# water sprite explosive growth, can i leave it alone?



## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

hey guys, just got back from a 4 week trip. I set the tank in auto mode before leaving and boy was i in for a shock. The entire tank is literally covered with plants now! when i left i only had a couple small water sprites/anacharis/vals etc, now they cover the entire tank top to bottom!! with the water sprite leading the way. 

Anyway my question is can i just leave the water spirte alone and let nature take its course? I understand the bottom portion will die off due to shading from the top leaves/lack of light, and that's fine. Because am really not quite sure how to even begin trimming that mass of leaves. thanks


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

It's awesome to come back and see explosive growth! I'm always amazed how fast things seem to grow when you take your eye off it for a couple of days. I think it would look a bit too messy and jungley for my taste if you leave it along though. Plus, if it gets really bad, then the fish can't swim. But it's up to you 

If you do decide to trim, go ahead and cut and replant the tops of the stems, and trim back the leaves. You can discard the bottom, or replant them too.

-John N.


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## NotoriousPTG (Mar 30, 2006)

I stopped keeping water sprite in my tanks. I'm not crazy about the look and I feel it was outcompeting everything for nutrients. I now think of it as an aquaweed.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

IMO, pruning is a matter of pesonal taste. As has been pointed out, the bottoms will eventually start looking real ratty and I think you'll be disappointed then. When/if you do prune/uproot remember to gravel vac the area. Have fun with it.


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## spdskr (Apr 24, 2006)

I prefer to float watersprite in my tanks as I like the look of the roots hanging in the water. It does grow very quickly, especially in response to nitrogen fertilization. When floated it will cover the surface of the tank in a couple of weeks if not pruned aggressively.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

I would prune the bejezus out of those plants. The bottoms tend to rot when the tank gets too crowded with plants which makes for a dirty aquarium.

Another problem with letting plants take over the surface is that the area where the fish swim gets very dark and it becomes difficult to enjoy your fish.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I used watersprite for a couple of months just to start the tank. It grew far too fast for me to enjoy it, and that was with only 1.75 watts per gallon. But, for how I used it, it was great! I never did try to replant the pruned parts, so I don't know how well that would work. Isn't this different from most stem plants?


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## jude_uc (Feb 7, 2006)

Watersprite will regrow from most fragments. You can just cut off a chunk of the plant for replanting and get rid of the rest. Don't worry.... in a few weeks you'll have enough to do the same with all over again.

-Adam


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## Minsc (May 7, 2006)

Water sprite is a fern, not a stem plant. When leaves are damaged (trimmed) they produce baby plantlets from the leaves that can be planted. Trimming and planting a single stem results in a decaying plantlet producing stem.

Personally, I'm going to just float this plant from now on, and replace the planted ones with wisteria. Same basic visual effect, much less of a pita (I hope).


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## SkinniMini (Mar 26, 2006)

My watersprite grows like a monster! 
I had it towering in the corner of my 20, covering the top of my tank & had to remove a huge amount, & it is also producing the towering effect in my 15 which looks really cool, & my tiger barbs like to play & hide in it. I'm just going to snip off the tops tonight a little below the waterline-the stems don't bother me, because they are next to my driftwood in such a way that it creates a cave effect that the fish like & it is such a royal pain in the butt to replant. If I try to do one little thing to one area, the whole mass comes up & there I am for the next 2 hours!


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