Jungle Val Care

[ringfinger]

I was thinking about getting some for my 29. Does it work to just cut it even with the water level like grass? Or does this cause the tips to turn brown and look bad? I really like the looks of it at the LFS in a 75 Discus tank.

[Jchillin]

I'm always trimming the leaves and they have not turned brown, which is a good thing.

[BillD]

Why not get a Val that won't grow too big for the tank, and doesn't need to be trimmed?

[ringfinger]

Sounds good to me. Is the Italian Val the smallest variety, or am I missing a smaller one?

[BillD]

The Italian Val is actually V. spiralis (although common names often don't actually match). It is a straight leaved Val that will get to 24" or more. It is a beautiful Val if your tank is deep enough. I am no expert on vals, but I believe the V.american is shorter, and tortafolia, a twisted val, gets to be only about 10". Stay away from anything that says jungle val and has a broad leaf, as they will exceed 3 feet. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. I have a bunch of spiralis that has taken over a 12" deep tank and is covering 2/3 of the surface, although it is only on one side of the tank. It was not what I thought I was buying. It was labelled as jungle val at auction, which it obviously wasn't as the leaves were opnly 1/4" wide, and the plants were short. I thought it was a type I had bought before that only grew, to a height of 10' to 12". Always a risk when buying plants at auction. They should be fine in the 90 when I set it up.