Socalsam

So I have seen some people ask this question and thought I would make a thread. If you don't know what you are doing and pot a plant in a viv the wrong way , you can kill the animals inside. Here is why. Most tropical plants are grown in green houses. Even though they are confined to a room, they still get bugs(mites,mealy bug, white fly, thrip, aphids) and need to be treated with chemicals.And I can tell you from experience the chemicals are nasty. Also chemical and organic fertilizers are used on their plants. All of these can be harmful to your frogs.Here is the right way to plant you Viv. Before you remove the plant from the pot, make sure the soil is moist and not dry.This will allow for easy removal from pot. If it is dry it the soil will get all over the place when you remove it. Try to remove as much of the soil from the roots as possible. Rinsing under cool water is ok. Once a majority of the soil is removed you can now plant your plant in the viv.Don't compact soil to much when you fill in area around roots.Needs to be loose but not to loose.You can now water the plant. Also plants need to acclimate to you tank(humidity,temp). There may be a die off stage after your plants are planted. This is normal , but can be other signs of to much moisture and/or poor lighting. Keep an eye on you plants and you should be able to catch problems before they get to critical. I hope this helps and if anyone has anything I missed out, don't hesitate to correct me or add more.

Thanks everyone,

Sam

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A few frogs.

Knoxter

Good bit of info Sam,

I'd like to add a few things to what you said. After you get all the soil off the roots, I would recommend rinsing the leaves and stems off with a 50/50 water bleach solution, then rinse thoroughly with luke warm water. I will also reiterate how important it is to get all the soil off the plants roots. There is all kinds of fertilizer and insects withing the soil. That's how one of my millipede infestations began. Also, if you use broms, make sure the cups and axils are rinsed out thoroughly. Recently, I wondered how there was a mosquito in my house in New England, where the temps were in the 30's. It was right after I received a large order of borms from a place in FL. I put the plants in my 55 gal holding tank, which has a few openings in the top, and soon there were skeetos in my house in the middle of winter.
Lastly, my mix that I use when I put plants in my tank is as follows. Equal parts of Zilla's lirard litter, coco fiber and husks, sphagnum moss, and tree fern fiber. That is what I also use for the substrate in my tanks.
Just be sure to rinse your plants.

Marc

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Marc

My frogs- Vanzolini, El Dorado (ong&gold), Cayo de Agua, Almerante, Gold Dust, Yuris, Imis, Inters, Taras, O Lamasi, Iquitos Vents, Varis, SI.


I appreciate everyone here. Without you, there would be no DFF. Thank you for your support.

spartcus

When planting to the pots in the viv are we suppose to use organic soil or should it be the same mix as your substrate or is it suppose to be the soil?

Socalsam

Basically you want to make your own substrate. I would recommend coco fiber and husks, Sphagnum moss and tree fern fiber. For a drainage substrate I use Hydroton. It is better than river rocks in ways like weight and microorganism development. So to set up your ground fill the area with enough Hydroton or whatever you choose. Usually it is 2 to 3 inches thick. On top of that you will put some fiberglass screening(window screen works perfect) to cover end to end , side to side of the hydroton balls. You don't want your soil falling down into your drainage layer. After you have set the screening in place you can then add your substrate(soil). Hope this helps ya out Spartcus I just want to add that the whole "Substrate" topic is a highly debatable subject. If you plan on using Marc's substrate mix or someone else I am sure it will be ok.Just avoid anything that has chemicals or fertilizers.

Sam

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A few frogs.

atlfrog

I don't do much planting with plants in my vivariums as me and plants don't get a long very well. But I can say this, some of the commercial plants have chemicals and fertilizers on them, etc. that can definitely hurt your frogs. thoroughly cleansing the roots, leaves, etc. is very important. Also when planting plants you really want to do this before frogs and placed into the environment until the roots had a chance to settle and grow in a bit so when the frogs climb all over it they aren't moving the plant around. Oh I have heard of different techniques of cleaning the plants but I usually clean them with soapy water and rinse real well depending on the plants and plant them into the tank depending on the plant. I also, after planting leave the tank be for about 30-60 days for any real cr@p that's left to settle or wear off before adding animals, but you really like I mentioned want to the plants to take before letting animals in unless you have glued them in. The substrate I usually buy organic soil. It might be a bit expensive but I usually add a few other things to bit so that the soil is enriched for the plants. PS: I won't tell what I use because it's secret. LOL BTW after the frogs are in the frogs will add some extras for the plants too. If you know what I mean. BUT this is just my 2 cents. Great topic though, very informative to those who are just starting.

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Merek Matthew Cardew :: ATLFROG.com
HTTP://www.blogtalkradio.com/reptilian-fish

spartcus

How much of a substrate should I have on top of the leca? I am assuming it has to be at least 2 to 3 inches of substrate to have the plants roots to actually establish itself.

And what are these mossys that people talk about? I see stuff thats called pillow mossys its like a grass type moss?

atlfrog

I will let SoCalSam explain more on that. LOL But I know that wasn't directed to me.

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Merek Matthew Cardew :: ATLFROG.com
HTTP://www.blogtalkradio.com/reptilian-fish

Knoxter

Yes, you are abso correct. 2-3 inches of soil substrate works. That allows plants to root and the micro fauna plenty of space to flourish. As for the moss, your can get it from many places. I used to pick it up at the shows or Black Jungle, but my good Andy put on to something new. The regular sheet moss you can get at arts and crafts stores like Michael's, and AC Moore, or any florist works fine, if your get it when its green. I tried it, and it is already starting to catch already in my new vivs. I found this at Michael's. It was $5. That's about what I spend at the shows.

Here is a pic of what I tried. It was very green and took nice.



Marc

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Marc

My frogs- Vanzolini, El Dorado (ong&gold), Cayo de Agua, Almerante, Gold Dust, Yuris, Imis, Inters, Taras, O Lamasi, Iquitos Vents, Varis, SI.


I appreciate everyone here. Without you, there would be no DFF. Thank you for your support.

spartcus

Is that live moss? Interesting I thought michaels only sell arts and crafts stuff nothing live. So for planting moss do I just put it over the substrate or what not and hopefully should just start to attach itself. Cause when i was keeping planted freshwater tanks I had to tie down any type of moss to driftwood for it to take hold after a couple weeks. Is it the same principal in a viv?

Socalsam

Well lets start with , What kind of moss do you want to use? Any moss you used in your tanks could work in your viv if they are aquatic and terrestrial.Some of the moss species I use are java moss, pillow moss, sheet moss, and Ricca.You can go to many sites that sell plants and check on what kind of moss they sell or you can do a google search for moss.I know ebay has moss for sale.

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A few frogs.