chirp

Hi.

I have a naturally planted tank with a crypt which has grown huge. i want to take part of it and start a new plant in another tank.

how do you divide aquatic plants? this plants is firmly rooted into the soil and gravel of the tank.

must i completely uproot it? can i just section a piece off with a razor or something (carefully!!! of course!)

thanks!!

Quetzalcoatl

Plants have different ways to multiply. For crypto, I think most of them divide by runners. Basically mother plant grows a runner in the substrate, and along the runner you will have some child cryptos. If you find these, then you can cut the runner in the substrate and uproot the child.

jargonchipmunk

many large crypts will actually consist of several plants. To divide this way, you'd have to uproot it. With a large crypt this can be very messy as their root balls are pretty massive when they get big. If you don't want to disturb your big crypt, wait for runners. Otherwise, carefully uproot the mother and examine the rosette to see if there are any obvious places to divide. (seperate sections with their own roots only attached by a tiny bit. easily cut away from the mother and grown seperately)

cah925

The previous two responses were spot on. In my experience the runners are the hardest to find unless they have really grown into another plant. Most daughter plants grow very close to the mother plant. So close in fact, that they look like the same plant. I uprooted a crypt a couple weeks ago and was surprised to find several runners. Just looking into the tank I didn't see them, although I wasn't carefully and methodically looking for them. If your crypt is big enough, you should be able to find a runner or two if you look real close and take your time.