# Updated Pics of 10gal NPT (1 month before and after)



## MonteCarlo (Dec 4, 2012)

Here is my 10gal NPT on day 1, which some of you have seen already.










Here it is after 1 month, after moving/replanting a lot (yes i removed the Bacopa from the front left)









Things are going pretty good as you can see. My noobie question is, what happens now that I'm running out of space? (I want to keep the front middle open for feeding when I eventually get my corys). Seeing as this is my first time, Im just starting to recognize the pattern of my stem plants. When they get too tall and I trim them, that specific end stops growing, but a new branch will sprout at a different spot. This may seem dumb, but won't the "new spots" for branches to grow eventually run out as I continue to trim often?? And what about the ends that don't grow anymore, will they just sit there or idk?


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## MonteCarlo (Dec 4, 2012)

Can't seem to edit post, but forgot to say rates/comments appreciated  dont mind the question on the bottom if youre just a looker


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

Nice tank 
the growth of a new sideshoot is completely normal. unless you cut it right down to the root, the plant will still regrow.
if you run out of space... sell your plants! hahaha


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## Fishybitty (Dec 29, 2012)

Wow, looks great! I agree with aokashi. If you run out of room you can always sell/trade some, or give some to friends.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

At the friendly little local petshop I used to frequent before it went all online, I was given hefty discouts in exchange for giving him my plants. We had a flood up north where the elodea farms are, so I became his sole elodea supplier for a while.  He ended up giving me my beautiful halfmoon boy for $11.50 when his normal price was $23.50.


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## MonteCarlo (Dec 4, 2012)

Got a buncha stems in a bucket under a light, gonna need to trim again soon too...sheesh

On the flipside, my right side java fern still doesnt good root growth. one side of the roots seems anchored in, but the other side is visibly out of the substrate and not digging in, very small dark colored roots. I wonder about how slow they grow


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## Aurie (Jun 22, 2012)

+1 for the white clouds


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

nice growth and progress indeed. I suggest sticking with fast grower plants as they are less needy and tend to be hardier than others.

You can consider other plants though that maybe help scale the tank's size a bit better like rotalas and some variety of hygros. I would post a plant trimming sale post however i dont have enough posts to particpate in the classifieds as of yet but i have sold trimmings weekly to hobbyists all over the u.s.


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## MonteCarlo (Dec 4, 2012)

Check out all my baby java fern!!










What do i do with them, especially since i really dont have much space for them to go, maybe a little in the back. Will they... fall off? Keep growing like that? Idk, new to all this.

Also, as i kind of thought, my plant growth has somewhat slowed down as compared to when i had a bunch of space for growth. It seems as if after you trim a certain stalk (talking about the anacharis/cabomba), it will either grow off a different spot of the stalk, or eventually just...sit there. Like if its too cramped, or if im supposed to remove the stalk completely and replant something new. Some of the stagnant "older stalks" are not as green either. Idk.. i guess im just asking what are the methods of advanced stages of growth.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

When I kept anacharis-I had the same experience-it would slow after awhile and then totally stop growing and reproducing-this is the main reason I don't keep it.

The Cabomba however, grow like a weed and I can't keep up with the growth-I have some that will grow well into the 2ft range-it rarely will have side shoots-I pinch the top and replant and the mother stem-keeps growing-even under the carpet of frogbit.

Are the trims from the plants growing well-if so and the mother stem isn't-remove the mother stem and replace it with its trimmed top.

Are you using any ferts, how much and how often are the water changes and stocking level-How many days or months has the tank been setup.

How old are the light bulbs

Stems can sometimes be picky and you have to use what works best in the tank.

The baby ferns-you can let them float if you have run out of places to attach them or start another tank....lol.....sometimes with successful planted tanks-you can end up with lots of tanks and containers full of excess plants due to plant growth.


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## MonteCarlo (Dec 4, 2012)

Oldfishlady said:


> When I kept anacharis-I had the same experience-it would slow after awhile and then totally stop growing and reproducing-this is the main reason I don't keep it.
> 
> The Cabomba however, grow like a weed and I can't keep up with the growth-I have some that will grow well into the 2ft range-it rarely will have side shoots-I pinch the top and replant and the mother stem-keeps growing-even under the carpet of frogbit.
> 
> ...


Sorry, was low on time but now I can reply.
Whenever I trim a cabomba, I've never had the mother stem keep growing. There always has to be a side shoot (its attached to main stem tho). Eventually, they just run out and stop growing altogether, just like the anacharis. Trimmings do usually do well, but I don't get how I could remove the mother plant without getting dirt from the roots being pulled up everywhere. I also remember you saying you're not supposed to disturb the soil, but If i remove as many mother stems as I would need to, there'd be ALOT of disturbance. Remember, I'm doing the silent cycle with no filter.

Not using ferts, its NPT. Water changes usually about once a week (usually only about a gallon or two), mainly when I scrape the algae off the front glass, since theres already so much stuff on the ground. Ive got 4 male guppies, a mystery snail, and 2 cherry shrimp.

Light bulbs are close to 3 months old, which goes along with how old my tank is.

Idk, I kinda wanna scrap the NPT idea and just get a filter/redo stuff, but I can't do that until summer. I dont like how incredibly messy the floor looks, and I'm not* knowledgeable/skillful enough to know how to fix the problem of my slowed stem plants. Pulling the mother stems up doesn't seem plausible, since I tried that once and like I said dirt got everywhere cuz of the roots, my sand cap is pretty much the bare minimum too. I hate how everytime I trim a plant, it basically just sits there and does nothing, unless it has a side shoot but those eventually run out too.

My slow growing ferns, crypts, and moss are doing wonderful, probably cuz i dont have to trim them much haha. and I think those are what I'd stick with if I just redid the tank. By the way, the baby ferns are still attached to the main plant, should I keep em there or yank em off n float em. Will they come off by selves lol?


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