Newbie with dumb plant question

[DawnMarie81]

I know this is a dumb question, but I gotta ask anyways.  When we buy our plants from the store, they come in those little black baskets at the bottom, which holds the roots.  When we put the plants in the tank are we suppose to take the plant out of the little basket, or leave it in and just stick the whole thing in the gravel/rocks at the bottom?

[Jeff1192]

It's best to cut the basket away and then carefully remove the wool (or whatever it's called) that's wrapped around the stems before planting it.

Jeff

[sdivell]

no such thing as a dumb question.

Best thing to do is to carefully take your new plant out of its basket or whatever it was in while on display at the store.  Carefully inspect it for snails or snail eggs and remove them. (as you dont want to end up with nasty snails that eat your plants)
Next I remove discoloured leaves and dead leaves and then cut back the roots a bit.  This encourages the plant to grow and create more roots and anchor your plant.

you may find that the plant keeps uprooting and flooting to the surface.. try and find something aquarium safe to weigh it down until the roots get a good hold in your substrate

[DawnMarie81]

Won't they just keep being uprooted when i use the vacuum to do the rocks?  or should I just avoid the areas by the plants?

[sdivell]

avoid the plants until they get a root under them.. after awhile they get a really strong root base and you'll subrised by how hard it is to pull them up