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Re: Spacing between plants



Paul <PaulG at trencor_net> wrote:

> I need to ask a question. I searched the archives before asking but I could
> not find what I was looking for.

Yeah, I know. That search program seems to bring up everything you don't
need. I've had better success manually looking through the archives.
 
> I have numerous plant tanks and yesterday someone asked me how closely they
> should be spacing their plants. I was about to answer and realised I don't
> have a definite answer. I have never thought about it, I throw stuff in a
> tank and it grows. I of course try to aquascape in my own special way but
> the question intrigued me.

If it's a new tank, I'd say fill her full, the more the better. Especially 
the nutrient sink plants, lots of them initially. 

Big plants like swords need more room than the stem or small 
rooted ones. Naturally. In my case, I buy the ones I like and cram 
'em in there, with some aquascaping. The bigger ones start to 
overshadow the smaller ones eventually and it may be time to 
relocate or prune. A ton of stem plants can grow together, it makes 
'em look better, and they are easier to trim and manage in a big 
group. The smaller foreground plants like to have a little spacing, 
but for me, the spacing slowly succumbsto crypts, glosso, or chain 
swords. I've found if I plant sparsely, the overall look is not as 
stimulating and I get overrun by the "creepers" and "runners". My 
tanks usually get pretty crowded, but it also fun to rip out the 
stragglers and see what you really have. My friends like the 
overrruns. I've planted so dense that hemos proved to be too big to 
manage. The drawback is there's lots more pruning and some 
plants may get stunted by having their light blocked out. 

I still say, the more the merrier.

Jamie    <"\\\><
Greenwood, SC