Greetings!
I would like to find out how best it is to trim Monte Carlo plants.
My Monte Carlo are dying and sprouting at the same time that I do not have any idea what I should do at all.
The new growth are green but the undergrowth are brown and melting.
I swear that the Monte Carlo are uprooting themselves for some reason that I can't fathom at all.
I am using ADA Soil with ADA fertilizer green brightly step 1 and step 2.
1.5bps for Co2.
My Monte Carlo are pearling on the new growth too.
Any suggestion or tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!
If the bottom layers are brown and melting, then you just have to trim the healthy top layer, uproot and discard the rotting bottoms (no choice, they will not recover anyways), then replant the healthy tops. Its just part of the plant maintenance process.
are you sure its monte carlo and not HC (hemianthus cuba)
That's going to be a lot of job for me.
How do you trim stemmed plants too?
My plants are always tangled up.
I know that my foreground plant is Monte Carlo for sure. HC have smaller leaves.
Yeah, its quite a tedious process trimming stem plants, but it has to be done regularly. Maintaining carpet plants ain't easy.Originally Posted by Emperios
All those nice aquascapes with beautiful carpets are created with blood, sweat and tears.
Can I ask what tools do you use to trim it and how best to trim ?Yeah, its quite a tedious process trimming stem plants, but it has to be done regularly. Maintaining carpet plants ain't easy.
All those nice aquascapes with beautiful carpets are created with blood, sweat and tears.
Whats the desirable height for carpet plants to grow too?
I love advices !
Step 1 and 2 are the same trace fertilizer. You probably need brightly K and either step 1 or 2.
You will need to use a good pair of scissors (preferably the long curved type for aquascaping) to trim the plants. Trim height depends on the layout, plant types and water conditions... but generally you would want the carpet to be kept shorter and more compact (ie. 2-4cm) so that there is still sufficient light, Co2 and nutrients getting to all the plants.
Here is a video that shows the process... its pretty much the same as trimming most other carpet plants:
Source: Antonio Nunes
It will get messy, so best to do it during water change/tank maintenance day.
@ingen; I am using brightly k too. I didn't know step 1 & step 2 are the same haha.
@UA: Can I ask how would you trim stem plants too? My stem plants are always tied up together when they grew longer & always have split appearing.
How can I trim my anubias barteri var nana too? My anubias leaves have some black patches and some others are growing algae
If you are referring to tall stem plants, just trim regularly to create the dense bushy appearance, every cut in a stem will sprout 2 more stems, so the overall density increases exponentially as you progressively trim them (ie. 1 > 2 > 4 > 8 > 16 stems and so on).
Here is a diagram for reference:
Photo from Google Images.
For anubias, if you see any leaves which have black patches or holes, just cut off the leaf at its base (since the patches or holes will not repair themselves anyways, its an indication of various nutrient deficiencies), let the plant redirect resources to growing new healthy leaves.How can I trim my anubias barteri var nana too? My anubias leaves have some black patches and some others are growing algae
If the leaves are attracting algae, its an indication there is too much light shining on them so its time to reduce the light intensity, or shift the plant away from the lights. You can try to manually remove or scrub off/treat the algae, but usually its easier to just trim off algae infested leaves.
I see! Does this means that I would need to use the new growth at the top to replant stem plant? Tedious work haha.
Can I check about the plant pogostemon heiferi too? I read about them but they always dies off while my other plants grow.Do they pearl at all?
Thanks UA for the all informations !
Well, usually most aquascapers will keep trimming the stem plants at progressive stages until they achieve a dense crop at the top (at which time they take nice photos of their tank)... after a few months the old bottom leaves will eventually melt away so become bare (thats why aquascapers use mid-ground plants to hide the bare bottom parts of the stem plants), its at this stage that the healthy tops would usually be cut off, the old bottom stems uprooted and tossed out, then the healthy tops replanted to continue growing again.
Its just a constant repeated process if you want to maintain background stem plants, alot of "gardening" work to do.
I've kept those plants for a while before, it seems they don't really fare as well with sudden parameter changes, like if you do a series of large water changes or switch from non-Co2 to Co2, or increase or decrease fert dosing, or dose medications/chemicals, such changes seem to affect these plants more and they react by melting (even though other plants are okay). Not sure if thats really the reason, but its just based on my observations.
And yes, they do pearl if there is an optimal combination of light, Co2 and nutrients to boost their photosynthesis rate.
Impressive !
Can I ask if red aquatic plants have different needs too? Do they need extra nutrients to boost their reddish color and will those nutrients affect other plants ?
And to add on to my Monte Carlo problem, it looks like they are uprooting themselves for some reason. The bottom growth is melting while the new growths are growing & uprooting. I would always see my monte floating around. Is it normal process of the plant ?
It seems different red plants have different requirements to make them exhibit their red coloration... some require more light while some require more specific nutrients like iron, some also require low nitrates to bring out the red color (which is a stress coloration), i guess you just have to see what conditions others have created for those type of red plants you plan to keep and see if you can replicate it.
If the bottoms are melting, then you just have to trim and replant the healthy tops... its common with newly planted ones which still have emersed parts at the bottom. If you have shrimps or bottom dwelling fishes in the tank, they will also tend to uproot carpet plants that haven't fully established yet, so thats an additional challenge.
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