Those who have emersed growth from your tanks...you ever trim the roots?

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Hi there! I'm growing pothos, bamboo and dracaena....the roots are getting kind of ugly and unruly....any of you ever trim your roots? If so, what effect does it have on your emersed growth? @dasaltemelosguy @Guppysnail @Odd Duck (tagging those I can remember who have them...)

[JoeQ]

Not yet and im not really sure that pennywort grows big root systems. Here is my budding emersed growth.

[Guppysnail]

I trim them a bit but not aggressively. I lose a leaf or two sometimes. If I’m to aggressive I lose the plant. I have never trimmed my lucky bamboo. Those roots are sensitive to even not staying wet for short durations. 
I have been known to sort of braid pothos roots and tuck them behind filters to hide them 😝🤣

[TeeJay]

Yeah I had to trim the roots on mine. They were getting way out of control. Even tucked in to airline suction cups on the back of the tank they still like to go crazy. But not to much or the plant may suffer. It's a fine balance for sure.

[dasaltemelosguy]

On 6/12/2023 at 4:21 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Hi there! I'm growing pothos, bamboo and dracaena....the roots are getting kind of ugly and unruly....any of you ever trim your roots? If so, what effect does it have on your emersed growth? @dasaltemelosguy @Guppysnail @Odd Duck (tagging those I can remember who have them...)

For me, it’s not about being trimmed but rather being eaten!

My Severums devour any part of any plant. They completely shaved the roots off of the bamboo and the pothos they eat, almost up to the surface. It’s been a few years and it hasn’t seemingly affected the bamboo as but it greatly stunts the growth of the pothos. Many of my bamboo stalks grow despite the roots being gone and I’ve seen none die from the Severums ravaging’s!

Unrelated but interesting, the few times I needed to use salt treatments, salt destroyed the pothos and other emergent’s but bamboo seems totally unaffected by even the strongest salt treatment.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@dasaltemelosguy that's good to know. My bamboo roots are way less obnoxious than my Pothos. I'm actually considering removing it- it's growing well but it gets other growth (brown hair algae mostly) on it and generally not adding to the look of my tank. I'm also thinking of doing a small trim and braiding it like @Guppysnail mentioned, good thing I know how to 3 strand!

[Odd Duck]

I’ve trimmed pothos roots when they get too out of control but I always leave at least 1/3 to 1/2 of the roots at least.  If I need to trim again, I’ll wait until the plants settle and have some regrowth, then trim more judiciously if needed.  My bamboo has some natural, fish induced trimming if they try to pop out any new roots along the stems.

I think some of the guppies also “trim” some pothos roots when they are tiny so the roots don’t seem to get too long if they weren’t long to begin with.  The angels have trimmed the roots on their little stem of pothos so much that’s the only stem that isn’t doing well.  I might have to move a stem with more established, tougher roots into that tank and see if it does better.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@Odd Duck thanks for that. I'm going to try and trim so that at least the roots aren't touching the substrate and maybe a couple inches above and more manageable. That's approximately 1/4. 

[redfish]

I trim my pothos roots as they get out of control.  I haven't seen any real issues and the root grow back quickly.  I've even removed the complete roots and they still regrow.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@redfish totally good to know! I'm going to be doing some trimming this weekend for sure!

[redfish]

Reading the experiences above, I'd say "it depends" just like everything.  Try trimming in moderation and see how it goes.  You can always take away, it's hard to put back. 😀

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@redfish I totally agree, it's funny how "it depends" is just a thing in this hobby on EVERYTHING. I will definitely start small. Honestly I'd be happy with just a small trim to make it look a little neater- but if it is going to break the plant (which I don't really think it will, but again, "it depends") then I'd probably just pull it and plant it in a pot!