# Plants not rooting



## Granny (Feb 23, 2011)

I don't know about the other plants, but 'Limnophila aromatica' is an herb that grows in wet soil, not underwater except in rainy seasons, and I don't think it will survive grown in an aquarium. That's the herb in Vietnamese cooking that grows in rice paddies.


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## Cboss (Aug 23, 2010)

Granny said:


> I don't know about the other plants, but 'Limnophila aromatica' is an herb that grows in wet soil, not underwater except in rainy seasons, and I don't think it will survive grown in an aquarium. That's the herb in Vietnamese cooking that grows in rice paddies.


No, l. aromatica grows great in an aquarium. It can also be a very nice purple color given the right conditions.

I've never had camboba or blyxa, but I had similar problems with my l. aromatica when I first got it. I ended up attaching a plastic paperclip to the bottom of each stem and using that to help keep the plant buried. After a month or so, the new cuttings began rooting quickly and I haven't had a problem since.


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## Granny (Feb 23, 2011)

Cboss said:


> No, l. aromatica grows great in an aquarium. It can also be a very nice purple color given the right conditions.


Does it really! Very interesting. My neighbor uses it in cooking - well - almost everything. I just found a photo of it and it really is a good looking plant.


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## Granny (Feb 23, 2011)

Green024 said:


> SNIP - I think the issue might be my substrate is too deep, and might be collecting air pockets of harmful gases. It ranges from 2"-5" with a rock and some slate buried underneath it. Any ideas?


If the area of 5 inches isn't too massive I wouldn't think it's too much, but large rocks or slate between layers of substrate could cause dead and possibly gaseous areas underneath them. What is on top of that area? Is that the area that the plants are floating out of?


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## malaybiswas (Nov 2, 2008)

Limnophila aromatica does excellent in aquariums. One of the plants I never have issue with.

Rgdg the problem here I can think of 2 reasons really
1. Not enough substrate depth. Try 3+ inches
2. Not enough light causing lower leaves and stems to disintegrate. Try maybe 2x24w


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

Try burying everything as deep as you can. Blyxa, over time, tends to uproot itself, but that shouldn't be a short-term issue. You could also try using plant weights.

You don't have any (intentional) snails, do you? Some of the larger ones, especially mystery snails, tend to burrow.


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## Sharkfood (May 2, 2010)

I bury stems up to an inch deep to keep them down. It can take a couple of days before there are enough roots to permanently anchor the stem.

I wouldn't worry about anaerobic pockets in substrate that's only 5" deep, except perhaps in the case of sand or soil.


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## jgmbosnia1 (Oct 18, 2010)

Granny said:


> I don't know about the other plants, but 'Limnophila aromatica' is an herb that grows in wet soil, not underwater except in rainy seasons, and I don't think it will survive grown in an aquarium. That's the herb in Vietnamese cooking that grows in rice paddies.


There are a few different types

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/p...nophila-aromatica-vietnamese-market-will.html


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## Green024 (Sep 19, 2009)

I will try and shove the plants deeper into the substrate, see if that will make a difference. Also I do not dare turn on a second bulb. I am in the middle of a huge battle with bba and gda, and it all started cause i was using two bulbs, with inconsistent co2 levels. 

So no one thinks the substrate is lacking what it takes to grow healthy roots?(root tabs?) i dont have a good micro setting on my camera so it will not be easy to show. But the stemmed plants that are uprooting, and the blyxa, tend to not have any roots at all, like they are not even taking the least bit. This is odd because it has never happened to me before, it is like they just stopped wanted to root... 

I do not have pests besides the normal small pond snails.
Thanks folks.


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