Here's a closer picture:

Thanks for the thought, but I doubt it. The roots have been down into the pebbles for many months before I undertook to do something about it, and the fact that I recently removed some of the pebbles mean they now have more of a chance to dry, not less. Also, I always let things get dry between waterings, I'm one of those people who err, if I do, on the side of too little water, not too much. Even if is root rot, removing the excess roots and replacing the soil would be the best treatment for that in any case, right? But I suspect it must be something else... Thanks so much for helping me figure this out. Any further thoughts would be most appreciated. Best, Minda

Hi, first of all a dwarf 'anything' grows a lot slower than other plants, but usually the thing to do (how most bonsai are developed) is plant it in a larger container (until you're happy with the trunk size, then cut down most of the tree as is and wait for new smaller branching). However, ficus actually prefer to be just a bit tight in their pots, so in this case, I think just making sure it's 'comfortable' in a pot, and maybe not think of it as 'bonsai' material as such (at for 3-5 yrs) and get some other type of tree, ficus or not, to work on. It may develop nicely in time, though, and if so you certainly will have a good candidate for mame (very small bonsai).

I don't know about cutting it in half, but I have green island ficus and they are maintenance free for me. They are slow growers unlike many other ficus. What makes you nervous about these plants?