Help with my scape.

[Fresh2o]

I used to sneak out of my wife's scissors, use it, clean it up and put it back. Shhhhhh.
Then I bought a pair of Fluval stainless steel plant cutting scissors. No more sneaking around. Works fine although the curved ones might work a bit better in tight spots. No complaints.

 

[Ayi]

Okay, I think I might just make this a journal for this tank and it's progress. It'll be my first!

Anyways, I just noticed how much coloration my rotala indica(?) and rotala mexicana have. Some of the indica is a bright pink and the tips of the mexicana are bright yellow with a hint of pink. They seem to be picking up again.

 

[Tate]

I've been looking for some rocks like those... Where did you get them?

 

[Ayi]

I just found them outside my house. There's probably more rocks on a hill than on flatland.

 

[Ayi]

It's staying planted with a little substrate on the leaves.

There's some type of algae growing on the rotala. What type is it and how can I get rid of it?

Just an update on the rotala mexicana. It reached the surface in just a few days.

 

[Ayi]

Just wondering if anyone is still following.

 

[Brookster123]

We're still here.. full tank shot?

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[Ayi]

There's the full tank shot.


And the best Star repens plant. This one already has about 1/2 of roots.

I've also separated the two rotalas and trimmed the mexicana. It growing SUPER fast...not sure why though.

 

[Ayi]

Also what is this plant? I got it at an auction an march but it was in the same bag as a fern.

 

[Scottyhorse]

Hey Ayi, tank is looking good! I like the arrangement of the rocks better.

 

[Ayi]

Thanks Is there anything you would change?

 

[Brookster123]

That moss in the middle, java?

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[Ayi]

Yeah. I should probably do an algae treatment on it.

 

[Brookster123]

Yeah. I should probably do an algae treatment on it.

Keep an eye on it.. that stuff crawls all over the place. .

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[Ayi]

Yeah, I've been finding strands of it all over the place. I also found one of my farlowella cats stuck in a hole in the DW. I thing I'm gonna change it's position so this doesn't happen again.

 

[Brookster123]

Ooopss.. watch that. They cam wiggle into the tightest of tightest spots but reverse is usually not an option..

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[mattcham]

Star repens is about the best medium light carpeting plant you can get imho. It's a really nice easy to care for fast grower.

What about dwarf sag? Are those more demanding than star repens? Or maybe slower to grow a carpet?


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[Fresh2o]

What about dwarf sag? Are those more demanding than star repens? Or maybe slower to grow a carpet?


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Dwarf sag are probably less demanding than star repens. In the right conditions they will send out runners at a decent rate. But I've seen some grow much taller than I would consider for a carpet.
And the coverage is random (as in bare spots). Maintaining a consistent carpet height is pretty easy with star repens. When they get over a certain height just snip off the tops and replant. I like to keep it at around 1.5-2.5". Do this every few weeks and you'll have a thick carpet.

 

[Ayi]

Dwarf sag are probably less demanding than star repens. In the right conditions they will send out runners at a decent rate. But I've seen some grow much taller than I would consider for a carpet.
And the coverage is random (as in bare spots). Maintaining a consistent carpet height is pretty easy with star repens. When they get over a certain height just snip off the tops and replant. I like to keep it at around 1.5-2.5". Do this every few weeks and you'll have a thick carpet.

Dwarf sag is harder to keep at a constant height, it grows pretty tall sometimes like 5-7 inches. But you and just pull off leaves as they get longer and eventually it will train the plant to grow shorter.

 

[mattcham]

Dwarf sag is harder to keep at a constant height, it grows pretty tall sometimes like 5-7 inches. But you and just pull off leaves as they get longer and eventually it will train the plant to grow shorter.

You pull out the entire long leaf or just cut the leaf in half with scissors?

I read that the height is determined by light intensity. Dimmer light causes taller plants trying to reach up to the light. With brighter light the plants are content being short. But yes the dwarf sag carpets in Google images are not particularly thick...



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