Tony G.

I just got my plants through the mail today. I have added them to the tank. The leaves on the java fern are kinda brownish. The riccia however is another story. At first i thought it was kinda like grass soup LOL So i rinsed them really well, and added them to the tank. BIG mistake. Not sure how its supposed to be added, but i thought you just floated it on the top. Now its all over, like a huge mess! what do i do? It spread out and attached itself to my other plants and it looks kinda bad

bolivianbaby

Wow, Tony, you get into as much trouble as I do I have NO good experience with plants. If I can't float them, I kill them. I bet one of our "plant-experienced" members will be along shortly.

Tony G.

Hopefully LOL!!! thanks

Shawnie

thats normal for the ferns when they arrive..they ALWAYS look much better in a pic when you order than when you get them..

as far as the riccia , it needs to be anchored to something as it doesnt root very well ....and if im not mistaken, (no plant expert here) it needs allot of light and CO2?

hopefully you get help soon!

Tony G.

i got them from a member though They were in the mail for 5 days i think
I checked on the riccia, it turned into a huge ball at the top kinda like a hurricane!

How can i root the riccia?

Shawnie

the riccia ive seen in a buddys tank was hooked to the mesh that ive posted in a betta divided tank ? remember that plastic stuff from a craft store or wally world?

eiginh

Hi Tony,

Riccia do not grow roots, like Shawnie suggested it should be anchored down. Did I forget to include the mesh in with the box? If so I'm sorry, the best way to root them is to wrap the riccia onto a rock and tie it around with mesh held together by fishing line. The best rock to work with is flat round pebbles like on this picture http://sohostudiocorp.com/DSC_0721_709x600.jpg. Sorry the Fern turned brown on you, it was bright green when I took it out of the tank. I'm surprised the riccia didn't turn brown it's been sitting around without light for awhile. The best way to flatten it out is if you damp a paper towel and spread the riccia on it.

Tony G.

yup i remember!, so i need one of those? how do i make it stick to it...?

You did include the mesh, but i just didnt know what it was for LOL So i wrap it with that and then tie it with string and hold it down? sounds like a plan! i will go do so!

mathas

It sounds like Tony has his answer, but for anyone searching in the future who wants more information, there's a pictorial of the method found here: http://www.projectaquarium.com/plant...arfRiccia.aspx

The exact stones mentioned in the article are these, but anything flat (such as the ones eiginh linked to) should work just fine.

Tony G.

Thanks for the link mathas! i just Finished netting out the riccia (took me close to 2 hrs) but im done now, i used the net you sent (thanks pete!) and planted 2 other rocks with some extra net i had lying around. I also rescaped, and i re introduced my fish! yeah! the guppy fry ( yes they were born yesterday) are LOVING the riccia. The javafern is in the middle of the tank where the light is at it's strongest so they can recover asap as they are pretty weak looking. The riccia is also at the middle as that's the place where my light is strongest. Im gonna upgrade to another light as soon as i can and pass that one to the 10g. Also, i took out some of the deco from the 35, as they are gonna be in my 10g tank. I am very happy! The 10g tank is gonna be a japanese mountainside theme, so i am very excited for it too!
I am really happy

eiginh

Riccia really needs STRONG light lol... just giving you a warning

http://plantgeek.net/plantguide_viewer.php?id=183