Pruning/Aquascaping - I give up!

[Taelen]

So I love my planted tanks and so far I have been able to mostly keep them alive and algae free, however my skills/knowledge in pruning/aquascaping are sadly lacking.

I think these will help:

Aquarium Plants, Pond Plants, Freshwater Aquarium Plant & Aquarium Accessories – Arizona Aquatic Gardens

But questions like how to tie plants, what part of the plant and how to prune? What plants get floated and how to float them so the filter current doesn't press them up against one side of the glass etc...

I have read some of the articles we have here but I find them too generic. Anyone know of any other resources?

 

[brutus]

you might find plantgeek .net usefull. look in the article section then under plant care

 

[Zagz]

If you post specific questions we have many knowledgable members that can help you with specific plants. It is rather hard to help without knowing some more of what you have and want for plants.

 

[Taelen]

I can certainly try that, I just find it difficult to describe the plant "parts" without posting pictures with arrows on them. =)

I basically have 4 types of plants across my tanks. I have changed my bulbs to those that are supposed to stimulate plant growth. I also dose with Flourish at every water change.

Anacharis (elodea?)

-I float these around, but I find they move around too much with the water current. I am guessing that the best way is to anchor one end to driftwood or something on the bottom. New growth tends to branch off the sides, but I'm unsure as to how long I should let pieces get, when to trim them down or separate them.

Anubias barteri

-these are probably the easiest, I have them at the base of my driftwood or lodged into cracks in the wood. They appear alive and well, but don't seem to grow very fast. Not really sure how or where to prune these.

Java fern

-for me these are the strangest to deal with. They grow well enough, but what I find is that there are thin brown "roots" that come off the bottom and new little green plants come out of these. Unsure as to where and how to prune these. I tied them with cotton string to my rocks and driftwood but all I see are these brown roots.

Hornwort

-only recently got these, I almost lost it due to what I assume to be inadequate lighting, it has since bounced back very well, nice green, vibrant "branches" coming off the original now. But no clue how to prune. I don't think that this can be put into the substrate (as with these other plants), but the original plant was tied off at the base with a rubber band and this made it sink to the bottom so I let it go.

 

[Purrbox]

Both the Anacharis and Hornwort are stem plants. For these you just trim to whatever height you'd like. You can toss the tops or replant them. Once the bottoms get ratty enough you'll want to toss them and just replant the tops.

There isn't much to do as far as trimming anubias. When a leaf starts to die off, simply remove it at the base of the stem. If the plant is getting too large, you can divide it by cutting the rhizome (thick part that the stems and root grow out of) with a sharp knife.

Java Ferns are similar to Anubias. Simply remove leaves that are dieing off and divide at the rhizome. These will from new plants off of the tips of the leaves. These can be removed and planted once there are a few leaves and the roots have started to form. The rest of the leaf generally dies after the babies are removed, so go ahead and remove the parent leaf at the same time.

 

[jsoong]

You can do anything you like to hornwort .... it is indestructible! I usu. just cut off the nice looking part of the plant (chucking the rest) & weigh the bottom end down with a pebble or 2 so it will grow upright rather than float on top. <Floating is OK, but it grows so fast that it will form thick mats & shade all your other plants.>

What you are seeing with the Java fern is the plant making babies. New plantlets grow from the old leaves. you can wait till the babies are 1"or so then detach from the mother & plant those elsewhere.

 

[Taelen]

You can do anything you like to hornwort .... it is indestructible! I usu. just cut off the nice looking part of the plant (chucking the rest) & weigh the bottom end down with a pebble or 2 so it will grow upright rather than float on top. <Floating is OK, but it grows so fast that it will form thick mats & shade all your other plants.>

What you are seeing with the Java fern is the plant making babies. New plantlets grow from the old leaves. you can wait till the babies are 1"or so then detach from the mother & plant those elsewhere.

I completely understand what you guys mean about the new leaf formation on the java ferns, but as I described I'm also seeing new green, small leaves coming off of what I can only assume are the roots (the thin , dark growths that grow off the rhizome but opposite the leaves). Should I be cutting or trimming these roots? Would new growth down at the bottom prevent new growth coming off the leaves?

I also noticed that the LFS sometimes uses elastic bands...are these safe for the aquarium?

Thanks again folks.

 

[jsoong]

I think I might have misunderstood your description ..... Are you seeing little roots coming out of the rhizome? Java fern grows leaves out of the rhizome. Little black roots also comes out of the rhizome. You don't trim those .... the plant uses that to anchor itself. If there are leaves growing out of one, then I would think that the plant is making a branching rhizome. In my plants, those branches are much thicker than the roots. <Once the new branch is nice & big & the leaves are grown, you can separate the 2 branches to get 2 big plants.>

What we have been talking about was baby plants growing from the leaves. You would see brown spots on the leaf, followed by roots on the underside of the leaf & baby leaves on the top, eventually, you would end up with a new plant. You can separate the plantlet & put it elsewhere when it gets to be an inch or so in size.

 

[Taelen]

Yes, these roots come out of the rhizome and they are definitely not another rhizome. But for sure there are very small, new leaves coming off these roots. I will take one out of the water and take a pic for you guys.

 

[Tifta]

I have been actually wondering the same on pruning and know what to separate. I have been also looking for a good website on what to do, but can't find one. I am keeping an eye on this post.

What about wisteria? Can you pull them apart to make new plants? and how do you prune them? Sorry I am not meaning to high-jack this thread.

 

[greenfish]

So I love my planted tanks and so far I have been able to mostly keep them alive and algae free, however my skills/knowledge in pruning/aquascaping are sadly lacking.

I think these will help:

Aquarium Plants, Pond Plants, Freshwater Aquarium Plant & Aquarium Accessories – Arizona Aquatic Gardens

But questions like how to tie plants, what part of the plant and how to prune? What plants get floated and how to float them so the filter current doesn't press them up against one side of the glass etc...

I have read some of the articles we have here but I find them too generic. Anyone know of any other resources?

You can find these tools cheaper on ebay. Look for the user scissorsdirect. Here is a link

Aquarium-Plants-Landscaping-Tools-Aquascaper-Kit-5-Pcs

 

[Purrbox]

What about wisteria? Can you pull them apart to make new plants? and how do you prune them? Sorry I am not meaning to high-jack this thread.

Wisteria is a stem plant and can be treated like other stem plants.

 

[Taelen]

That is significantly cheaper, thanks Greenfish.

 

[greenfish]

That is significantly cheaper, thanks Greenfish.

You are welcome!