fertilizer in frog tank?

[limike]

Hi Guys, I have been working on getting my dart frog terrarium up and going. I pretty much have everything set. I am running a waterfall with hydroballs. I was thinking of purchasing some plants from hope depot or other local plant dealers. My question is, how do I plant them. Should I remove the dirt around the roots and rinse them before planting them in my eco earth? or do they just go in the way they came? I would think the plants have fertilizer in the dirt when purchased. Can they hurt the frogs and contaminate the tank?
Thank you for your help

[Sunshine]

Rinse the roots completely. Try to get all of the dirt and those little white perlite rocks. I even replant them in coco fiber and let what is left of any fertilizer grow out for a couple weeks.

[limike]

Thank you very much Sherry, I will be sure to do that.
Thanks again

[Sunshine]

You are most welcome

[ikissedafrog]

Rinse the roots completely. Try to get all of the dirt and those little white perlite rocks. I even replant them in coco fiber and let what is left of any fertilizer grow out for a couple weeks.

Do you have success growing them in coco fiber? I had read that plants never did well in it for long...something about the pH levels, or something along those lines, made growing plants difficult...right now, in my tarantula enclosures and my frog tank I use plants in pots of potting soil buried under the coco fiber, luckily so far no one has decided to try to dig any of them up! If there is a way to avoid doing it this way, that'd be great!

[HerpDerp]

My plants seem to be enjoying the coco fiber actually. The dracaena don't really grow much but my pothos thrives in it. I actually mix old coco fiber into potting soil for my house plants because it retains moisture well but still drains pretty well too. And for extra nutrients I water the plants in my vivarium with the water dish before I change it. I have a false bottom though so it doesn't sit and fester.

[Sunshine]

Mine have always done well in the coco fiber, but you can also use fertilizer free potting soil.

[ikissedafrog]

Very interesting, thank you!

[ejh805]

Coco fiber is also marketed as a hydroponics grow medium, so I imagine it'd grow things very well. Let the roots breathe and grow freely.

[Sunshine]

You are most welcome

[deranged chipmunk]

actually, coco fiber has really, no nutritional value for the plants. the frog's waste as well as waste from other critters that may happen upon the tank breaks down and fertilizes the plants naturally. of course, you can speed that process up a bit by introducing springtails and/or isopods. i use a couple of inches of an organic potting soil used for hydroponics growing. it's packed with all kinds of good stuff like bat guano, earthworm castings, sea kelp and yes, it does have perlite in it. am i worried about my frogs ingesting perlite? absolutely not, because it is buried under 2 inches of coco fiber minimum. if i had burrowing frogs (which i do not) i would never even think of using the same soil. all my plants are buried deep, and if i get anything from the lower substrate on the top, i just remove a few surrounding inches of coco fiber and add new stuff in. my plants love it. i also mist them with waste aquarium water.