How to Anchor Aquarium Plants So They Stop Floating Up

Unplug before your hands go in

Fluval, an aquarium equipment maker, in its AquaClear filter manual: “Always unplug or disconnect all appliances in the aquarium from electricity supply before placing hands in water, before putting on or taking off parts and while the equipment is being installed, maintained or handled.” Plug every appliance you unplugged back in once your hands are out.

Stem plants: plant deep, then weight them if needed

Unplug every appliance in the tank first. Stems sold as a lead bunch arrive “wrapped by a piece of cotton and weighed down with a metal/lead weight”, which Buce Plant, an aquarium-plant retailer, says keeps them down in holding tanks. Its advice: “Same as potted versions, don’t leave your plants in the bunch!” Co-Op: “Plant each stem deeply, at least 2 to 3 inches into the ground, which means the substrate may cover some of the bottom leaves.” (2 to 3 inches is about 5-8 cm, our conversion.) It plants them “individually with a little space between” and, “if needed, wrap plant weights at the bottom to prevent them from floating away.” The directions on the weights Co-Op sells: “Carefully wrap weight around base of plant roughly one inch from the bottom. Bury base of plant in substrate to facilitate root growth.” Co-Op adds: “If the stems have no roots, some people will float them at the surface until they develop roots and then plant them into the substrate.” Chris, writing in the first person on Buce Plant’s blog, plants stems closer together than Co-Op, “with 2-3 nodes below the surface, so they are well anchored.” Plug every appliance you unplugged back in once your hands are out.

Rosettes: roots in, crown clear

Unplug every appliance in the tank first. Co-Op, of swords: “Use your fingers to dig a hole in the substrate and bury the roots of the sword, or you can use planting tweezers to push the plant roots into the substrate. Do not cover the crown (i.e., the base of the plant where all the leaves come out) with substrate.” Co-Op puts vallisneria among its grass-like, stoloniferous plants and says: “As with rosette plants, plant the roots into the substrate, and don’t cover the base of the plant’s leaves.” Its cichlid tank guide, of vallisneria: “(Burying the crown, or base of the leaves, may cause the plant to die.)” Our Amazon sword guide has each source’s full steps. Plug every appliance you unplugged back in once your hands are out.

Rhizome plants: tie or wedge them on, rhizome uncovered

Unplug every appliance in the tank first. Tropica’s planting guide, for rhizome plants: “When planting in, do not cover the rhizome or the plant will rotten [sic]. The plant can be tied on or squeezed between stones or roots.” Its java fern page: “To be grown on a root or stone, attached with fishing line until it has gained a hold.” Its anubias nana page: “Fishing line can be used to attach the plant until it gains a hold.” Co-Op, of rhizome plants: “You can wedge them between cracks in rocks or mount them to driftwood using super glue gel or sewing thread.” Its gluing guide, of thread, fishing line or a rubber band: “These aren’t ideal. The best thing is to use super glue gel, found at a hardware store.” Buce Plant, of ties: “While effective, the visible ties may not be the most attractive option.” Plug every appliance you unplugged back in once your hands are out. Our java fern and anubias guides cover each plant.

Rhizome plants: or wrap a weight loosely

Unplug every appliance in the tank first. Buce Plant: “Plant Weights can be cut down into small thin strips and tied around the roots or rhizome.” and “Keep in mind to not wrap the metal weights too tight as that can restrict plant growth or even suffocate sections of the plant”. Each seller states what its own weights are made of: Co-Op says the strips it sells “are made from tin and do not contain lead”; Buce Plant: “Although people commonly refer to these weights as “lead weights” in this hobby, our plant weights don’t actually contain lead.” We make no safety claim for any plant weight; each seller’s statement covers only its own product, so follow the label of the weights you buy. Plug every appliance you unplugged back in once your hands are out.

Open the glue by its label

Seachem, an aquarium products maker, warns on its Flourish Glue page: “WARNING: Cyanoacrylate. Danger. Bonds skin and eyes in seconds. Keep out of the reach of children. Eye and skin irritant. If eye contact occurs, rinse with water for 5-10 minutes.” Its directions add: “Do not use this product to adhere items to glass surfaces.” That is Seachem’s own glue; with another glue, follow the warnings on its label, which is the final word. Co-Op’s directions for the super glue gel it sells: “Protect clothing and work surfaces, and use in a well-ventilated area. Keep out of reach of children.” “Point the tube away from your face and body. Do not squeeze the tube while puncturing. To puncture, screw the nozzle and cap assembly onto the tube completely.”

