Safe to move plants around?

[Pacqui]

I like to rearrange my tank decor every other water change or so and I was wondering if it's bad for my water wisteria to be moved that often? Do I need it to stay in one place so the roots can develop or does it not matter? I have a mix of gravel and flourite as my substrate.

Thanks!

[Oldfishlady]

It is really better to leave rooted plants alone to allow them to get established, you also need to be careful in moving too many things around too often with partial water changes so not to release toxic gases that normally build up under large objects in the tank. If you are doing complete water changes it is generally safe-except for the live rooted plants.....

When you do move large objects-be sure and deep vacuum in that area-but avoid plant roots so not to damage them-especially in tanks under 20gals....

[Pacqui]

Thank you. Wow, I had no idea a release of toxic gases can happen. I'm not doing full water changes, only 25% each time. I don't have large objects, either. I just wish I could be happy with my 'scape. I keep changing my mind where I want things to go!

So, to clarify, would it be okay to move my small objects around and just leave the rooted plants? My tank is only 5gal.

[Bombalurina]

Yes, it is. :)

I find that drawing my scape out helps a lot. That way, I can plan and change til my heart's content without actually changing my tank until I have my final design. If I changed my tank every time I was unhappy with decor, I'd have to uproot about 40 live plants a week. :p

[Pacqui]

Thanks for the tip, Bombalurina. Never thought to try to draw it all out first. I wish I could have 40 plants!!! I'm finding that I'm not only growing an addiction to bettas, but also to live plants! So far I only have 4 plants but I've only had my tank since March. I'm very much interested in the whole Walstad NPT, too =)

[Bombalurina]

I'm trying one of these this holiday in my 16 gallon. Check out OFL's albums - hers are amazing!