Journal 60L tank ft Lagenandra meeboldii, using mini Anubias as foreground

[Dennis Wong]

wow, it’s looking great now the plants are so dense.
When you replant stems, do you do your first trim (once they have settled and are growing again) as a bulk trim, or still just selective stems?
Do you have a rule for how far below finished bunch height you do the first trim?

It depends on the species, I would avoid straight shearing/bulk trimming if I can. How far to trim depends on the layout ? Rear stems should be trimmed below front stems to hide the branch point.

Even at very short height I'm picking off tallest tops to even out the canopy so the canopy forms quickly



Clean ridgeline, front tops lower than rear tops, slight slope.

 

[JacksonL]

It depends on the species, I would avoid straight shearing/bulk trimming if I can. How far to trim depends on the layout ? Rear stems should be trimmed below front stems to hide the branch point.

Even at very short height I'm picking off tallest tops to even out the canopy so the canopy forms quickly
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Clean ridgeline, front tops lower than rear tops, slight slope.
View attachment 17794

Thanks, Dennis. Really appreciate you taking the time to share your advice and tips on plant care! It’s super helpful.

 

[Dennis Wong]

Got sent some Eriocaulon scullioni. Its the smallest Erio I've seen, being dwarfed by even rather small blood vomits. I wonder if its usable in a layout or will it just look like dots on the foreground.

 

[Pianoguy0101]

Got sent some Eriocaulon scullioni. Its the smallest Erio I've seen, being dwarfed by even rather small blood vomits. I wonder if its usable in a layout or will it just look like dots on the foreground.
View attachment 18186

Oh man I love that thing its so cute. Would be great for nano tanks.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Changes to the tank I made in the last couple of weeks:
Grouped Buceps and Anubias 'mini coin' together, makes the scape more organized I think. The anubias 'mini coin' does stand out with its darker green tones.
I split the Java fern orange narrow bush, propagating another bush on the right side. Orange tips show up very well by this season.
Lobelia feayana has been propagating fast.
I should really move the Micranthemum umbrosum white to another tank, but I don't have space, so its sitting here awkwardly on the left front. Grows decently well for a white plant, so I want to cultivate more of it.
Anubias mini coin seem to have +50% mass in the past month - I know they grow faster in high tech tanks but this fast? Maybe the TC effect is still playing out.
Since start of the aquarium, the Lysimachia parvifolia have been replanted once, so this is second cycle growth. Did it mainly to cut it down to size.
Lagenandra is still lagging, I think it didn't transition well when first added in, and is still stunting from that transfer - but maybe not a bad thing as well cos it stays small.

Rotala macrandra mini type 4 has slowed down its growth speed after 2-3 trimming cycles. Letting the weakened rooted bottoms that have been trimmed repeatedly regenerate, rather than replanting new tops is a good strategy to slow down stuff that is growing too fast relative to other bushes. However, the rooted portions need to be kept in stable growth conditions (so no algae infestation long term). I think this is the difficult part for most folks.

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Hey Dennis, what's your experience with cardinalis mini trimming? Is it one of those plants that take trimming repeatedly for months without needing to be replanted?

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Hey Dennis, what's your experience with cardinalis mini trimming? Is it one of those plants that take trimming repeatedly for months without needing to be replanted?

How to grow Lobelia cardinalis

How to grow Lobelia cardinalis. It is a relatively easy to grow green stem plant that has been in the hobby a long time.

www.2hraquarist.com

He has a nice little article on it

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

How to grow Lobelia cardinalis

How to grow Lobelia cardinalis. It is a relatively easy to grow green stem plant that has been in the hobby a long time.

www.2hraquarist.com

He has a nice little article on it

Totally! But I'm curious what his experiences is in terms of trim cycles before planting required with this plant (not mentioned in the article). Wondering what his experience has been.

 

[Dennis Wong]

Hey Dennis, what's your experience with cardinalis mini trimming? Is it one of those plants that take trimming repeatedly for months without needing to be replanted?

yes, for this tank, I've trimmed it selectively by picking off the tallest heads for 3 months without replanting. I've finally sheared all the tops off at the 3 month mark, and its recovering well, so it'll probably go for another month or 2. In this aquarium, the lobelia, Lysimachia 'aurea' and blood red has never been replanted since day one - the tank is on its 4th month now.

 

[Dennis Wong]

6 month update vid
replaced Rotala macrandra mini type 4 at rear left with Myriophyllum guyana instead. Trying different color palette. I think this combi will make the orange java fern stand out more.
Good shadows cast by matured Buceps .

Thinking about changing out the layout to create new concept. Besides, social media always look for fresh ideas
View attachment 2ft Java Fern Orange 6month 8sec short.mp4

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Hi Dennis, do you ever incorporate echinodorus into your layouts?

 

[Dennis Wong]

Hi Dennis, do you ever incorporate echinodorus into your layouts?

Rarely as they are a bit large to fit. I could use them on the 4ft aquariums, but so far my layout uses a lot of small plant details, which does not match Echinodorus for sense of scale.

Maybe I'll change it up for the next layout to use larger plants instead, probably more nature style ish with some large wood

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Makes sense about the size. I'd love to see your skills put to the test with a big leaf-plant like an Echinodorus, I feel like you would have an amazing selection of variants/species in Singapore!

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Rarely as they are a bit large to fit. I could use them on the 4ft aquariums, but so far my layout uses a lot of small plant details, which does not match Echinodorus for sense of scale.

Maybe I'll change it up for the next layout to use larger plants instead, probably more nature style ish with some large wood

If this echinodorus rainbow I have stays small like it is now, it might be a nice candidate for you.

 

[Nat]

If this echinodorus rainbow I have stays small like it is now, it might be a nice candidate for you.

Hey, I want to warn you about Echinodorus 'Rainbow' and other variegated Echinodorus varieties. Some of these variegated plants carry viruses, for example, E. 'Marble Queen'. According to Christel Kasselmann’s book, these viruses can infect waterlilies as well.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Composition-and-distribution-of-viruses-detected-in-ornamental-aquatic-plants-with_fig1_396774331

 

[CincyScaper]

I am planning a pond style layout with some emersed growth, and would be very helpful to have a section on the 2hr aquarist website on this and the type of plants, maintenance etc. Would be nice to see a shallow build with such plants.

 

[Dennis Wong]

Inpaichthys luizae getting fat. Slightly more aggressive fish as they grow larger, but I don't see much damage even though they dart at each other frequently. H. myrmex seem to be avoiding them