Glue the roots, not the rhizome, out of the tank, as Co-Op does

Co-Op’s gluing guide welcomes gloves “to prevent your hands from sticking together”, presses the roots with the glue’s cap and warns: “(Do not cover the rhizome in super glue or the plant may suffer.)” Hold times differ between Co-Op’s pages and Seachem’s; follow your glue’s label. Keep the plants from drying; the sources that give a time differ. Co-Op’s guide, for gluing several plants: “Try to do these within about 10-15 minutes because these are water plants that dry out quickly.” Aquarium Breeder, a shrimp-keeping hobby blog, for its own glue method: “If the process takes you more than 5 – 10 minutes, spray the plants with water to prevent them from drying out.” Tropica’s planting guide, for planting with the water low: “Have a spray-mister ready in order to keep the plants damp while you are working.” Then Co-Op: “When they’re all dry, place them in your tank.” Unplug every appliance in the tank before you set the piece in, and plug every appliance you unplugged back in once your hands are out.

Mosses: tie them thin, or use mesh

Unplug every appliance in the tank first. Tropica, of its ‘Bogor Moss’ (Taxiphyllum barbieri): “Attach the plant with a piece of fishing line or cotton thread until it has gained a hold on the décor.” Practical Fishkeeping, a fishkeeping magazine, places moss “as thinly as possible” when tying it, so “you won’t get the lower layers dying off”. It adds: “Most cotton will rot after a few weeks and should leave the moss in place. If worried about the moss attaching in time, use fishing line as it will not rot.” For walls and carpets: “The ideal base is rigid plastic mesh or similar. As on driftwood or stones, it can be tied to the mesh with cotton or fishing line.” One owner report runs the other way: a commenter on the anchoring article of Aquarium Breeder (step 7), who says they have kept fish for over 40 years, writes: “I stay miles away from mesh because plants grow and move and can leave gaps and small fish can get stuck in there and injure themselves.” To glue moss, see steps 6 and 7. Plug every appliance you unplugged back in once your hands are out. Our java moss guide covers wood, walls and carpets.

Carpeting plants: let the rock wool anchor them

Unplug every appliance in the tank first. Tropica, for its potted carpeting plants: “Remove the pot and the excess mineral wool. Cut off the mineral wool chunk at approx. 2 cm under plant level to use it as an “anchor” when planting. Divide into 4-10 portions and plant evenly over the area you wish to cover.” (2 cm is about ¾ in, our conversion.) Co-Op says that with very small pieces “we find that the roots are too small or delicate and the plant bits end up floating away”, so it plants the whole plug: “The rock wool will keep the carpeting plant from floating away and give it a good base to root from.” It also puts a root tab in the plug, for feeding; follow that tab’s label, cautions included. If you do split a pot into small pieces and “the aqua soil is too lightweight to keep them anchored”, Co-Op says to “try sprinkling a few pieces of aqua soil on top of the plantlets to keep them weighed down.” Plug every appliance you unplugged back in once your hands are out.

Bulbs: on top, weighed down if needed

Unplug every appliance in the tank first. Co-Op: “Rinse the bulb or tubers to remove any rock wool or loose substrate covering it, and place it on top of the substrate. If the bulb starts floating, you can either wait for it to sink or place it loosely under a piece of hardscape to keep it weighed down.” Tropica differs for Crinum: “Plant Crinum with approx. ½ of the bulb over the bottom layer. Tubers can be covered completely, but the shoot must be above the bottom layer.” Plug every appliance you unplugged back in once your hands are out.

Hornwort and floating plants: float them, or anchor loosely

Unplug every appliance in the tank first. Co-Op: “Hornwort grows best as a floating plant, where it has greater access to light and carbon dioxide from the air. Some people like to plant it into the substrate or attach it to hardscape, but because it never grows proper roots, the attached end tends to rot away.” Buce Plant, if you want it under water: “To anchor Hornwort submerged, secure stem bases loosely to hardscape using plant weights or suction cups; avoid burying stem bases deep in dense substrate, as buried portions will decay.” For floating plants, Co-Op: “Some people like to use fishing line or airline tubing to contain the floating plants and prevent them from getting pushed underwater by the filter output.” It warns: “make sure that they don’t cover the entire surface of the water or else you may have issues with oxygen depletion for the fish and lack of light for the other plants down below.” Plug every appliance you unplugged back in once your hands are out. Our hornwort guide covers both ways.