Mangrove Question

Does anyone trim them back? They are growing pretty tall out of my sump and I was wondering if I should just let them grow like crazy or is it ok to trim/prune them!

Thanks!

 

imo let them grow, bigger they get the more nutrients they can extract, don't forget they are trees, if you are running low on space just start taking them out one by one.

 

Trimming Mangroves

http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-cleaners/starting-mangroves-54700.html

http://www.3reef.com/forums/refugium/anyone-ever-made-bonsai-mangrove-84513.html

I just started my first mangroves a couple of weeks ago. So I haven't gotten to that point yet. But from what I've read, many people do trim them. Especially the roots. If you let them grow in the sand, they can damage the seals in your sump. I plan on the bonsai method.;D

Of course there will come a point (I assume) that they will need to be replaced. Like crappyballer said, they are trees. But might as well make them last as long as possible.

 

nice links gus

 

Well, here's a pic of one of my Mangroves. It was healthy until a few weeks ago when my cat got a hold of it. I'm in the process of moving from a 38g with sump to a 75g and will use the same sump. I had the Mangroves removed from the sump and in the back of my 20g to make things easier. I guess I made it too easy. Jeffrey (my cat) decided to pull it out of the back of the 20g and try eating it. I woke up to him having chewed off all of the leaves and most of the roots (and actually ate them all). I swear I have a dog.

Here's a pic of what it looks like now. I'm hoping it grows back as the base is still solid green, but it looks so withered that I think it may not. Oh well, I'll just order more from Reefcleaners.org. At least you can see that by cutting the growth tip, a new tip will sprout as long as the Mangrove is healthy. Don't do it on a new Mangrove. I waited until it had several leaves on the first growth tip, then cut the tip, leaving one leaf still attached. That was enough for it to still be able to make enough energy to continue to grow. Before Jeffrey got a hold of it, all three branches were growing with multiple leaves each, and the one branch on the right had actually split into two on it's own. Looked like a nice little Mangrove bush about a month ago.