[bryce2003]

I'll apologise now for the long post but I'm seeking advice. First of all I have a couple of Amazon Swords in my tank, 1 of them has about 10-12 stems and only 5 have leaves to them. The ones without leaves have not started to sprout new leaves and have been like this for a few weeks. Obviously I have to cut the stems back but how far do I need to in order for them to reshoot? Also the 5 that are there are outgrowing the tank height wise. How far should I cut these back in order to ensure that they will reshoot? Is java moss a low light plant or a light tolerant plant? Also I'm after a mixture of plants to fill my tank out. I am after suggestions for small bushy plants(no taller than 6in) and medium plants (bushy if possible and no taller than 8in), What would people suggest? I already have Amazon Swords as stated and a few anubia's but am after plants that fish can use to hide in yet I can still observe them as well as complementing the fish I have and the way in which I have aquascaped the tank. Being mindful that I have silver dollars in the tank that I keep from the plants by feeding them nokki and lettuce. Any info or advice very much appreciated.
Cheers,
Bryce.

 

[Sir_BlackhOle]

Well, I always cut my sword plants back at the base of the stem. Seems to work good for me.

Java moss should do well in low light or high light.

As for more plants to fill out your tank, what size is your tank? How much and what kind of lighting do you have? Do you fertilize? Add co2? What kind of substrate do you have? Do you know your water parameters?

 

[Steve Pituch]

For sword plants the new leaves come up at the center of the base of the plant. Pinch the older outer leaves off. You must keep a few of the inner newer leaves or the plants will die. From experience I would say that stems without leaves are worthless to the plant and should be trimmed back.

Steve

 

[bryce2003]

Thanks for the replies. The tank is 8ftx2ftx2.5ft (LxWxH). The water perameters that I know are the pH, being 7.4-7.5 and a water temp of 28 degrees celcius. I have two double rows of lighting for it (4fter's), being standard white x2, triphosforus x1 and a daylight tube. I fertilise twice weekly with flourish with weekly to fortnightly water changes. The substrate that I have is 2-3mm gravel. Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Bryce.

 

[ShaneSmith]

I really think you need to pump the lighting up a lot. Check out AHsupply and get a 96watt light combo deal. A couple of them will be more than enough to get that monster tank going.

 

[bryce2003]

I have now trimmed the swords so that the stems that had no leaves range from 1in to 5-6in from the base. Will this allow the new leaves to come through or should I trim them all the way to the base? Also I had 2 sets of metal halides on order, but have been told suprisingly enough that there is enough light penetration through to the bottm without them. I have been told this by several people, most of them putting it down to the fact that the inside of my hood is painted white and the background is a light colour therefore reflecting the light down and not having any light washing off. Don't know how true this is but the proof is in the fact that all of the plants are constantly growing and very vibrant in the way of colouring. However just wanting to know about the best way to allow new leaves to come through by pruning and later on propagation and what sort of plants to acheive a balance between the fish being able to hide if they want but still being able to see them from different angles with variations of plant sizes.
Cheers,
Bryce.

 

[Sir_BlackhOle]

I think once you trim a leaf off you should cut the stem at the base. New stems/leafs come from the center of the plant. Good luck!