pruning vallisnaria / sagitairia

[captain plant]

Hi all,
new here.
will appreciate some advice,
My sagittaria and vallisnieras have outgrown the height of my tanks( some as long as a metre), shading the rest of the plants below.
Which would you prefer:

1) trim affected individual leaf straps back by maybe 1 third, (and bare with unsightly brown tips) OR

2) cut away the entire leaf altogether

cheers,
Nelson

[RonWill]

Welcome, Nelson. I love vals (spelt Vallisneria) and have them in most of my tanks.

I let the long leaves float on the surface and don't mind some light blockage. These provide a sense of security for my killifishes and they're less skittish. It also blocks the view of that pesky kingfisher which occasionally perch on the tank rim waiting for lunch

Most of my tanks rely on ambient lighting, without additional overhead light source, so I can't relate to 'planted tank' per se.

To thin the val down, just strip off the outermost leaves, directly at the base or crown. You can also give them a 'hair cut', just a few inches longer than the height of your tank. HTH.

[FC]

Nelson,

I had never trim a rossette plant by cutting the top because I do not like the cut look and I am not sure if the cut leaf would survive well. I always remove the complete plants and tear/remove the old outer later leafs (about 30~40%) and re-plant.

However, for sagittaria and small compact plants, it is going to be messy. Despite the trouble, I would re-do them. Tall tanks (more than 20 inch) is often recommended for planted and they are popular because generally, most plants grow beyond 18 inch. In another words, tall tank provide less restriction to choice of plants. Consider it.

[captain plant]

thanks guys.
hm... how I wish a kingfisher appears right at my tank too. Problem is, I might just end up picking another new hobby.

Anyway, I'll try pulling out the vals and sags and peel off the outer leaves, and also take the chance to re-arrange the plants at the same time as fred suggested.(Crazy thing is my favourite tank is about 28" tall)
Thanks again,

Cheers
Nelson Ng

[elmike]

It also blocks the view of that pesky kingfisher which occasionally perch on the tank rim waiting for lunch

Hey Ron, are your sure you didn’t mistake a myena for a kingfisher? Hmm...could even be an undercover banana ghost.

Me never had luck with vals.

[turaco]

Mike,
It's mynah, not myena. Common mynah is black, sure Ron can't be so colour blind right . BTW, the common mynah do prey on your killies if they can. They eat almost everything, that's why they adapt so well in Singapore.

[elmike]

Mike,
It's mynah, not myena.

I should sign up for a course in ornithology. :P