In this video, Oliver Knott shows you how to trim different aquatic plants with various scissors in your aquarium.

In the beginning, Oliver uses the Aqua Rebell Long Scissors curved. These scissors are approximately 25 cm long and allow the pruning of plants, without having to dip the arm completely into the aquarium water. The curved shape of the blades also facilitates the working posture, as it is easier to trim from above. In this video, the aquascaper trims a Hygrophila pinnatifida, as a representative for all possible stem plants to be found in an aquarium. As Oliver already explains in the video, the benefit of trimming stem plants is, that the remaining plant part often sprouts many side shoots. When trimmed regularly, the plant will become bushier and bushier over time. The head cutting can be reused as well. You can learn more about this topic in the article "trimming stem plants".

Next, Oliver uses small, curved spring scissors. The Aqua Rebell Spring Scissors curved 16 cm is a short, versatile tool. The supporting springs facilitate the opening of the scissors - an act that needs to be repeated very often, depending on the amount of work. Especially for more time-consuming trimming efforts on mosses and ground cover this support is a big plus! Due to their small size, these scissors are also perfect for the use in a nano aquarium. In the video, Oliver trims a moss pad that has become too long with this pair of scissors. He also tells that you better cut off the flow in the aquarium during trimming or otherwise cut plant parts will be distributed at high speed throughout the whole tank. This can get tedious very fast especially with mosses and ground cover, as they can produce new plants from even the smalles remnants - and this sometimes in spots you never wanted to have them in the first place! Therefore, the plant remains should be removed right after or during trimming, either by catching them with a fish net or sucking them away with a hose. More tips concerning the trimming of mosses can be found in the article "How to properly trim and divide aquatic plants" in the paragraph about mosses.

Eventually Oliver uses the Aqua Rebell Wave Scissors 20 cm to trim the Helanthium ground cover in the foreground of this 120cm aquarium. These wave-shaped plant scissors is especially suitable for trimming efforts on carpeting plants in bigger tanks. Due to the special, curved shape of this aquascaping tool, the pruning just above the substrate is made especially easy. With straight scissors you’d be forced to enter the tank much deeper in order to trom from the side. A wave-cutter enables you to comfortably work from the top.

Often, many plant clippings will float on the surface of the aquarium after such trimmings. These need to be removed afterwards, either using a fish net or with the aid of a little, technical helper like a skimmer. If you want to learn more about this, the method is presented in detail in this article.