Trimming Plants

[lexusalan1]

hello all, im pretty new ere so im still learning all the basics but seem to be doing things right as i have had no major problems yet.
i have some live plants in my tank which have grown so much that they are starting to cover the top of the water and so then block out the light to some of the others.
my question is can i just cut them back or will this kill them off? they are lush green and seem to be very healthy.

 

[Truck]

hello all, im pretty new ere so im still learning all the basics but seem to be doing things right as i have had no major problems yet.
i have some live plants in my tank which have grown so much that they are starting to cover the top of the water and so then block out the light to some of the others.
my question is can i just cut them back or will this kill them off? they are lush green and seem to be very healthy.

yeah cut them back...there is a pruning pin at the top of the planted section page

 

[Curiosity101]

Depends what type of plant they are really as to how you trim them.

But as a guess I'm going to say they're probably stem plants.
Examples of common stem plants: Ludwigia, Elodea and Cabomba.

If it is a stem plant then simply remove them from the tank, measure how tall you want them from the top down. And cut off the extra un wanted bit of plant from the bottom.

 

[Truck]

Depends what type of plant they are really as to how you trim them.

But as a guess I'm going to say they're probably stem plants.
Examples of common stem plants: Ludwigia, Elodea and Cabomba.

If it is a stem plant then simply remove them from the tank, measure how tall you want them from the top down. And cut off the extra un wanted bit of plant from the bottom.

i wouldnt up root them as it disturbs the roots...just snipping it off in the tank is sufficient

 

[lexusalan1]

sorry i forgot to tell you what kind they are, they are straight vallis, hope this helps

 

[Truck]

sorry i forgot to tell you what kind they are, they are straight vallis, hope this helps

with vallis...just cut the leaves to the desired height...dont up root them..just do it in the water with some scissors...cut it diagonally so it doesnt look so square

 

[lexusalan1]

ok thanks very much for the info

 

[Geoff1991]

Just like to point out that there are varied success rates with that, works for some doesn't for others.

Mines always been fine but some peoples just die... Suppose it depends on luck and what type of scissors you use.