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Just got my Green Cabomba Carolinkento4a and I'm a bit stumped - no instructions came with it. There's this little lead clamp thingy at the bottom. Do I need to take it off or can I just use it to weigh the plant down in the substrate? If I leave the clamp on, will it stop the plant from growing roots? I'm planning to plant a few pieces and I don't mind having some floating around. Thanks for any help.

Flipside wrote: ↑Sun Mar 16, 2025 2:40 am Just got my Green Cabomba Carolinkento4a and I'm a bit stumped - no instructions came with it. There's this little lead clamp thingy at the bottom. Do I need to take it off or can I just use it to weigh the plant down in the substrate? If I leave the clamp on, will it stop the plant from growing roots? I'm planning to plant a few pieces and I don't mind having some floating around. Thanks for any help.

You can definitely leave the weight on, but keep in mind you'll need to trim the stem periodically to remove dead plant matter. This applies whether you plant it or let it float. Since it gets nutrients from the water, it'll thrive as a floater.

cichlidgirl22 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 16, 2025 4:22 am

Flipside wrote: ↑Sun Mar 16, 2025 2:40 am Just got my Green Cabomba Carolinkento4a and I'm a bit stumped - no instructions came with it. There's this little lead clamp thingy at the bottom. Do I need to take it off or can I just use it to weigh the plant down in the substrate? If I leave the clamp on, will it stop the plant from growing roots? I'm planning to plant a few pieces and I don't mind having some floating around. Thanks for any help.

You can definitely leave the weight on, but keep in mind you'll need to trim the stem periodically to remove dead plant matter. This applies whether you plant it or let it float. Since it gets nutrients from the water, it'll thrive as a floater.

I've had a soft spot for Cabomba, but my past attempts ended in disaster - they'd kick the bucket within a month. What else can I do to keep them thriving? Any advice on lighting would be great, or if there's anything else I'm missing.

cichlidgirl22 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 16, 2025 4:22 am

Flipside wrote: ↑Sun Mar 16, 2025 2:40 am Just got my Green Cabomba Carolinkento4a and I'm a bit stumped - no instructions came with it. There's this little lead clamp thingy at the bottom. Do I need to take it off or can I just use it to weigh the plant down in the substrate? If I leave the clamp on, will it stop the plant from growing roots? I'm planning to plant a few pieces and I don't mind having some floating around. Thanks for any help.

You can definitely leave the weight on, but keep in mind you'll need to trim the stem periodically to remove dead plant matter. This applies whether you plant it or let it float. Since it gets nutrients from the water, it'll thrive as a floater.

Thanks for the input, I actually got it as a floater but then I thought it looked so pretty when I stuck it in the substrate with that little metal anchor, so I might just leave it as a floater after all.

infold wrote: ↑Sun Mar 16, 2025 4:36 am

cichlidgirl22 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 16, 2025 4:22 am

Flipside wrote: ↑Sun Mar 16, 2025 2:40 am Just got my Green Cabomba Carolinkento4a and I'm a bit stumped - no instructions came with it. There's this little lead clamp thingy at the bottom. Do I need to take it off or can I just use it to weigh the plant down in the substrate? If I leave the clamp on, will it stop the plant from growing roots? I'm planning to plant a few pieces and I don't mind having some floating around. Thanks for any help.

You can definitely leave the weight on, but keep in mind you'll need to trim the stem periodically to remove dead plant matter. This applies whether you plant it or let it float. Since it gets nutrients from the water, it'll thrive as a floater.

I've had a soft spot for Cabomba, but my past attempts ended in disaster - they'd kick the bucket within a month. What else can I do to keep them thriving? Any advice on lighting would be great, or if there's anything else I'm missing.

I've come across some mixed info on lighting for Green Cabomba - some say it needs bright light, others claim it prefers low light. I'll keep you updated on how mine does.

Cabomba's a bit of a diva - it either works or it doesn't, no in-between. I've had two tanks set up identically, and it's thrived in one while the other's been a disaster. It's just one of those plants. Ambulia's similar, but way easier to grow.

Normally, you'd plant Cabomba in the substrate, but you've got to be super careful not to damage the stems or they'll just rot on you. Floating's an option too, which you've already tried. As for the plant anchors, I personally prefer to remove them, but you can leave them on if you want. One thing you can do is lay a stem on the substrate and use anchors to hold it in place on the gravel surface. The plant will grow roots down into the substrate and send up stems at each leaf node.

It loves lots of light, and a bit of aquarium plant fertiliser doesn't hurt either.