Trimming Java Fern?

[Eric Scheeff <edscheef at sdcc14_ucsd.edu>]

Hey folks,

I have a minor problem that I'm looking for some advice on:

A few weeks back, I got some plants from Arizona Aquatic Gardens (if
anyone's interested, on an A-F scale I would give the plants/service a C).
Anyway, amongst my plants was some Java Fern.  They seem healthy, the
rhizomes look to be attaching to the rock I tied them to, and they are
beginning to put out daughter plants on both the rhizome and the leaf
tips.

So what, you say, is the problem?  The plants as they came are over 20"
tall and are way too big for my tank.  They are laying over at the surface
of the water, shading other plants, and looking generally un-asthetic!  

I am trying to figure out when I can safely cut (gasp) the large leaves
off of the rhizome without killing the rhizome and daughter plants.  How
many new leaves should I allow to develop and how big do they need to be? 

Also, when I do this I intend to "rescue" the daughter plants on the leaf
tips.  How big do they need to be to safely be removed and tied to a rock
on their own?  Any tips on how exactly to remove them?

Thanks,

-Eric

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