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Caring for amazon frogbit roots
Posted: Tue May 09, 2023 4:18 pm
by Lexat
I'm curious, would trimming the roots cause any issues? My roots are around 6 inches long, with a few stretching up to 9 inches, I'd say.
Re: Caring for amazon frogbit roots
Posted: Tue May 09, 2023 4:45 pm
by boomer
When I had my Water Lettuce in a tank with fish, the roots were around 5 inches, decent but not too long. However, the ones in my QT tank, which had no fish for months, developed roots that reached all the way down to the gravel in a 14-inch tank. This made me realize that longer roots often mean the plant is searching for more nutrients.
I personally wouldn't trim the roots of my floating plants. Roots serve a purpose, and I think it's best to let them do their job.
Re: Caring for amazon frogbit roots
Posted: Tue May 09, 2023 5:36 pm
by Lexat
boomer wrote: ↑Tue May 09, 2023 4:45 pm
When I had my Water Lettuce in a tank with fish, the roots were around 5 inches, decent but not too long. However, the ones in my QT tank, which had no fish for months, developed roots that reached all the way down to the gravel in a 14-inch tank. This made me realize that longer roots often mean the plant is searching for more nutrients.
I personally wouldn't trim the roots of my floating plants. Roots serve a purpose, and I think it's best to let them do their job.
Glad I asked now, learned something new. My tank's got a pretty heavy fish load, but I'm dosing the exact required TNC lite once a week. I'll keep an eye on things, thanks for the info. Current water specs are 70% RO and 30% tap, temp's at 76, pH's 7.5, and GH's 7.
Re: Caring for amazon frogbit roots
Posted: Tue May 09, 2023 8:33 pm
by boomer
Lexat wrote: ↑Tue May 09, 2023 4:18 pm
I'm curious, would trimming the roots cause any issues? My roots are around 6 inches long, with a few stretching up to 9 inches, I'd say.
Here's a photo that I think shows typical root growth. My Frogbit roots never got that long, unlike my Water Sprite and Water Lettuce. This second photo is of my 70g, with some Frogbit floating on the surface, centre of the tank.
Re: Caring for amazon frogbit roots
Posted: Tue May 09, 2023 11:12 pm
by Lexat
boomer wrote: ↑Tue May 09, 2023 4:45 pm
When I had my Water Lettuce in a tank with fish, the roots were around 5 inches, decent but not too long. However, the ones in my QT tank, which had no fish for months, developed roots that reached all the way down to the gravel in a 14-inch tank. This made me realize that longer roots often mean the plant is searching for more nutrients.
I personally wouldn't trim the roots of my floating plants. Roots serve a purpose, and I think it's best to let them do their job.
Appreciate the insight, I'm considering another factor - could be the light intensity is overpowering and throwing off the nutrient balance. I was running the lights for 10 hours a day, no real reason, now it's 8. Maybe I can shave off another hour, see how it goes. I'm using two LEDs, one at 4425K and the other at 6500K.
Re: Caring for amazon frogbit roots
Posted: Tue May 09, 2023 11:36 pm
by powerin
My experience with frogbit and water lettuce is they really took off once I freed them from the ring that kept them in place. Before that, they just stagnated. Now they're growing like crazy. The roots are between 1-3 inches, with a couple of them reaching 4 inches.
I've noticed the leaves on the surface are growing more than the roots are getting longer. I make a point to thin them out every week, removing a couple of big handfuls to let more light filter down to the lower plants.
Re: Caring for amazon frogbit roots
Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 2:14 am
by Lexat
powerin wrote: ↑Tue May 09, 2023 11:36 pm
My experience with frogbit and water lettuce is they really took off once I freed them from the ring that kept them in place. Before that, they just stagnated. Now they're growing like crazy. The roots are between 1-3 inches, with a couple of them reaching 4 inches.
I've noticed the leaves on the surface are growing more than the roots are getting longer. I make a point to thin them out every week, removing a couple of big handfuls to let more light filter down to the lower plants.
Thanks for sharing your experience, powerin. I'm seeing similar growth patterns, but my roots have now surpassed the 4-inch mark. I'm tagging @matthew as he also used a ring for his frogbit, and I'd love to hear his thoughts on this.
Re: Caring for amazon frogbit roots
Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 6:07 am
by Lexat
boomer wrote: ↑Tue May 09, 2023 4:45 pm
When I had my Water Lettuce in a tank with fish, the roots were around 5 inches, decent but not too long. However, the ones in my QT tank, which had no fish for months, developed roots that reached all the way down to the gravel in a 14-inch tank. This made me realize that longer roots often mean the plant is searching for more nutrients.
I personally wouldn't trim the roots of my floating plants. Roots serve a purpose, and I think it's best to let them do their job.
I've started to see some algae on the glass, the green kind, not too much of it. Reducing the light hours from 10 might just do the trick.
Re: Caring for amazon frogbit roots
Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 7:50 am
by boomer
Lexat wrote: ↑Tue May 09, 2023 4:18 pm
I'm curious, would trimming the roots cause any issues? My roots are around 6 inches long, with a few stretching up to 9 inches, I'd say.
Eight hours should be a better fit, I think.