Mangroves

they are free if you live in florida

 

I have five mangroves in my fuge that have all sprouted leaves and are growing pretty rapidly. I can't see the root system because its buried in the sand, which concerns me a bit. Is there a danger of the root system eventually blowing out the sides of my fuge?? Its in a 5 inch deep sandbed in a 10 gallon tank.

 

If you leave the mangroves in there long enough, like any other plant, it will out grow its "container". You need to keep the mangroves trimmed. Eventually, you should exchange out the old plants for new ones in time.
Read up on this article.Everything you needed to know about Mangroves


Luna

 

just a tip for trimming the roots...do so a bit at a time. A tree can go into shock if you just hack at it. A little cutting here and there is the way to go.

 

Thanks for the responses! So at some point I should actually uproot the plants to check the length of the roots and trim if necessary? That seems like it would be awfully stressful for them. How long do you think is safe to wait before I attempt something like that?

 

are they growing by floating? if so the process is easy and has low stress. if they are rooted in the substrate, I am not sure, I haven't done it myself that way for this reason. (Also pruning the tops back will keep the plant smaller - you can bonsai any tree)

 

I just planted mine in the sand in my fuge.. My fuge is only 3 gallons, so I really dont have much space.. I hope this will work..

 

I like propping them out of the water. they do better in sand, but it is nice to be able to see the root growth...

 

Mine are rooted in the sand so there is no way to see how big the roots are getting. Is there a way to gauge how quickly the roots will grow so I can guess about when would be a good time to uproot the plants and trim the roots?

 

when you see the tree grow about 2-3 inches, reconsider floating it a little above the sand after you check on it. That may be a little cautious, but it is not my tank. Well developed mangrove roots look good in a refugium, but in one so small you should plan on growing them to about 4-7 tall inches discounting the seed portion, and then trade them to someone with a bigger tank. Another option is to put the mangroves in the cheapest hang on the back filter wal-mart sells. The cheaper the better because of the slower flow. Add that to the 2.5 and place them in there.