# Overgrown?



## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

My brown C. wendtii (I think that's what it is) is about 16" tall (most leaves, some closer to 18" - it's almost as big as my Amazon sword but I'm sure it weight 2-3x as much) and has gotten to the point where I can't come close to wrapping my hand around all of the stems coming out of the root clump. A few leaves have a few little holes in them and new ones popping out at the edges sometimes melt. I suspect it's time to divide it up and give the excess pieces away. 

I understand that there will be lots of melting when I mess w/ it. What I want to know is how to divide it. Should I just tease it apart into several pieces in the tank, yank it and chop it up or is there another preferred method (so you just peel the new plantlets from the perimeter and work your way in)? 

I also need to know what size pieces to shoot for.

The pic/link in the 46g portion of my sig shows what it looked like a couple of weeks ago and the picture doesn't show the entire width of it.

TIA for any advice.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

When you pull up the mass you will see it will be composed of multiple plants/plantlets. Simply tease apart the individual plants and replant or dispose of as desired. IMO, you shouldn't suffer any meltdowns if you return them to their original tank or the same conditions. 

I do this with my wendtiis usually about twice a year, and never have had a melt from doing it. Typically, it's when you change their living conditions that they will melt on you.


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

Thanks for the info!


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