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'Babies' on Amazon sword - how long before cutting/planting?


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My amazon sword sent up a long stem a couple weeks ago - I thought it was going to flower, but I've since learned that it'll use this to reproduce.  I currently have 5 'babies' on the stem with roots about 1/2" long.  Tiny little leaves can also be seen.  How long should I let them go before cutting/planting them?  

This is my first planted tank (75gal) - currently low tech (but I've been researching CO2 - can't decide between pressurized systems or using a 'mid-tech' CO2 generator (baking soda and citric acid) to get better growth.  The plants have been in place for about a month - other than the sword - the others haven't done much.   I've just added a better light (Nicrew Sky + and a timer) and have been fertilizing with leaf zone (which I've just found isn't great).  

Thanks everyone!

Shawn. 

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I actually don't cut mine, just have a long chain of different stages of smaller plants hanging out near the mother plant. Every few weeks I get the urge to try to plant the older ones and try to shove them into the substrate, but they keep popping back up. But their long roots seem to be finding their way to the substrate in any case, and the fish fry love hiding and playing around them, so I'm going with it  for now 🙂

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6 minutes ago, sreding said:

@Kirsten- do you bend the spike/stalk down?   Currently mine is going straight up.    Thank you! 

Nope, they seem to get weighed down on their own as the baby plant grows.

Forgive the ungodly mess in this picture lol. I'm pretty much using this corner for any rooted waifs and strays that weren't doing so well in other tanks. Some of the older, dead sword leaves are still getting broken down by the snails. I recently got the oldest baby to stay put in the substrate, the rest are a work in progress.

PXL_20210126_143329980.jpg

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