How to trim dead or dying leaves?

[Fishingtrees]

How does one go about pruning aquarium plants?

Are there any sites that will help me with trimming my Madagascar lace plant (recently flowered) or propagating my scarlet temple?

Will be adding fish soon, just want the plants to fill out faster! Excited for fish but the plants help keep me occupied in the meantime.

 

[tlindsey]

Maybe the Planted Tank Forum can help answer the trimming questions.

 

[Fishingtrees]

Maybe the Planted Tank Forum can help answer the trimming questions.

You mean the planted tank forum where I posted?

 

[Caliban07]

How does one go about pruning aquarium plants?

Are there any sites that will help me with trimming my Madagascar lace plant (recently flowered) or propagating my scarlet temple?

Will be adding fish soon, just want the plants to fill out faster! Excited for fish but the plants help keep me occupied in the meantime.View attachment 318006View attachment 318008

If it has a ‘crown’ like the lace, you can run your thumb down the stem to
The base/crown and pull the leaf away. Start with those leaves on the outside of the crown. You can also split crowns and replant.

Most crypts can be trimmed this way.

You can split the rhizomes of anubias and tie them back to rocks or wood. People recommend not planting the Rhizomes but personally I’ve never had an issue.

Stem plants you usually trim the tops and replant them. The remaining stems will develop side shoots and continue to grow.

Try to avoid uprooting plants and disturbing roots unless absolute necessary and watch for ammonia spikes when you do.

 

[Fishingtrees]

If it has a ‘crown’ like the lace, you can run your thumb down the stem to
The base/crown and pull the leaf away. Start with those leaves on the outside of the crown. You can also split crowns and replant.

Most crypts can be trimmed this way.

You can split the rhizomes of anubias and tie them back to rocks or wood. People recommend not planting the Rhizomes but personally I’ve never had an issue.

Stem plants you usually trim the tops and replant them. The remaining stems will develop side shoots and continue to grow.

Try to avoid uprooting plants and disturbing roots unless absolute necessary and watch for ammonia spikes when you do.

Thank you! I was hoping for rules like these. All I got from the LFS is trial and error and "we have all killed plants", haha.

I'm surprised there isn't a book or anything fish hobbyists recommend.

 

[Caliban07]

Thank you! I was hoping for rules like these. All I got from the LFS is trial and error and "we have all killed plants", haha.

I'm surprised there isn't a book or anything fish hobbyists recommend.

Plant’s are pretty resilient once you have stable parameters to be honest so there is definitely room for trail and error.

I forgot to mention some plants send runners from the ‘mother’ plant that often pop up a good way away. If a plant like this doesn’t look like it’s doing much it’s probably sent runners. Once the new plant from a runner is large enough you can snip it off and replant and it will become another mother plant.

 

[anubiasplant]

For aroid type of plants for example Anubias and Bucephalandra, you can cut the rhizome to half. For stem plants, just cut horizontally in the middle and replant. And for mosses, just manually splitting them.