Sheesh, plants growing too **** fast....

[Mooch28]

Ya i know, most people would die for such things , but im getting sick of it, especially, and mainly the watersprite. SO, im pulling it out, the roots are just growing like crazy on it, and its growing more then 5-6 inches per week. Anways, i need some ideas on stem plants that look good, and grow at a medium rate. It's going to be in the background, so i need something that will grow around 15-20 inches in hieght.

I thought about valls as they look good in the background, but im wondering if they can be trimmed at all?

Oh as for info, ive got pressurized C02 kept around 25-35 ppm, as well as 3.7 watts per gallon, and i fert almost daily. So yes, i can grow just about any plant.....

Thanks in advance!

 

[peleg38]

Swords

I just set up a tank and have really enjoyed the swords I have. I have an Ozelot that is beautiful. It hasn't gotten too high yet (2 months - added about 4 inches) but it has filled out a lot. Great looking plant. I have a melon sword that is nice but I can't seem to get it to grow up instead of sideways. It's still only about 7" high. They get huge but amazon swords are by far my favorite.

 

[Blinky]

Mooch, I hear ya
I don't enjoy the jungle look either, it can be tough to keep a handle on pruning with lots of light, ferts and CO2. I remind myself daily that the reason some of these plants grow so fast and choke out other plants is they're weeds - this is what comes naturally to them!
AFAIK you can't really prune vals other than removing leaves at the base. I believe there are dwarf species, but I think they'd be too short for your background. How about Rotala indica (rotundifolia)? It's gorgeous in high light (mine's a combo of peach and fluorescent pink right now) and doesn't grow as fast as some stems like Hygrophila polysperma. Bacopa caroliniana is also nice and grows at a medium rate, picks up a bronze colour in good light. Swords are nice, and some grow fairly slowly, though I had one that was a monster and absolutely took over the tank! Since they grow out as well as up, to me they seem more suited to being a showpiece than a background plant.

 

[Mooch28]

Mooch, I hear ya
I don't enjoy the jungle look either, it can be tough to keep a handle on pruning with lots of light, ferts and CO2. I remind myself daily that the reason some of these plants grow so fast and choke out other plants is they're weeds - this is what comes naturally to them!
AFAIK you can't really prune vals other than removing leaves at the base. I believe there are dwarf species, but I think they'd be too short for your background. How about Rotala indica (rotundifolia)? It's gorgeous in high light (mine's a combo of peach and fluorescent pink right now) and doesn't grow as fast as some stems like Hygrophila polysperma. Bacopa caroliniana is also nice and grows at a medium rate, picks up a bronze colour in good light. Swords are nice, and some grow fairly slowly, though I had one that was a monster and absolutely took over the tank! Since they grow out as well as up, to me they seem more suited to being a showpiece than a background plant.

Thanks guy, but ive got a question for you blinky. I have the Bacopa in my tank already, and it looks awsome, but does the Rotala indica (rotundifolia) grow simularily. What i mean is, does it send out a ton of roots all over from its stems. The Bacopa doesnt, and it has a very "clean" look. Im wondering if the Rotala indica (rotundifolia) mantains that same "clean" look?

 

[djlen]

Yes they will both throw 'air' roots when 'happy'. Bacopa will also turn a nice coppery color when happy.

Len

 

[Swimfins]

Ya i know, most people would die for such things , but im getting sick of it, especially, and mainly the watersprite. SO, im pulling it out, the roots are just growing like crazy on it, and its growing more then 5-6 inches per week. Anways, i need some ideas on stem plants that look good, and grow at a medium rate. It's going to be in the background, so i need something that will grow around 15-20 inches in hieght.

I thought about valls as they look good in the background, but im wondering if they can be trimmed at all?

Oh as for info, ive got pressurized C02 kept around 25-35 ppm, as well as 3.7 watts per gallon, and i fert almost daily. So yes, i can grow just about any plant.....

Thanks in advance!

I used the vals 'spiralis' as a background and it worked out very well, they kind of spread horizontally, rather than attain height, maxing out at 20 inches
or so tall. I've also got 'giant' or American Vals, that I just lop off at the water height with a pair of scissors. My ambulia is my growth problem, it grows so tall and then grows horizontally, shading most others below it, so I just trim it with scissors to and then it bushes outward instead of upward.
I'm going to reduce co2 usage (diy is a pain) also, because the growth is too
prolific, and I'm also getting tired of trimming. I'm going to try excel for a time with no co2 and see what happens. If I want to speed up the growth again I'll just re-rig the co2 again. You could try reducing your flowrate od co2 to 15ppm and see if it doesn't slow things down just a tad. It must be niced to have pressurized co2, SIGH!