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How do you go about trimming plants while they are in the aquarium? what tool is used? Also, I planted potted plants by only removing the pot and not the wool substrate - now after reading about it, i want to remove the wool packing - do i just pull the plant out of the gravel and remove it ? The plants have been in the aquarium for about a week and they dont look like they are doing well...I am such a novice! LOL
TIA
SHARKY:%)

Anyone??

For trimming I use sharp scissors. Stem plants can be trimmed after bein established for a bit.

For plants like amazon's - Leaves should be cut as close to the base as possible.


There is a website that has a well wrtitten procedure on how to remove the wool from the roots but unfortunately I can't remember atm where its at.



[span class="edited"][Edited by RobBug 2004-08-19 12:49][/span]

Thanks Rob!:88)

There are many claw-like tools that have a trimming attachment sold for aquarium use,such as http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19193;category_id=3245;pcid1=3349;pcid2= , which I have and use quite often.

However, some plants require cleaner cuts... Italian vals for example. I've discovered that a sharp pair of scissors like RobBug suggested works best, but particularly a set of sharp scissors with a SPRING. http://www.fiskars.com/en_US/crafts/category.do?cat=6&fam=3 I use the multi-purpose ones.

As far as removing the "potting wool", gently uproot the plants and have a toothpick handy. Takes awhile sometimes, especially with fine-rooted plants such as dwarf hairgrass, etc, but the patience will pay off.

edit - http://paul.aaquaria.com/home/Home.htm
It's by no means a comprehensive listing, but should give you a good start.

[span class="edited"][Edited by jake 2004-08-19 18:31][/span]

Thank you Jake for the links and the great advice - I love this site!

When I trim my plants, I use a very sharp knife, only used for plant trimming.
You will definately need to take the plant out of the substrate to get the wool off. If the plant has been growing in it (the wool), for a while and has a decent root system it can be pretty time consuming and frustrating to get it all off.

I keep my stem plants in the gravel plus weighted down. To trim them in particular, I take the whole thing out of the gravel and remove the weight. I pull each stem out of the group and make sure it's doing fine. If it's too long I trim off some of the base. If all the leaves are dying, I throw it away. If it is too long but has a shorter branch on it, I cut off the branch just before the first non-shared leaf. I use sharp scissors.

You should disturb crypts as little as possible. They can melt.

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