# mangroves and ficus in the terrarium?



## Guest (Nov 13, 2005)

I have a group of mangroves and a type of ficus benjamina grouwing in my terrarium. The question is will the roots of these plants overtake a standard 135 gallon? I know they will get too large in the long run and thus creating a problem when I would have to remove them? (and the mess that would accompany this!) I really like the idea of larger tree-like plants in the terrarium bu trealize that this may not be possible. If anyone has any advice or experience on this topic it would be greatly appreciated, or if anyone has any suggestions on similar tree-like plants I would love to hear them, thanks


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## Guest (Nov 17, 2005)

I wouldnt see any problem with growing a ficus in a 135. Of course you would have to treat the plant like a bonsai, very little food, constant trimming and shaping. I would imagine you may have you employ some form of root trimming. It can be done.

Matt


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## Guest (Nov 17, 2005)

Hello,
I have had a ficus benjamina bonsai for 10 years now and I don't find the root growth all the aggressive. I'm not sure what others who have the plant would say. I agree with rubsico that with pruning you could train the tree to fit comfortably in a 135 gallon. My tree is 18" high. You could get away with not pruning roots but it will make training the tree harder. You can put it into a small bonsai pot buried in the substrate . Ficus B, with high humidity will send air roots down from its branches to viv floor adding to the mangrove look. 
Good luck.


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## rbrightstone (Apr 14, 2004)

Mangroves have an almost unreal growth rate. They can grow 8"-12" a day when they have a growth spurt. They are impossibleto keep small, so I would just stick with the ficus.


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## Guest (Nov 18, 2005)

where did you get the mangroves?


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## Guest (Nov 18, 2005)

I got the mangroves at my place of empolyment- a tropical fish store- people have brought them in and we take them for trade- i guess it is legal to collect pods, but illegal to collect pods that have sprouted leaves or roots- I have two from florida and they are really green, the other two are from mexico or somewhere in central america and the leaves are reddish- they retail at our store for around $15 but have seen them for as cheap as $5 elsewhere. I do the saltwater ordering for my store and sometimes I see them on availability lists from time to time. Just a sidenote- I was always told they needed metal halides to grow but mine are doing fine at around 3 watts per gallon of power compact lights. They dont seem to grow all that fast, maybe under full sun do they grow that fast but mine have thrown out four leaves over about three-four month period so they do not seem to be that fast growing- maybe when they get large will they grow at the rate of 8-10 inches- and i mean ten feet high or so- but i think they will be ok for a couple of years, hopefully. 
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## Guest (Nov 18, 2005)

Also, I have a question with regards to growing plants like ficus in pots- won't the plants just send their roots through the holes for drainage in the pot- also how does the potted plant fare with regards to drainage- has anyone ever had a problem with stagnant water being more of an issue in pots (root rot, in particular)- when growing plants in a pot in a very wet terrarium, thanks


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

I kept one in a fish bowl for about 5 years. It seems to suddenly be dieing now, but it has done well for all this time. It is not large at all. I’ve pruned it to keep it small and kept it in low light. I’ve never seen this thing have a growth spurt. It has always grown slowly. I’ve kept several different mangroves and have noticed that they do not like the specific gravity of their environment to change rapidly. This is surprising considering where they come from, but I have definitely seen them decline rapidly with large changes in S.G.


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## Afemoralis (Mar 17, 2005)

*Mangrove genera*

Hi, the Mangrove "pods" yall are talking about are the propagules of the genus Rhizophora- seedlings that germinate on the tree and then drop into the water to disperse. You might want to try Conocarpus or "Buttonwood." It has a similar look (though smaller leaves), and doesn't get as big.

Cheers,

Afemoralis


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