Observations when C. parva growing well
Originally Posted by
|squee|
It's the sunlight. I remember someone telling me that sunlight is great for parva too.
I agree. But rather than jumping to conclusions, I offer my observations below:
I've tried growing Cryptocoryne parva in 5 different conditions, here's my tank's conditions to share with all:
Tank a) Old, very rich lapis substrate, further supplemented with Ferka rosetta and old root monsters, high CO2 injection using misting method, 3.5dkH, pH 6.2. KNO3, KH2PO4 daily, TMG trice weekly 72watts lighting over 8-inch water depth, 10 hours daily. Chiller cooled, 26 degrees C (This is my hi-growth EI regime tank where Echin oriental plantlets grow up to harvestable size every fortnight and Hottonia palustris grow 6 inch a month).
Observation: After 1 week's planting, some cobra-shaped (possibly emersed) leaves turn yellow. New growth leaves are straighter, narrower, darker green and tend to curl downwards. This plant is slow growing. Even moss outgrows it. But some plants are able to maintain their cobra-shaped leaves even after 4 months.
Before planting, I removed the old leaves of some plants till its last 2 crown leaves left, these grew faster than those I planted whole. Floating some of the plants at the surface does not improve their growth.
Pulled out 1 plant after 4 months to inspect its root growth - roots grew only 1 cm longer! 
Tank b) 2-year old lapis over JBL basefert. Daily excel dosing, weekly LGA dose equivalent to 6ppm NO3, plus some PO4, divided into 3 doses. Monthly Ferka rosetta tabs, no water change. 48w T5 for 10 hours with a 4-hour midday blast of additional 48w T5 over 1ft of water depth. 25 degree C, fan cooled.
Observation: After 1 week's planting, same observation as in tank a, but even slower growth. BBA spots appear on leaves despite it being a tank of over 100 malayan and cherry shrimps. (C. wendtii leaves growing beside it, and even the gravel is unaffected by BBA). Some of the C. parva get uprooted by shrimps, some simply disappear.
Tank c) 2-year old 5mm sized gravel + crushed coral over vista basefert. Similar fert regime as Tank b. 18w FL over 1 ft water depth, 10 hours daily. 25 degrees C, fan cooled.
Observation: This tank, all cryps perish quickly. This tank seem to be able to support only some wendtii (growing weakly) and is my only tank that is able to sustain C. aponogetifolia, probably due to the substrate. But Anubias flourish in this tank with nary a hint of algae.
Tank d) 3-month plus setup, 1ft cube. ADA powersand topped by ADA amazonia aquasoil. Daily excel dosing, weekly LGA amount is equivalent to 6ppm NO3, and 3ppm PO4 divided into 2 doses. Monthly, 2 Ferka rosetta capsules for good measure. Fortnightly water change 50%. 18W PL for 10 hours daily, Fan cooled. Planted C, parva the same time as the tank is set up using plants that were floated in tank a for one month.
Observation: Absolutely no change except for a leaf turning yellow occassionally. No BBA too, thank God. 
Its companion C. pygmaea also don't show any growth. Hairgrass, HC and C. tonkinensis have grown well and gone through trimming twice.
Tank e) Recycled base of a dish drainer. Cocopeat + garden sand + mud taken from Teo's emersed hairgrass, making appx 1cm deep substrate. 1 tiny wagtail platy, no feeding. No fert, only topup water, ambient daylight. Left on the common corridor beside my door. No direct sun, water depth 2-3 inches.
Observation: The clay and mud will rise up and coat everything each time I top up water. Planted the C. parva as is, without trimming leaves nor roots. Noticed only 1 or 2 yellowed leaves in the first few weeks. 4 months down the road, it is a tight clump of plants. Leaves still maintain its cobra shape and its whitish-green colour
So.. perhaps I should insert laterite balls into the substrate of my other tanks and see if it is the sunlight or the substrate that spurs this plant to grow.
Warm regards,
Lawrence Lee
brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
Philippians 4:8
Reply With Quote
furry plant grower
), C.nurii, C.parva, C.pygmaea(Melted!
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks