Heavily Planted Tanks

[panboy]

how do people maintain heavily planted tanks? like how do they replant stem plants without messing up the other plants.

My tank is not super heavily planted but it has a good amount. And when I replant my stem plants, its tough to not move around and disturb other things?

And i've seen some tanks that are so packed it would seem impossible.... so i was wondering this

 

[George Farmer]

Good question. This is one reason I choose not to plant heavily with stem plants - too much maintenance.

The key is using the correct tools for the job. Tweezers are a must, the longer and thinner the better for fine work.

Some do not replant there stems very often but just trim the tops to acheive a bushy appearance. Long-term this in not ideal as the bottom of the stems will weaken. I suspect that in the photos you have seen that the tank has been set-up for contest and not long-term. A lot of contest entries purely set up their tank for a quick beautiful effect, take photos, then strip down ready for a new layout. This may explain the "impossibly" bushy appearances.

Hope that answers your question.

 

[Jen]

I don't have too many stem plants anymore... 2 bits of hygro difformis and some ludwiga. I have some really long tongs... i think they are 18 inches. I use them to cut the stems... they have detachable snippers. For planting, I have a pair of tweezers about 10 inches long, with a bit of a grip on the tips. It wouldnt be so hard if the tank wasn't 21" deep to the sand.

 

[lljdma06]

I have a lot of stem plants and find that to keep the bushy appearence, I have to regularly trim about once a week. Most of the time, I prune from the bottom, like cut off the last inch or two. But after a while, I'll trim the top off to really take advantage of new growth. I also like to separate a particularly good cutting and make a new plant, or even a leaf or two. I always seem to have little plantlets ready to take the place of some of my stem plants that are worse for wear. Finally, it really helps to plant no more than like three stems at any given clump. Stem plants really need the light to penetrate down, or they'll get stringy faster.

As for messing up other plants, that simply goes with the territory. I prefer not to crypts around too much, but sometimes they get in the way when I'm really getting down with the stem plants.

Gf hit the nail on the head, it is loads of hard work.

 

[modernhamlet]

Good tools are so essential.

A nice pair of fine scissors, tweezers, and especially good, long tongs or forceps for replanting stems makes things so much easier.