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I finally got around to trimming the Ammania senegalensis in the 55 gallon tank. It had started to breach the surface so I didn’t really have a choice.

I removed all of the Ammania senegalensis stems as well as a group of Dianda stems that were growing amongst them.

I trimmed about 6-8 inches off of each stem and snipped the leaves off of the bottom 3-4 inches of each top that was going to replanted (photo below). I managed to fit all of the tops back into the original area I took them from but decided to leave out the bunch of Diandra that I removed. I used a few of the shorted clippings in the front to fill in a few gaps as well.

Overall I think it has a much greater impact now. The emersed (green) sections of the stems are no longer visible and the group looks much tighter.

I’m going to replant the lower parts of the stems in a nursery tank to see if they will develop new side shoots.

I made another trip to All Oddball Aquatics today and picked up a few more Blyxa Japonica for the 55 gallon tank. I wanted to replace the Crypt. wendtii because although it was staying short, it had grown very bushy and was taking up a little more space than I wanted it to. I removed the Crypt. wendtti and planted 4 of the Blyxa I purchased. I had only purchased 3 but the plants were so big I was able to separate them and ended up with 7 good sized plants. The shape of the Blyxa left more of the substrate open in that area (which was the goal) so now I can plant more Glosso to fill it in.

I also topped a few of the Ammania senegalensis and planted them with the new Blyxa to add a splash of color. I know the Ammania won’t stay short enough to keep it in the foreground but it looks nice for now.

The other 3 Blyxa went into the 10 gallon which is filling in nicely.

The second half of my plant order from Hydropolis arrived today so I spent the better part of the afternoon elbow deep in aquariums.

Two of the plants I had ordered were not available and their cost was refunded a few days ago.

I ended up with the following:

• Rotala Magenta
• Ludwigia narrow leaf
• Limnophila aromatica
• Myriophyllum tuberculatum
• Cabomba furcata
• Hygrophila lacustris

All of the plants arrived in good shape, especially the Limnophila aromatica. I’ve been looking for Limnophila aromatica for quite a while now so I was very excited to get it.

I planted most of the Rotala Mangenta and Ludwigia narrow leaf in the 55 gallon tank as well as the Myriophyllum tuberculatum and Limnophila aromatica. The remaining Ludwigia narrow leaf and the Hygrophila lacustris went in to the recently renovated 10 gallon tank.

I’ve had mixed results with Rotala Mangenta so far and I’m not sure if this time around will be any different. I’ve planted around a dozen bunches of it in the 55 gallon tank in the last two months and have only ended up with about 10 stems that took root and are actually growing. Luckily the plant is very inexpensive so it’s not too disappointing when they start floating to the surface.

The Nesaea Pedicellata that I ordered from Hydropolis arrived today which meant I absolutely had to do a major trim in the 55 gallon tank.

As you can see in the before and after photos above I cut about 2-6 inches off of most of the plant bunches. I left the Ammania and the few remaining Rotala Magenta stems alone for the time being as well as one of the Diandra bunches. After trimming and scooping out all of the plant parts I dosed the tank with 5mL of Potassium and 5mL Iron in hopes that it will help the plants bounce back quicker. I’ve had mixed results with trimming Rotala Indica in the past so that is my main concern right now.

I removed several Diandra stems that had blacked near the bottom. This actually worked out well because they left some additional room near the front of the tank for a few additional Blyxa Japonica.

I planted most of the Nesaea Pedicellata stems in an open area in the back of the aquarium. Although it’s not visible in the photos above it is about the same height as the newly trimmed bushes and is not overshadowed by any of the other plants. This is a new one for me so I’m not sure what to expect. It’s in its emersed form right now and looks similar to the emersed form of Ammania Senegalensis.

I have another plant order scheduled for delivery on Friday so those plants will be used to fill in some of the holes left by all of the Rotala Magenta that died.

I’ve been running all of the lights (230 watts) since the 16th (after clearing up the water) and it has had a tremendous effect on the plant growth. Especially the Ammania (above).

I also switched from a Hagen CO2 Bubble Counter/Diffuser (from the Nutrafin system) to a simple airstone that produces “micro” bubbles. The airstone is much more inconspicuous and seems to be providing the same amount of CO2 diffusion as the pH has not changed since the switch.

Since the 16th I’ve been dosing micro and macro nutrients following the schedule below:

• Flourish: 5mL every 2 days
• Iron: 5mL daily
• Nitrogen: 2mL every other day
• Potassium: 5mL daily
• Phosphorus: as needed

I do a 25% water change one a week.

The plants have responded very well to the additional nutrients, especially the Ammania and Rotala Magenta.

The Ludwigia Inclinata (Cuba) grew 4 inches since I planted it in the tank 8 days ago. I had no idea these plants grew that fast. I reluctantly cut the stem about 3 inches above the substrate and replanted the top portion of the plant. I left the bottom section planted to see if any side shoots will grow. I also have 5 or 6 small side shoots planted throughout the tank in hopes that I can eventually form a large bush.

I acquired two stems of Rotala sp. ‘’Green'’ yesterday from the same guy that gave me the L. Inclinata. They look like they had been floating for a while because the main stems were very crooked but I was able to get about a dozen small side shoots from them and planted those. I also weighted down the main stems with a lead wait to see if they will produce some additional side shoots. This was another plant I’ve been hunting for so I was happy to get whatever I could.

I removed 2 of the Cryptocoryne wendtii from the left side of the tank. Right now that space is being used for the Rotala sp. ‘’Green'’ but eventually I would like to plant some more Blyxa Japonica there.

I need to do an overall trim of all of the plants to tighten up some of the bushes but I haven’t been able to find any info on trimming Ammania. I think I’m going to top one of the stems just to see what happens. I would prefer to just trim all of them towards the bottom and replant the tops but that would be difficult because of their position in the tank and the surrounding plants.