Aquarium question?

Hi there to all!
I just got my self a new aquarium and I have put real plants in it.
When I purchased the plants two of them came in pots, the ones with the long holes by the sides. Should I take the pots out and put the plant's roots in the gravel or leave them there?
Thanks!
Answers:
hi, those pots are simply used to faciliate easy transfer of plants when sold. alternatively, some aquarium use thin lead strips to bind the plants together. the potted plants are stuffed with cotton and/or stones, metal strips to make them sink.

please do not keep them in your tank because over time, these "pots" or more specifically the cotton will accumulate debris and degrade water rapidly. if you want, keep the plants planted in the gravel. or alternatively (this is what i did), remove the cotton and the lead strips, use the smallest cable ties (about 2-3mm width) you can find at hardware stores and fasten the plants to the pots. beware not to bruise the stems of the plants. then you can place pea gravels or marbles into the pots to make them sink. the roots of the plants will anchor around these weights and stabilise the plants. this method only applies to stem plants.

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Most aqaurium plants need to be rooted in a peaty medium for a few weeks or months before the fish waste becomes part of their fertilizer, so I'd leave them alone for a while first.

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no u dont have to

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As a multiple aquarium fish owner, I say to leave them in the pot temporarily til they get established to the environment. Depending on the fish you get, (some like to move gravel around and some will eat the plants altogether) put small rocks around it so they cant be pulled out or moved by the fish.

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Generally you want to take them out of the pots, and plant them in the gravel. It's hard to say what exactly you should do as it differs for different plants. Some plants like java fern like to grow on wood or stone. Some plants grow better in some sort of substrate which provides minerals. If you know the name of the plants you should likely punch it into a search engine, or ask another question here.

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With proper light and a decent amount of time passed you'll find that the pot is restricting the roots and limiting how big your plant can grow. Even over a short period of time, roughly two months, it's easy to see how cramped a plant can become if left in it's pot. Like a tree kept in a pot will never get as big as one planted in your front lawn.

Now if it has some padding wrapped around the roots I'd suggest keeping that there. If you're really interested in having your plants grow look into plant friendly substrates. But many hardy ones sod in petstores will grow in almost anything.

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Take them out so that the roots can spread if not the pot can actually "choke" the plant and it will slowly die off.

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Either way.. I leave them in the pot until they get more mature and to give the roots a chance to develop say about six months to a year. It can be difficult to anchor plants down when they are small especially when you add the fish which will pull at them and uproot them. Have fun and enjoy.