I just bought a huge plant. It's about 26-28" tall. It was called an XL Amazon at the lfs. It has long (about 14") stalks (rosetta) and some of the leaves are long and narrow, and some are wide and rounder. There are almost 30 stalks.
My tank is only 18" high, so I cut most of the leaves in half. I tried to cut them so that they would look kind of natural. They still are out of the water, but I kind of like it that way.
I also trimmed the roots, which were pretty long. I cut a few of the stalks off to about 2 inches.
By doing all of this I figure I either:
1) Killed the plant
2) Stressed it to the point where it will make new plants
3) Didn't much affect its health one way or the other.
I like it that my Betta can now make a bubble nest that will last, since the surface current will now be blocked by these leaves.
My tank is not open, so the plant will have no where to go, if it keeps getting bigger, so I will have to keep trimming it.
Any idea what will happen to the stalks that I cut down to only 2 inches? Will they die, or grow back?
Do you think I killed the whole plant?
Sorry, I can't get a picture right now, so I'm not expecting anyone to ID it for me. The lfs didn't know its scientific name and internet searches for XL Amazon got me nothing. Probably just a name the guy in the lfs thought up to call an otherwise anonymous plant.
I was hoping, though, that someone with experience with large, (possibly Amazonian) rosetta plants could tell me if I did the right thing with it, and maybe give me some advice.
Thank you.
My tank is only 18" high, so I cut most of the leaves in half. I tried to cut them so that they would look kind of natural. They still are out of the water, but I kind of like it that way.
I also trimmed the roots, which were pretty long. I cut a few of the stalks off to about 2 inches.
By doing all of this I figure I either:
1) Killed the plant
2) Stressed it to the point where it will make new plants
3) Didn't much affect its health one way or the other.
I like it that my Betta can now make a bubble nest that will last, since the surface current will now be blocked by these leaves.
My tank is not open, so the plant will have no where to go, if it keeps getting bigger, so I will have to keep trimming it.
Any idea what will happen to the stalks that I cut down to only 2 inches? Will they die, or grow back?
Do you think I killed the whole plant?
Sorry, I can't get a picture right now, so I'm not expecting anyone to ID it for me. The lfs didn't know its scientific name and internet searches for XL Amazon got me nothing. Probably just a name the guy in the lfs thought up to call an otherwise anonymous plant.
I was hoping, though, that someone with experience with large, (possibly Amazonian) rosetta plants could tell me if I did the right thing with it, and maybe give me some advice.
Thank you.