Anacharis Question?

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Eleven13

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
112
Location
Massachusetts
Hey everyone,

I have Anacharis in my 10 gallon tank, which right now is stocked with 3 zebra danios and other plants (java fern, amazon sword, anubias, hygophilia, micro swords). Everything seems to be growing great (I hope :ermm: ), I have a 15 watt 6500K fluorescent light, and my water temperature is about 76F.

However, I'm confused about the Anacharis. Right now, the base stems I planted first in my "design" are brownish, but they are growing beautiful bright green "branches" that are getting taller every day. The anacharis that I had left over I used to fill space doesn't look as great, but it is still branching albeit slower and not quite as bright. Here are some pictures:

The ones I planed first, that look the best out of all of them. You can see the bright green tall stems here, with the brown bases.
img_1838997_0_b41a57bbcc4be637fa19fd4e74f8cc91.jpg


img_1838997_1_512c7dbd3ab27c1c2a3d5baff3c4dc4f.jpg


Here is one of the "space filler" ones that are mostly brown (in the corner)
img_1838997_2_ea11f4957b712b2dd7fd4de273a10736.jpg



The other bunch of space fillers are in the back behind the driftwood. These may be brownish because they are directly under my filter which I didn't realize at first, which may be blocking light?
img_1838997_3_e6c4f4bb87099b2592e5fb0a3728927f.jpg



So, will the base stems ever get green like the tops? Or will I eventually have to cut the bright green ones off and replant them if I want a fully green "bush" type of look? And do you think the "space fillers" will actually grow nicely, or should I remove/relocate them?

Thank you for your help, sorry for the long post!
 
That brown part won't grow back to green. I'd cut the good parts off and replant them. It will bush out from there. Patience is the name of the game.
 
Okay great thanks Atxpunx, so would you recommend I wait until the healthy parts get bigger before cutting and replanting them, or could I do it anytime? I feel like the larger ones could be replanted now, but I'm not sure if the smaller ones like the one in the corner could?

And when you cut it, do you literally just cut it from where it attaches to the brown stem, pull off 2-3 nodes of leaves, and then stick it in the substrate like I did when I first got them?

Thanks :)
 
When I had it, I just stuck it in the gravel and go. You should be able to cut and replant now. I would have pieces half an inch in length that would grow. To each their own. Once it grows it goes crazy.
 
Also, the roots would come out of random places and then I would plant the emerging new roots. You could leave it floating and let it grow side shoots. I took mine out because it took nutrients away from my slower growing plants. At one point I had a hedge bush of anacharis taking over everything.
 
That's good news, I'm hopeful because when I received the plant initially (ordered it online), it was very dark from shipping and I guess it just declined a bit from there, so I think that these new shoots should grow just fine once replanted.

Thank you for the help!
 
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