Hi, I currently have a 29...

Question
Hi, I currently have a 29 gallon tank.  It has tropical freshwater fish including 2 cichlids.  I know you fifn't mention plant care, but I was wondering if you can help me anyway.  I have an African Sword plant which is growing roots and a baby plant from a stem near the top of the tank.  I would like to know what i should do with it because if possible, I want to plant it.  Another question aside from plants, I live by woods.  I was in them the other day, and I saw a bunch of medium sized hollowed out half branches that I though would look nice in my tank as a center peice.  I was wondering if i would be able to put this in my tank.  If so, I would like to nkow what to do before I do it.

Answer
Hi Alex;

Once the baby plant is growing roots you can cut the stem that attaches it to the parent plant. That's great they are growing well for you. You can plant them in their own containers in the tank and place them on the bottom, or just plant the plants in the gravel in the bottom of the tank. Plant them in a well-lighted area of the bottom. I like to use small clay pots from the garden store. I fill mine with regular tank gravel and then put the plants in that. Or, rinse some play sand or other safe non-toxic sand and put that in the pots for the plants instead. Put large pebbles or rocks on top of the gravel or sand. It keeps them safe from fish that like to burrow and move things around.

Some cichlids don't ever leave their decorations alone. You may have trouble with that if they are larger varieties of cichlids.

If the wood looks old and dried out it is probably safe. You never want to use freshly cut wood or "green wood". The sap will pollute your tank and kill the fish. Remember that wood can cause the tank water to become yellowish and also cause the pH to drop eventually from the natural tannins in it. You should boil the wood in water for a couple of hours to get as much tannin out as possible. Or, soak it for several days in clean water. Dump it and replace the water as it gets yellowed or dirty.

Once prepared, you may have to weight it down with rocks to get the wood to sink down in the tank water. It may take several weeks for it to want to stay down on it's own.

Followups welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

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