Trimming advice

[Furgan]

Hello,

Please find my aquarium, I have Bacopa caroliniana at the back corner but it’s growing very big, when I purchased it tropica said the height was around 30cm, the tank is 62cm high so growing more than expected.

Also due to the spray bar it’s pushing it all forward as per picture.

What would be the best way to make this look awesome.

Thank you.

Co2, low led lights, Ada aqua soil. 30 green tetras that hide in the Bacopa caroliniana and a group of ottos.

 

[Furgan]

 

[Angus]

I tend to trim mine to just above the substrate to keep the root system intact, then replant the heads removing however much height you are aiming for.

So

Step 1
remove all the stems down to the start of the roots/substrate level.

step 2
trim off the required amount of length from the removed stems, removing some leaves from the bottom part of the stem (1 or 2 sets of leaves) to encourage new root growth.

step 3
re-plant the healthy top part of the plant, throwing away any that don't look so good.

this way you get the instant effect of having the replanted stems, and in a short time the stems with the root systems will put out lots of fresh new growth.

Also tropica are not the only plant growers to give conservative estimates of mature height, garden plant growers and tree nurseries do the same thing.

 

[Furgan]

Thanks Angus,

I might do that and butcher them down low, as apparently bacopa splits so it will thicken them up down lower. And then sell on the cuttings and use in other tanks.

 

[Angus]

Sounds like a plan mate, just be aware you will be losing a lot of your bio-load capacity with the heads of the bacopa going, i would keep some just so you don't get any swings in nutrient uptake.