Plant Stem Too Long

Hello,
 
I'm a newbie to fish keeping but have invested in a tank with fertilised soil under the gravel and CO2 injection.
 
My plants have done a little too well (better than the fish, I must say!) Unfortunately I didn't pay too much attention to the types of plants I was putting in and I now have a little bit of a problem with a couple of them.
 
I have a couple of plants with extremely long stems and all the leaves at the top. The leaves are now blocking out the light. The logical thing to do would be to make the stem shorter. Can anybody explain how I can do that without killing the plant? Should I uproot the plant and cut the stem from the bottom and replant or what?
 
I appreciate your advice.

Do you know what species of plant they are?

If they're 'stem' plants, like cabomba or elodea, then you can indeed just cut the tops off and replant them.

fluttermoth said:

Do you know what species of plant they are?

If they're 'stem' plants, like cabomba or elodea, then you can indeed just cut the tops off and replant them.

Click to expand...

Not sure. I've uprooted one - which turns out to be about six plants! Here is a picture of what I'm contending with...

Oh, ok; I don't recognise that plant, I'm afraid, so I'm not sure if it'll root if you chop the top off!

Better wait for one of the proper plant people

Plant people lol..

Looks like some type of hygrophila or ludwigia @__@

I was reckoning hygrophila corymbosa.
 
You have two options, cut the top off and replant that, looks neater but takes a while to reestablish itself. Or simply trip the stem with sharp scissors.