Plant question

Question
Hello,

A few weeks ago, I bought a plant from my local fish store. They said it was an aquatic plant, but after I looked at it closely, I wasn't too sure about it. So I tried to plant it like this: http://i33.tinypic.com/n509jb.jpg . But after a while, it's starting to dry out. Can you please identify what plant this is? And am I planting it right? Can you give me any suggestions?

Thank you for your reply.

William

Answer
Hi William, this is Nicole Putnam, answering your question from the Question Pool.

The dried out plant is too dried out for me to tell what it is for sure, but it looks like it may be Elodea. You do have non-aquatic plants there, like Dracaena sanderiana (type that into Google). These plants are not meant to be submerged, so they should not be sold as aquatic plants...they should be sold as "terrarium plants" maybe, but not aquarium plants. You also look like you have some cabomba on the left, which is a true aquatic plant.

It looks like you are planting the dried out plant incorrectly. You seem like you are putting only the roots of the plant in the water, when you need to be submerging the whole plant. The Dracaena should not be submerged permanently...although it can stand being submerged for a while, it will eventually rot fully submerged. If you are looking for a plant that you can grow partially dry, partially wet, then try Pothos. Lots of people put them sort of on the rim of their aquarium in a basket or what not and let the trailing stems dangle in the water. Some people have luck growing Anthuriums and peace lilies with no soil and their roots all floating in water - these are the plants they use when they make those "bettas in a vase" (ugh).

Do you have this aquarium outside? I don't see any place where there is a light overhead, and it looks like there is fencing in the back. If you are trying to grow aquatic plants outside, choose a few hardy species such as water sprite, elodea/anacharis, parrot's feather, and you could try some floating species such as hornwort and Indian fern. Another plant that grows well with its leaves sticking out of the water is an Amazon sword. It will need plenty of space, however.

Here's a great, multiple page article on planting techniques:
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/plantcare/a/planting01.htm
You need to first start with a plant friendly substrate such as Fluorite or Eco-Complete - or, a simple DIY substrate is Schultz Aquatic Plant Soil topped with a layer of silica sand, with some pea gravel holding the plants in place. You can get all of the ingredients for that DIY substrate in the garden center at Lowe's.

Lighting is another, complex matter...impossible to relay in a single message what you need to know. I suggest you check out sites such as thekrib.com, and subscribe to a forum such as www.plantedtank.net - you should also read a few books, two I particularly recommend are:
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Aquarium-Plants-Peter-Hiscock/dp/0764155210
http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Guide-Planted-Aquariums/dp/0793821177

That last author, Rhonda Wilson, has this wonderful site online:
http://naturalaquariums.com/

Phew! You certainly won't be running out of things to read anytime soon. If you take the time to carefully research how to start up a planted tank, and get yourself the right equipment to begin with, you'll find that maintaining it is not too much work.

I hope that helps, take care!
Nicole