Victim of my own Success?

VickiK

Member with a lot to say
First of all, let me say how hard it is to get decent pictures with my ol' Samsung .0006 or whatever it is. Now the question: these bulbs I got from Aquarium Co-op seem to be thriving in two of my tanks. Even the super low light / zero tech tank - only one 30" LED light bar (not pictured).

In the 50g, these things are sending up a TON of leaves to float on the surface. Looks cool, but will this impact the growth of my other plants in the tank? Do I whack em back or ? I think in no time, these will cover the surface!

upload_2016-11-24_6-16-39.png

Overall, they look cool in the tank, I think and creates something for the fish to dodge around, etc. but I don't want to screw my other plants. Full pic of tank included. (Please ignore GIANT cichlid cave. Amazon OOPS.)

LOL@ WashFishBox in the reflection of the tank. 50_11.24.16.jpg
 

VickiK

Member with a lot to say
When I got them, Robert @ The Co-Op said something about them "melting back" at some point. I thought, geez, maybe you just let em go nuts and then they melt back and that's the end of it until they go at it again. I look up stuff before I ask it here, but you know how the internet is....there's an opinion -- all different -- on everything.

I guess I need to buy some of those fancy 'scapin' scissors... (the Fluval ones were on sale for Black Friday at the Co-Op...);)
 

julzhull

Well-Known Member
I often pinch those back with my fingers (we have the scissors but don't use them like I should). I read somewhere that if you let those leaves go to the surface the leaves on the plant won't be as plentiful, so I just trim them as they start to come up and let the main plant get bushy.
 

FishBeast

Well-Known Member
That is a sign of good plant husbandry and good aquarium habits! Reduce leaves by about a quarter every so often... Pick the jankiest ones and pinch 'em off like @julzhull says! :)
 

VickiK

Member with a lot to say
Those leaves do look cool at the surface!

I'm telling you, Joel, that's the best thing I ever did was buy a bag of those bulbs at The Co-Op. I have em in every single tank and with each tank, they offer a different benefit for the fish -- besides just being a pretty plant. I'm sure using the Easy Iron and Easy Green combo keeps them looking so sharp.
 

Joel

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah im trying hard to become the first overseas easygreen customer :D

Were severly restricted on floating plants in NZ :(
 

Gizmo

Active Member
If you let the plant get big enough/healthy enough, those surface leaves might bloom. Otherwise, they do choke off light to plants underneath. If you keep the surface pads trimmed, the plant will sprout leaves that stay underwater. You can always tell the surface-shooting leaves because they are quite dagger-like when they first appear.
 

VickiK

Member with a lot to say
Oh wow. I didn't know there was a bloom. I've been so concerned with them choking off the light that I trim them regularly. Like I said, I have them in every tank - except one (the maybe someday I'll have CRS tank) and they're gorgeous. The brownish-red leaves and clumping habit is a nice foil to all the super green plants I have going.
 

VickiK

Member with a lot to say
Yeah im trying hard to become the first overseas easygreen customer :D

Were severly restricted on floating plants in NZ :(

Is it because they don't want them to "get loose" in your ecosystem?

Oh man, I cannot imagine what it would cost to ship a bottle of Easy Green to NZ. I work with Weta Workshop, there in NZ, and shipping stuff to them is ridiculously expensive. What about the Easy Tabs? Those are light and they also work great. I have those at the roots of my heavy feeders.
 
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