Picture of my Cryptocoryne

[bossteck]

Hi all,

Want to share picture of my crypts.

[benny]

eric,

The growth looks good. Which species is this?

Cheers,

[bossteck]

Frankly, I don't know.

[benny]

hmm.. from the local shops? Then it might be Cryptocoryne becketti or wendtii.

Cheers,

[bossteck]

Here's another shot. (I need photography lessons!)

[illumnae]

it looks like Crypt. becketti to me based on leaf shape and the way it grows (i think Crypt. wendtii usually has thicker leaves and grows more tightly?), but the colouring is different from the becketti i have in my low tech tank. Mine is bright green without the brownish patterning on the leaves

[uklau]

Finally, I get to see your Crypts garden . Healthy bunch of Crypts there!

BTW, may I know how far do you space between 1 stalk to another? I used to plant few stalks of C. Wendtii together & when it started to grow in, too crowded, causing water circulation problem....& there come Mr. BBA .

Harvested some for a friend yesterday & was shocked with the massive root system formation. Substrate is only around 2-2.5" thickness of Seachem Flourite covered with Angel black gravel. Fed them with Wonder-Gro Root+ every month.

[doubleace]

nice bunch of healthy crypts.. I think i also want to turn my foreground into crypts...

[bossteck]

Yeah, they are getting better less 'leggy' thanks to the root tabs you recommended.

[benny]

Less leggy meaning shorter growth? Mine seems to be a bit taller that I would like it to be.

Cheers,

[bossteck]

Hi uklau,

I space them about 2-3 inches apart.

Hi Benny,

Yes, shorter growth is what I am aiming for, so that there is a nice bushy feel. Mine are growing too tall too, making the bottom of the tank seemed empty. It was worse before the pics were taken. I believe they are growing tall instead of bunching because I am cutting back on lights. 4 x 55 PL tubes for a 5x2x2. (LxWxH) tank.

[medicineman]

Eric and Ben, good to see that you experienced it and willing to share the joy of using substrate inserts and W-G Root+. According to test and research the product is very effective especially towards heavy root feeders which do not respond too well towards water collumn fertilisation or some conventional substrate additive.

I used to plant my crypts (most of the time I bought emmersed form of crypt) in small bunch of 3-4 individual stalks in one hole. I like the effect created some time later after all the leaves melts away and replaced by newgrowing submersed form and they start to form many daughter plants. The look is massive, and when you have several bunch planted to start with you can get crypt forest look in your tank, almost carpet-like when used in giant tank. I'd usually wait for some time until the crypt start to settle in swithching leaves, then jab in some tabs just underneath/nearby the base and re-insert after they look worn off.

Although you may want to carefully select the species or variety to be used especially when looking for foreground or for a small tank. A small and short emmersed crypt might grow into a 40cm giant over time when given proper care and ample nutrition (some wendtii is one example).

Here is my crypt after they switched to submersed form.

[doppelbanddwarf]

That looks good. I'm surrently using the same wonder-gro root tabs and i must say its really effective for crypts. My crypts are growing short and with plenty of leaves in a low-tech setup.

I've just added lots of Crypt. wendtiis (1 pot 'Green Gecko' and 1 pot 'Tropica') and also waiting to add in 2 more pots of Crypt. wedtii 'Mi Oya'. Hopefully can get the same effect.

[bossteck]

Hi Dedy,

You really put me to shame. Your pictures is basically what I hope my tank will turn out to be... hopefully

Cheers

[uklau]

Yeah, they are getting better less 'leggy' thanks to the root tabs you recommended.

Eric,

I must thanks you for your willingness to try out Wonder-Gro Root+. It is your own decision that gives you the level satisfaction you are enjoying now .

Good luck & enjoy this wonderful hobby. Most importantly, share your joy with others .

[medicineman]

Hi Eric,

I just plant them as bunch and leave them be with tablet nutrient reserves at the base. I'm sure yours can be as full, but it would take some time until plenty enough of daughter plants are produced.

Here is another pic showing crypts as foreground in a tank without any base fert. The crypts are planted in plain silica gravel with some tabs at the bottom. Though I do not actually reccomend this (better still if you have some base fert), they grow surprisingly well.

[rwalker]

Nice and healthy crypto you have there.
Mine melted like nobody.
Now the new growth leaves are small :-(

[uklau]

Nice and healthy crypto you have there.
Mine melted like nobody.
Now the new growth leaves are small :-(

Read in Tom Barr's article that melting is mostly due to damaged root. I did try this out by uprooting (very carefully) the entire bunch (the photo is posted in this thread) & replant it somewhere else. When planting, I rest the root on the halfway-laid substrate before covering up the root with the substrate (together with Wonder-Gro Root+). I'm using Seachem Flourite.

Surprisingly, none of the leaves melted (Tom is right) & I see new shoot in less than a week (must be Root+) .

If your new grown leaves remain small in the next 1 week, it may indicate nutrient deficiency. To grow healthy Crypts, fertile substrate is a must.

[rwalker]

Bro uklau, can you point me to the Tom Barr article as I don't quite understand the melting associates with the root rot part?

So for your case, you pull them out and replant them on Seachem Flourtie + fertilizer substrate and the plants recover.

[uklau]

Sorry that I may have confused you. My Crypts are growing healthily. I was experimenting with shifting it very carefully so that the damage to the root system is minimum. After the relocation, I didn't get any melting.