Anubias question

[rick4him]

So I just read that you should cut your anubias plants at around 2 inches. If you look at my tank you'll see I have a few bigger ones (6" or so) in the back. Should I cut them?

What good does it do to cut them? Won't they still grow longer if I don't cut them?

I'm pretty new to this, so I want to do what's best. If I should go cut them I'm game!

[StanChung]

Hi Rick, if you anubias is the nana petite[small] species, then you may cut it to around 2".
If it's the larger anubias barteri var nana, then in my experience you should leave it alone till it starts branching at the rhizome. You can then split the rhizome and retie to promote more branching so that you get a nice dense bunch. Hope this helps.

[epicfish]

Like Stan said, cutting will help the rhizome branch to create a more dense bunch.

I have some 5-6" rhizomes that grew from a larger rhizome I cut. These rhizomes are now branching and dense with both new and old growth.

[trenac]

I don't cut mine unless the overgrow the place they are in or out grow the look I'm going for.

[rick4him]

Originally Posted by stanchung

Hi Rick, if you anubias is the nana petite[small] species, then you may cut it to around 2".
If it's the larger anubias barteri var nana, then in my experience you should leave it alone till it starts branching at the rhizome. You can then split the rhizome and retie to promote more branching so that you get a nice dense bunch. Hope this helps.

Can you guys tell by look at my pictures on my site what Anubias I have?

I'm not sure if it is petitie or not.

Also when you say to get a "denser" bunch, are you meaning so you get "more"? Or does by cutting them, do the ones you cut grow back "fuller" or "denser"?

[John N.]

Is this the tank you're talking about on your site?



The plant on the driftwood is not an Anubias nana "petite". Anubias nana "petite" are literally the size of a golf ball or smaller. What you have looks to be Anubias barteri var. nana. To make it grow/appear denser, you have to let it grow out on it's own, and then cut the rhizome and replant them closer together.

-John N.

[rick4him]

So I cut it, and put one piece on a rock in the front of my tank.

Then I have 2 pieces about 10 inches across from each other on the back left wood. Did I do something wrong?

Originally Posted by John N.

Is this the tank you're talking about on your site?



The plant on the driftwood is not an Anubias nana "petite". Anubias nana "petite" are literally the size of a golf ball or smaller. What you have looks to be Anubias barteri var. nana. To make it grow/appear denser, you have to let it grow out on it's own, and then cut the rhizome and replant them closer together.

-John N.

[Jdinh04]

To me, I don't think there should be a reason to split the rhizome of an Anubias species unless you plan on dispersing the plants in different sections of the tank. Normally I would just let the Anubias grow to however big it wants to grow. Eventually new rhizomes will shoot out of the main rhizome, and thats when you could split the rhizomes by taking a sharp razor and a sharp scissor to make a clean cut between the rhizomes.

The Anubias you have looks fine, I don't see any problems with it.

[epicfish]

Originally Posted by Jdinh04

To me, I don't think there should be a reason to split the rhizome of an Anubias species unless you plan on dispersing the plants in different sections of the tank. Normally I would just let the Anubias grow to however big it wants to grow. Eventually new rhizomes will shoot out of the main rhizome, and thats when you could split the rhizomes by taking a sharp razor and a sharp scissor to make a clean cut between the rhizomes.

The Anubias you have looks fine, I don't see any problems with it.

I find that every time I cut a rhizome, new leaf growth starts very soon after, leading to very compact growth.

[Momotaro]

I As mentioned by others, if the intent is to push the Anubias to stop growing along the length of the rhizome and grow more parallel to the rhizone, I have found that nipping off the growing portion of the rhizome seems to work well. Particularly with Anubias nana "petite".