Controlling Vals - Please help friends

[nagukush]

Hi Friends !

Desperately need some help here...

Due to my inexperience and foolishness, I planted a few half-dead vals in the front of the tank, the idea was that I thought it would look good to have 2 dense patches of vals on either side of the driftwood cave...

Now after increasing light and adding DIY Co2, the Vals are growing like crazy ! They have reached more than 17" height and are spreading rapidly. I had planted about 5 to 6 plants and within 10 days or so, I now have almost double the number !

The new plantlets are emerging in a linear fashion and looks like they will form a curtain of plants, right in the front of the tank, hiding everything !

Should I remove them and replant them at the back so that they form the curtain as a background ? I'm not sure if I should uproot the plants because I'm afraid that they'll have established well till now and the roots may upset everything... Are Val's roots very large and deep ? Will they survive if I uproot them and replant them again ? Should I cut the long roots and then plant the vals ?

Can I pick up the baby plants on the runner and place them in a different direction so that they dont go like a linear curtain and form a dense patch instead ?

I'm really confused and dont know what to do... Is it bad to have a few tall vals in the forground ?

Kindly bear with me and kindly guide me a little here friends...
Thanks and Regards
Kush

[BoredAgain]

Vals will do fine with moving.

[msjinkzd]

I would move them as well if you are displeased with how they look in the front. Even if they have a little melt, they will bounce back quickly after replanting.

[nagukush]

So do I just pull out the plants, holding the base ? Will the roots be very long and deep ?

Also will pulling out one val, also pull out the runners and daughter plants along with it ? I guess the whole setup will be in a mess if this happens... kindly advice if induvidual plants can be moved ?

[msjinkzd]

The runners and plantlets will come up as well unless you pinch them off (there is a stem that connects them). I would pull it up slowly and pinch off any runners if you don't want to move them. I am not sure how long or deep your roots will be, I imagine that depends on the size of the plant and the depth of hte substrate.

[nagukush]

Thanks for the replies friends...

I'm really worried and scared about pulling out the established plants... kindly advice if I should move them or can I have them in the foreground area ?

[BoredAgain]

It's your tank so do whatever you want with them. If they look good where they are, keep them there, if not, move them.

[nickmcmechan]

vals tend to be used as a background plant due to their eventual size

i would move all the plants and runners to the back if it were me

bear in mind that they get so long that they may cover the surface and reduce light to other plants

from memory i think you have said you have tiger lotus in your tank as well

between the vals and tiger lotus you can expect the whole surface to be covered - what are your other plants?

[doreenjoy]

They should be fine if you move them. Clearly you're giving them conditions they need to grow quickly.

Keep in mind that if you leave any in the front, they'll continue to form runners there. Pruning is something we have to do on an ongoing basis for fast-growing plants.

[nagukush]

Hi Friends...

Thanks for the replies and kind advice...

I also have one another problem, the background area in my tank is shaded by the top filter and the light there is not as good as where the plants are currently... Will they still survive and grow as well in a slightly shaded area ( i mean the background) ?

Kindly advice...
Thanks and Regards
Kush

[nickmcmechan]

they are fine with low light, they will just grow more slowly

[jmhart]

This is one of those "be careful what you wished for situations". You wanted the Vals to grow, and it sounds like they did in a big way.


When it comes to rearranging, Vals are incredibly hardy. The only problem I see is that sometimes the a few leaves will pull off easily when you are moving them around, but just as easily as they pull off, they'll grow back.

When the runner plants start to have leaves that are 2-3" long, you can cut them off from the mother plant, and then move them/reposition however you'd like. At this point, you can even take them out and trade them/throw them away if the Vals are starting to outgrow the area you'd like them to be in your tank.

And as said above, they'll be fine in the lower light situation. If anything, it may help you from having to prune so often.

[midiamin]

They should do ok. Will probably slow down the growth a little. To move them, dig down in the gravel, under the roots and gently lift vals up a section at a time until you have the entire plant exposed. Of course you can split them if you wish. No harm.

[FishyMatty]

there is no controlling them. I planted a few of them in an old tank that I left alone for about 4 weeks. With 4wpg and co2 nearly the whole tanks was vals by the end with almost no surface that wasn't blocked by them. I have since removed all vals from all my tanks. they are an infectious weed.

[briggadane]

I just posted a similar question. One member told me I could trim the leaves down on a slant. I did. All is well. I also moved them to the side of my tank. Neither foreground nor background. They are sending shoots to the middle. I will be moving these to the other side of the tank today.
Good luck.
These people know what to do. :^)

[satanpie]

I wish i could get mine to grow like that

[RockysDad]

Pull them all out from the front. Plant only a couple of branches in the back. Sell the rest to your LPS. Repeat every couple of weeks...

[revelino73]

i have the same the problem, i started with about 3 vals mow i have over 15 vals of different sizes. i might trade some here or store credit at my lfs.

[jtburf]

Have you seen a tumble weed, or maybe even just a bundle of wires, that is what vals look like if not trimmed daily in a small tank(under 55g) I have the same issue, just trim them near the base, they recover qickly and are very prolific. With the plantlings they make great ground cover if forced to stay small like a bush.

P.S. First post in a few months shrimp tank about to get a new string of pics.