what to do if mangrove roots are damaged?

[PokeFish]

Some mangroves I got had their roots damaged during shipment.

 

[littlebeard]

How damaged? Remember these things live at the beach/inter-coastals and survive hurricanes. They're pretty sturdy. Unless the main trunk was torn in half I wouldn't sweat it.

 

[PicassoClown04]

I’ve had a couple of my propagules’ roots torn off/knocked off by accident. They regrew pretty quickly, you’ll be fine

 

[PokeFish]

Ok. The roots are kind of floppy. Should I move it into freshwater just to be safe?

 

[PicassoClown04]

Ok. The roots are kind of floppy. Should I move it into freshwater just to be safe?

Floppy? What kind of mangrove did you get? I have red and black mangroves and both of their roots are very stiff

 

[PokeFish]

Floppy? What kind of mangrove did you get? I have red and black mangroves and both of their roots are very stiff

well the broken ones are floppy. I have a red mangrove. The broken ones are like broken in half and barley attached

 

[PicassoClown04]

well the broken ones are floppy. I have a red mangrove. The broken ones are like broken in half and barley attached

Ohhh okay. I would go ahead and completely detach the broken parts. A mangrove is a plant, and therefore, won’t reabsorb the broken root. It’ll just rot and fall off because it’s not connected to the circulatory system of the plant anymore so just save the plant some energy and break it off so it can use that energy on new growth. It’s a process called growth promotion where you cut off the sick/dying/old parts of a plant so they can re-focus that energy on new growth

 

[PokeFish]

Ohhh okay. I would go ahead and completely detach the broken parts. A mangrove is a plant, and therefore, won’t reabsorb the broken root. It’ll just rot and fall off because it’s not connected to the circulatory system of the plant anymore so just save the plant some energy and break it off so it can use that energy on new growth. It’s a process called growth promotion where you cut off the sick/dying/old parts of a plant so they can re-focus that energy on new growth

ohh ok. Can i leave it in saltwater?

 

[ThePurple12]

Are they acclimated to salt already? If so, yes. If not, they'll need to be acclimated.

 

[PokeFish]

Are they acclimated to salt already? If so, yes. If not, they'll need to be acclimated.

tbh im not sure. I got them from algae barn. I think they are

 

[Reefahholic]

You go plant them off the beltway in downtown Houston!

 

[PokeFish]

You go plant them off the beltway in downtown Houston!

ima fly to houston now

 

[bsr2430]

You go plant them off the beltway in downtown Houston!

Now that’s funny.

 

[Reefahholic]

ima fly to houston now

They were right in the middle of beltway 8 and 45 south in a very swampy area. It never got mowed! Then 1 year later they decided they wanted to mow it. The tractor kept going around them and finally ran them over. It was a sad day!

 

[ThePurple12]

They were right in the middle of beltway 8 and 45 south in a very swampy area. It never got mowed! Then 1 year later they decided they wanted to mow it. The tractor kept going around them and finally ran them over. It was a sad day!

Aw come on!

 

[Reefahholic]

I just picked up these Blacks 2 days ago.

 

[bsr2430]

They were right in the middle of beltway 8 and 45 south in a very swampy area. It never got mowed! Then 1 year later they decided they wanted to mow it. The tractor kept going around them and finally ran them over. It was a sad day!

I would’ve already dug them up before that photo was ever taken,haha.

 

[bsr2430]

I just picked up these Blacks 2 days ago.

That’s incredible!

 

[Reefahholic]

Aw come on!

For a while I thought the mower kinda appreciated them. Maybe it was a different guy that just said let me mow these suckers down.

 

[gaki]

I'm pretty sure mangroves use pressure in their root systems to keep the salt out so they don't die from absorbing too much salt. That way, they can survive in saltwater, but I guess for them, it's only freshwater because they purify it. If a mangrove's roots are damaged, they can no longer keep a constant pressure, so when they go to absorb water through their roots, they will most likely also absorb salt, which is deadly to plants. Just to be safe, I would move to freshwater. I'm not really sure what would go into moving them to freshwater or if they need to be acclimated, so maybe someone with more mangrove knowledge can help that process?

However, as littlebeard said, the big ones are meant to be able to survive hurricanes (although if they are in an aquarium, they're probably not fully grown so they might not be as strong).