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I have two cacti growing in two separate apartments. Both get about the same amount of water and sun. I think they are the same species. One grows nice oval features but the other grows long cylindrical spikes (see pictures)

Are they healthy?

How to get this pear cactus to not have the pointy growth?enter image description hereenter image description here

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If it is kept permanently on the floor, by cactus standards it is growing in the dark, which has produced the etiolated "spikes" instead of round pads.

It needs to be on a window sill to get the maximum amount of daylight, like the one that is growing normally.

The spikes will never fill out into normal looking pads, but after it is growing properly again you can remove them if you don't like them.

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  • The "good" cactus is also light-deprived. The pads should be compact and oval, not long and skinny. They're both Opuntias but not the same species. The "good" cactus is an Opuntia microdasys. Can't tell what the other is.
    – Tim Nevins
    Commented Apr 6, 2020 at 19:41

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