# good/bad idea?



## CryptKeeper (Jan 24, 2006)

hello my fellow aquatic freaks
my name is mike. 
a while back i bought a lot of aquatic plants by mail order. now they are almost all doing great part my my microsword (lilaelopsis). it just wont stay in the ground. ive replanted it 3 times. i read that it grows fast in emerse culture. i was wondering if this is a solution . i will not have such a hard time if it develops a good root system.how can i grow it emerse then put in back into my tank?i thought maybe i could put it in a holed tupperware with my sand, let it grow then put it back. is that a good idea? thanks


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## EDGE (Feb 28, 2004)

Establishing a good root system emersed does not mean the plant will root better when converted to submersed. The emersed roots will most likely rot off before new submersed roots have established. The good thing with emersed is the higher amount of nutrients you can feed the plant without having algae issues on the leaves; however, the emersed grown leaves will look different than the submersed grown leaves. Eventually, the emersed leaves will fall off and new submersed growth will appear. 

Planting a huge strend of lilaeopsis is a lot harder than planting a single node at a time. If you do grow lilaeopsis emersed, plain gravel with a more concentrated nutrients mixed will work.


Do you have a lot of bottom dweller in the tank? lilaeopsis isn't a good choice for a tank with heavy traffic near the bottom.


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