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Are these daughter plants from a Sword plant(possibly E.uruguayensis?) ready to be taken off of the runners? Should I cut the runner entirely? I've counted 5 runners on one plant(one runner is wrapped around the intake and is bolting out of the tank). The other Sword plant(same species) just started throwing runners.


Here's the 75 gallon tank, at age 14 months:

I only give them Flourish tablets once a month. There's no CO2 nor any other special treatments. I do want to fill in around the intake. One large piece of driftwood is invisible.

Should I completely cut the runners at the bottom?
Amanda

Yes they are ready to be taken off. Cut the entire runner off the mother plant. Once you see little roots forming you can cut it from the mother plant.

Thanks, Funkyj!

Amanda,

Once they get three or four leaves, the runners can be cut. I can't count how many young E. bleheri and E. tennelis have ended up in the composter . . .

By the way, pretty tank . Planted tank dude meself.

Dave

Thanks, Dave. I never had any luck with plants until I got the 75 gallon tank. Luckily, I have 5 or 6 other tanks to share the cuttings with. I just have to make sure there aren't any stray eggs of varying species on the leaves. I am starting to have more success with plants in the smaller tanks now. It seems the smaller the tank, the more delicate the ecosystem. It's tough to maintain that balance in a 10 gallon tank. That was a difficult concept for me to grasp at first.
Amanda

Amanda,

I was lucky to be born with both a green and wet thumb. I throw it into the dirt or the water and it grows. Being a water sign (Pisces) I can't help it.

Right now I have a pair of Avacado trees (two species) about two feet tall that I grew from pits, and I'll eventually try to turn them into Bonsai. When I was a kid, I grew a 2-foot tall lemon tree with a seed from my late dad's tea. It had tiny leaves and tiny lemons .

By the way, the sword in the right center of your tank looks like E. parvafloris to me, which is one of my favorites. Larger Echinodorus are nutrient hogs, so if the leaves start to yellow, fertilize, girl, fertilize. I use those chelated iron tablets that I push down to the roots.

I'm glad you're getting the hang of live plants. The only downside is no more silver dollars . In smaller tanks, plants do wonders for water quality stability.

Dave