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Did I kill it?

1K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  Johnny Relentless 
#1 ·
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.
 
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#2 ·
More than likely it's a large Echinodorus Amazonicus. It's a tank buster (not literal).

More than likely not. However, the tips of the leaves you trimmed will turn brown, and then start dying. If you cut the stalks down to 2", you will have an almost dead or dead plant. The plant will leaves to absorb light, and nutrients. (Although I think this plant will come back anyway, and stronger) Whatever parts of the leaves stay out of the water will also turn brown, crinkle, and die off.
FWIW, I have several outgrowing my 125.
 
#3 ·
Great! I was hoping I had a real Amazon Sword, but I wasn't sure.
The water here in South Florida is very hard, though, and I just read (at the link you posted, thanks) that Echinodorus Amazonicus likes soft water.
Bleheri, likes hard water, apparently, but my plant is too large to be a Bleheri, I think. I guess I just have to hope that Echinodorus can take my high GH (14 degrees).
My Otos already love the plant, and my Betta has been hanging out in its leaves.
Oh did I mention that I bathed it in a 19:1 bleach solution before putting it in the tank? Hope that won't harm it. I read that that's a good thing to do, though. Guess I really put the poor plant through the ringer!
Wish I could have found a smaller, one, though, so I could watch it grow. Do you think I should try to separate the plant into two or three before it really takes root? Or just leave it alone?
Thanks for the info!
 
#4 ·
Sounds like you are trying to kill it. ;)
BTW, That's is just a guess until you can post some pics of the leaves.
Also, don't worry about hard water mine are growing Quite well in a GH of 18. BTW, don't split anything until you start seeing 2 distinct rosettes. If a flower stalk comes out, you will have plantlets.
 
#5 · (Edited)
For now, let the plant settle and try to recover from your treatment. ;)
It will come back if you give it some TLC (read: nutrients).
The cutting of the roots is actually a good move, and the chopping off of the leaves too (if you had just pruned some of them away totally...). In this way, the plant would have move energy first to grow new roots and then leaves. It is possible that it will lose all of its leaves as you treated it with the bleach. However, esp. big swords do have a rhizome from which they will grow back again. So if it loses all of its leaves, pick it up, trim away all the roots. Leave the rhizome (woody part) on the substrate till it sprouts again.

I think it is actually a so called E. bleherae (note the spelling). That one will grow bigger than E. amazonicus and has wider leaves. However, scientifically these are one and the same species! Both amazonicus and bleherae grow just as easily in soft or hard water... they are easy.
 
#6 ·
Great, thanks for the info!
 
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