in. I have in the past put a very small amount of sandy soil/peat mixture on the bottom in pantyhose with a knot works well the plants really dig in so to speak but too much can create a bad problem, also if you need to re-pot you can break major roots. That's why i use only about 1" in the bottom it is easier to cut and save the larger roots.

Flourite goes on top of the soil it is the only other substrate i use.

[DISCUS STU]

I do not, but I will tell you I like to use glass jars even better than the clay pots, it lets me see the roots and they do not have a hole in the bottom, see these pictures. oh yea I do put a couple dots of silicone in the corners of the bottoms of my glass jars first just so its not glass on glass when I put them in the tank.
8914889149

don't get me wrong, the clay pots work well too but I prefer shot glasses or small mason jars bc I like to see the roots and such

What a great idea! I keep Clown and Bristle Nose Plecos to control algae and they always hang out in the pots. It would be pretty cool to check them out in there.

[DISCUS STU]

Thanks Jacklyn,

Do you have Algae problem with the plants? if so, what do you use? any kind of fish?

Clown Plecos, Bristle Nose Plecos, and Farlowella.

[Lighthouse7]

I generally use common sand. I use Gorilla Glue or Crazy Glue to adhere a small piece of plastic on the drain hole. My Plecos like to nest in the well and throw sand onto bottom of the of the tank. This glazed pot from Home Depot houses an 18" Radican Sword. They're really spectacular when they get to this size. 89288
Can glazed colored pots be used? - Lighthouse

[pitdogg2]

why not some use glazed spawning cones. I'd only be concerned with lead in some glazes but that is just me.

[Disgirl]

I am a potter. I know that not all glazes are safe to use in an aquarium. Be very careful. My glazes are safe, but a lot may not be. Glass and unglazed pots are fine.
Barb

[DISCUS STU]

My pots are safe to use and I've used them for years but first I immersed them in water for about a week before adding them to my tanks. Yes, they should be checked before adding them.

[Lighthouse7]

How can know if they are safe?

[rickztahone]

How can know if they are safe?

buy from Barb ;)

lol, sorry, couldn't help myself.

[Disgirl]

How can know if they are safe?

The only way to test glazed pots would be to try one out in a tank of fish and see what happens in some time. I wouldn't use discus for the test though. A lot of cheap pottery from underdeveloped countries is glazed with the bad stuff. Be very wary.
Barb

[Jack L]

Clown Plecos, Bristle Nose Plecos, and Farlowella.

stu

Clown Plecos, Bristle Nose Plecos,

do these clean anything besides wood?

[Jack L]

hmm good question. I do not have algae problems in my discus tank, but I do not use bright lighting. I use relatively dim lighting over my discus tank, but my go to fish for algae in a discus tank is ancistrus. I have 4 in my 75 gal tank. I also have 2 ottocinclus in there as well.

Jacklyn to the ancistrus clean only the wood, or do they clean glass/plants as well?
thanks

[jmf3460]

Jacklyn to the ancistrus clean only the wood, or do they clean glass/plants as well?
thanks

i have 4 ancistrus in a 75 gallon tank, it has been set up over 3 years, I have never had to clean the glass....ever. I am a huge fan of ancistrus, especially the rare species like green dragon, super red, rio Tocantins etc. I have at least one ancistrus species in every single tank I own except my shrimp tank. They are great little cleaners and their bio load is not as great as a huge pleco bc they stay relatively small. WetSpotTropicalfish.com has a wide selection of the more rare ancistrus species and crosses, but your every day common ancistrus or albino ancistrus that you can get at Petsmart (et. al) will be perfectly fine for your tank. If you don't have a lot of algae, make sure to supplement with algae sinking pellets or blanched vegetables. Mine love cucumbers/zucchini/yellow squash/broccoli most all blanched vegetables. Their favorite is squash and zucchini.

[DISCUS STU]

stu

Clown Plecos, Bristle Nose Plecos,

do these clean anything besides wood?

Yes, they clean algae on various surfaces including glass, ceramic pots, plants, etc. and that's why I have them. I use relatively bright lighting in my tanks and no longer have any issues with algae. Besides these two I also have Farlowellas for this which are interesting alien looking pleco types. Bear in mind, any Pleco must be Discus safe as Gibbiceps are notorious Discus harassers and almost always become more interested in feeding from the Discus's slime coat, thus greatly agitating the Discus. Occasionally Farlowellas will show this type of behavior but it's rare.

In a typical 60 or 90 gal. setup I may have 3-4 Clown Plecos and 1-2 Bristle Nose. After they're done with the algae they still seem to make a living in the tank eating scraps but not harassing my Discus!

[jmf3460]

Yes, they clean algae and that's why I have them.

this made me laugh out loud in my cubicle, smartass

[DISCUS STU]

this made me laugh out loud in my cubicle, smartass

No I wasn't doing that. Re-read the edited post,

[DISCUS STU]

i like the glass pots/jars for the same reason as jacklyn - i like to be able to see into the roots. i havent been using any fertilizers lately, and the plants are growing well. ive got eco complete substrate in my pots. dont forget to occasionally poke around in the pots with sticks to aerate the substrate to prevent gas pockets from forming.

my fave algae eaters are SAE (Siamese algae eaters, esp for hair algae and black beard algae) and farlowellas for cleaning of the leaves.

the nice thing about having plants in pots is that if u have multiple tanks and dont want to put algae eaters into ur main discus tank, you can just rotate potted plants from the discus tank into ur other tanks for "cleaning" by algae eaters, then rotate them back into the discus tank when the algae is gone.

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm182/kylasfish/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsrm26wbqx.jpg (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/kylasfish/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsrm26wbqx.jpg.html)

Great picture! Very nice.

