# Plants too tall!



## TonyV2 (Oct 16, 2006)

I guess I shouldn't complain but the A. Gracilis and Jungle Val in my 29-gallon tank are now way to tall and I'm looking to replace them. 
I'd like similar looking plants that don't get so tall but are tall enough to be used as a backdrop.

*Suggestions Please!*


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

There is a corkscrew Val that only gets to about a foot tall, and I had it successfully in my 29 gallon tank. But, like all Vals it was so successful it was holding the other tank occupants hostage, threatening to shove them out of the tank, demanding a ransom, etc. That is one weed that really likes to take over a tank! I have some in my 45 gallon tank now, that I transplanted from the 29 gallon, then zapped with Excel. But, today I noticed they are rising again, sending out runners, spying, plotting a takeover, etc.!


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

If you want something with a similar leaf shape as a val, try Blyxa auberti, or Cyperus helferi. They both usually stay a bit shorter and are far less invasive. The little corkscrew vals are nice too, but I always found them hard to 'scape with.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Vals are the al Qaeda of aquatic plants? Mine seem to be obsessed with waging a guerrilla war on my other plants. Sneaky little b*******. Breed like rabbits, too.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Vals seem like Nazis to me, muttering, 'lebensraum' and sending runners everywhere. Actually, many plants like to grab space and defend it if they are getting good growing conditions. Some of the Potamogetons are even worse than Vals, sending runners that branch in all directions. At least Val runners don't branch


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## Kelley (Aug 27, 2006)

*I can't grow vals!*

I think my tank must be a little wierd because my jungle vals are the only plant that really haven't thrived since i planted them on oct. 1. My not-so-dwarf sags on the other hand.....

I can't figure this out!


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Several years ago I had both dwarf sags and vals in a tank. In the beginning the sags grew vigorously, but the vals struggled. After several months the vals began doing their thing and the sags stopped growing, soon to all die. I wasn't doing much of any fertilizing then, which complicates the issue. My "analysis" was that those two plants secrete some kind of chemical that suppresses the other. I don't believe that today, but it was sure weird how only one seemed able to grow in the same tank.


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## TonyV2 (Oct 16, 2006)

Kelley said:


> I think my tank must be a little wierd because my jungle vals are the only plant that really haven't thrived since i planted them on oct. 1. My not-so-dwarf sags on the other hand.....
> 
> I can't figure this out!


Kelley, how tall is the "not-so-dwarf sag"? I have some planted way up front. It was very slow going and I had considerable melt early on but it seems to be recovering rather nicely. I would hate to have to move it because it going to get too tall for its current location! :frusty:


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## Kelley (Aug 27, 2006)

It is about 8 or 9 inches tall. Too tall for a foreground!


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## sarcare (Sep 10, 2006)

Dwarf sag grows to different heights depending on the level of light. I have dwarf sag in my foreground in my 55g, and it has stayed low enough to see the plants behind it, but they are on a terrace. It has stayed pretty small in a 10g with pretty high light. In the 55g thay have not gotten longer then six inches, and that isn't height that is length of leaves.


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## ringram (Jan 10, 2005)

haha, I have small corkscrew val in my 20H over in the left background area. It's been growing well for a couple months now, but none of them are more than about 5-6" high, although it sends tons of runners....3-4 plants have turned into 15+ !! One other thing I should mention is that it doesn't grow as fast as I thought it would (certainly not to the same degree as most stem plants) and it is VERY tough. The leaves are pretty much equivalent in toughness to anubias and java fern, at least in my opinion.


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