Has anyone tried Kokedama java moss wrapped Amazon Sword w/ plecos?java moss wrapped Amazon Sword

[Linus_Cello]

So I bought from Petco yesterday an Amazon Sword wrapped in in java moss (aquatic kokedama?). My guess is that the sword is still in one of those slotted pots use for hydroponics, with just java moss growing on it. I thought I'd experiment to see if, by keeping this higher in the water column, it would survive the L204 and L128 from eating the base of the stems, a problem I've had in the past with swords and these plecos (and being closer to the light probably doesn't hurt either). Currently, this is in my discus tank, about halfway up the tank, perched on some driftwood (and surrounded by various anubias).

Has anyone tried something similar with their pleco tanks?

[bekateen]

I haven't tried this but I have started potting my cryptocoryne (spelling?), Anubias, and pothos in pots placed at water level, so roots are under water and stems/leaves are above. Very fast plant growth and not hurt by plecos.

Cheers, Eric

[Bas Pels]

Swordplants - Echionodorus species, need a very rich soil. And therefore, in the poriginal little pot, they will not thrive.

I use food containers, 1, 2 liters, filled with a mixture of clay and sand, and covered with just sand. This works perfectly.

Now the ground I live on is rich in clay, it is a riverine deposit, and this is what I use. I dry it, chop it fine, and let it dry further in order to get very small pieces which easily mix with sand, 1:1. Therefore I cannot name a commercial clay.

For a cichlid tank this is perfect: cichlids like to burrow, some more, some less, and therefore you want to have clean sand, which will not work for the plants. And it makes replacing the plant easy too. In summer most of my Echiopnodorus are in the ponds, in winter obviously not.