Austin {Aquarist}

I recently got 2 vals and all my fish love them!!! My betta loves to swim in and out of them and sleep in them and my ottos love just hanging on them the whole day :] I also had a question though the women said that you couldn't prune vals at all because if you cut them off even a little at the top. This sounded a little suspicious so I just wanted to ask you guys what your opinions are : D

Shaina

I've been pruning mine for a month without a problem...they started off 12" tall and they've across the surface of my tank a few times (tank is 18" tall), I prune them back to about 1" below the surface. Since this has happened several times, I have a hard time believing I'm hurting them.

But yeah, Vals are awesome I have my 4 mixed with about 8 Sagittarus (sp?) in the back, so I couldn't tell the difference easily...but the the Saggitarus is just slowly growing while the Vals are thriving, so now the difference is obvious...

Isabella

Absolutely agree. Vals are ones of my FAVORITE (if not THE favorite) aquatic plants. Firstly, they look BEAUTIFUL, and secondly, all my fishies love them . A big plus is that they don't require CO2 injections and high lighting to do well. They will do well starting already at 1.5 wpg, or at least they've done so in my experience. They can grow dense and beautiful even in a low-tech/low-light tank (by low light I mean, at least 1.5 wpg). As for cutting Vals at the top ... I've never done that, so I don't know if it can - somehow - hurt them. I personally LOVE when they grow long and start to overshadow my tank. Looks wild and very natural . I LOVE Jungle/Giant Straight Vals. They're absolutely stunning. And lastly ... a nutrient-rich substrate would be best for Vals, they'd eventually die without it.