Getting fed-up already.

[STEVIE]

Probably not your usual question on here but i never knew aquatic plants could be such an absolute pain.Thats all i spend my time doing is thinning them out so i can see the fish.My tank is only small and the plants i have fill it so quickly.
The plants were not expensive ones at 40p a small bunch and did look good when small and first planted before spreading all over the place and filling the tank up.Even my 2 more expensive plants on wood are 4 times the size in only a few months and they were sold to me as very slow growers.
What's your advice?Have i bought bad choices and should i throw them all out,starting again with different plants?Would i be better off with plastic ones?

 

[guppygirl]

Do they look good?
No offence, but this one sorta cracks me up. Go ask Konrad05 what his tank looks like if he doesn't prune it. So anyways. Usually when plants explode into rapid growth, they're saying "Wahooo!!! I love it here!!!" Unless you really don't like getting your hands wet and trimming your plants, I guess it's up to you want to do. I will say planted tanks are beautiful and a joy to care for. So good luck!!

Robin

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Gee what a surprise, plants grow (psst so do fish). Sooner or later almost any plant will outgrow a smaller tank. You have two choices- prune or get plastic.

 

[STEVIE]

Lol.I was expecting them to grow just not so fast or spread all over the place.
From reading other posts i can't see how conditions can be so favorable.I don't add any fertiliser plant food and i've only got one small light tube.Some of the plants reach the surface from the bottom[15"]in a few days!!!
If i put a pic on can anyone tell me if i've bought unsuitable plants that need changing.

 

[Discomafia]

Yea, please do put a pic on here. Identifying what plant you have would be good for a start... I for one, am curious, to see what kind of plants you have that are growing so well.

At first I thought this thread was about how someone was frustrated about how his planted tank was going, but this was quite refreshing. It means that you must be doing something right, or the conditions in your tank are exactly what your plants need.

 

[gale]

If you don't want your hands in your tank, there are long handled pruners. I bought one at petsmart that has interchangable ends-one cuts and the other grabs. I don't mind putting mine in the tank every so often but truthfully I'd rather avoid it whenever possible.

 

[Aulonochromis]

LOL. You don't see too many people get frustrated because their plants are growing too much.

 

[Sanj]

Yeah, ditto cant believe you frustrated by what is a good thing...especially for the fish.

if its a small tank surely it cant be that much of a job? Stick with it, plants create a more stable environment all the more important in a small aquarium...plastic plants are ####e IMO. Tacky horrid...for peeps with no taste

 

[Silly me]

Maybe your plants is just the wrong selection for you tank..

Java fern might sound like a common plant but the growth is healthy in low light but also not at a speedy rate.. Same goes for Anubias nana, also slow growers but look very good.

There is some plants that is well suited for a small tank and there is some that just grow to big to fast for a small tank.

Lights also makes a huge difference.. the more usable blue light you add to your tank the more bushy they get, more usable red light makes them grow long fast and less dense.

 

[Yenko]

There are very few plants that really fit in a small tank; even my Java Fern is getting a bit big for my 10 gallon tank.

So yes, pruning is nessesary. On the plus side, if your plants are happy, you don't have to be as careful; any mistakes will be replaced quickly.

 

[STEVIE]

I've been really busy and thrown more than 1/2 the plants out.Otherwise all you'd see is a wall of green.Nice to see the fish again.
Does anyone see any undesirable plants that would be better removed alltogether?I've left some of each plant in there incase i throw out the wrong ones.

Forgot to mention the tube is a 15inch Triton light.