[Jack L]

I do not, but I will tell you I like to use glass jars even better than the clay pots, it lets me see the roots and they do not have a hole in the bottom, see these pictures. oh yea I do put a couple dots of silicone in the corners of the bottoms of my glass jars first just so its not glass on glass when I put them in the tank.
8914889149

don't get me wrong, the clay pots work well too but I prefer shot glasses or small mason jars bc I like to see the roots and such

i'll take a photo from underneat my tank so you can see what roots do when not in jar : )

[Jack L]

Yes, they clean algae on various surfaces including glass, ceramic pots, plants, etc. and that's why I have them. I use relatively bright lighting in my tanks and no longer have any issues with algae. Besides these two I also have Farlowellas for this which are interesting alien looking pleco types. Bear in mind, any Pleco must be Discus safe as Gibbiceps are notorious Discus harassers and almost always become more interested in feeding from the Discus's slime coat, thus greatly agitating the Discus. Occasionally Farlowellas will show this type of behavior but it's rare.

In a typical 60 or 90 gal. setup I may have 3-4 Clown Plecos and 1-2 Bristle Nose. After they're done with the algae they still seem to make a living in the tank eating scraps but not harassing my Discus!

okay, thanks. i never bothered with them, as i always read they get huge and don't eat algae, that must be the common plec.

i have 1 farlowella, wanted more but can't get them to be healthy, adding additional farlowella w/ flukes and ich killed one of my Discus last month.

i'll look into them.

[Jack L]

i have 4 ancistrus in a 75 gallon tank, it has been set up over 3 years, I have never had to clean the glass....ever. I am a huge fan of ancistrus, especially the rare species like green dragon, super red, rio Tocantins etc. I have at least one ancistrus species in every single tank I own except my shrimp tank. They are great little cleaners and their bio load is not as great as a huge pleco bc they stay relatively small. WetSpotTropicalfish.com has a wide selection of the more rare ancistrus species and crosses, but your every day common ancistrus or albino ancistrus that you can get at Petsmart (et. al) will be perfectly fine for your tank. If you don't have a lot of algae, make sure to supplement with algae sinking pellets or blanched vegetables. Mine love cucumbers/zucchini/yellow squash/broccoli most all blanched vegetables. Their favorite is squash and zucchini.

are they not okay with shrimp? i have amanos in my tank.

i'll look for some of these, thanks for website reference.

petco had a bristlnose and rubber lip, i think they are candidates, but my qtank is currently occupied.

[jmf3460]

pleco's are fine with amano. I just don't keep them with my cherry or sakura shrimp, that way the shrimp have something to eat.

[DISCUS STU]

okay, thanks. i never bothered with them, as i always read they get huge and don't eat algae, that must be the common plec.

i have 1 farlowella, wanted more but can't get them to be healthy, adding additional farlowella w/ flukes and ich killed one of my Discus last month.

i'll look into them.

Like my Discus, I always quarantine anything going into the tanks, including Plecos and Farlowella. I've lost a few Farlowella in quarantine but have about 5-6, lost count, between 3 tanks. I deworm and de fluke with PraziPro (Praziquantal) and usually add Metronidazole as well as part of my quarantine procedure.

[Jack L]

I treated this batch of Ottos with heat for ich and with prazi, I didn't realize that was for worms too, I bought it for flukes. I will look up metro, I don't have any but see it mentioned a lot

[nabilbb]

I could not find floramax in the city, to buy online, the shipping cost is really high.
any alternative?

[pitdogg2]

buy from that pet place or dr.foster smith and get enough items to qualify for free shipping that is how I do it.

[nabilbb]

buy from that pet place or dr.foster smith and get enough items to qualify for free shipping that is how I do it.

Can you give me links please

[rickztahone]

Can you give me links please

I only found artificial plants in DF&S

[dprais1]

I could not find floramax in the city, to buy online, the shipping cost is really high.
any alternative?

sand. any kind.

I'm not saying that floramax or all the other substrates "specially" made for plants don't work. They do. So does sand. So does mud.

MAny people use a product called Turface. That is an alternative. It is designed for baseball diamonds, do a google search

I believe Turface, floramax, etc are made mainly of clay ? regardless they can store some nutrients and release them later when the nutrient levels are low, thats the theory at least.

You still will need to fertilize, either via fish poop, dry ferts or root tabs. But the clay products are more forgiving.

I am setting up some plants and will just be using sand and slow release fertilizer. Oscomote Plus. I have never had an issue with just sand and ferts.

[Filip]

sand. any kind.

I'm not saying that floramax or all the other substrates "specially" made for plants don't work. They do. So does sand. So does mud.

MAny people use a product called Turface. That is an alternative. It is designed for baseball diamonds, do a google search

I believe Turface, floramax, etc are made mainly of clay ? regardless they can store some nutrients and release them later when the nutrient levels are low, thats the theory at least.

You still will need to fertilize, either via fish poop, dry ferts or root tabs. But the clay products are more forgiving.

I am setting up some plants and will just be using sand and slow release fertilizer. Oscomote Plus. I have never had an issue with just sand and ferts.

+1 for turface, seramis,diatomaceus earth and other calcinated clay products.Many of this branded substrates are nothing more than calcinated clay with some nutrients in it for the first few months.
This products go very well with fertilizers.

As for picky carpeting and other colourful plants I don't agree that they could grow in sand,but I'm sure that you don't have Dutch shapes in mind for your Discus fish.

So, leave the expensive plant substrates for planters, aqua scrapers and dutch tank owners and stick with simple cheap ones as dprais advised you above.