Can anyone tell me why my crypts are melting?

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An t-iasg

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I have crypt melt again, and it's so hard to pinpoint why. Sometimes it seems like they melt on a whim...

I have two 5-gallon tanks. Each tank has about 2.4 WPG and about 26 ppm CO2. The lighting I have doesn't go across the full length of the tank. On the brighter side, I have ambulia, and in the other tank, sunset hygro. On the dimmer side in each tank, I have 5 or 6 crypts. The crypts grow fine over there, but the higher-light plants stretched over, so I moved all the high light plants right under the light, and the crypts off to the side, and that worked for awhile.

Now all the crypts in the ambulia tank are melting. They may grow one leaf again, but it's black and waxy-looking, and then it melts again. I've pulled the tubers out of this tank so the melt cycle doesn't hurt them any further. I was wondering if the CO2 was hurting them, but they are fine in the hygro tank. Could the ambulia be giving off a chemical substance to stunt the crypts? Yes, I know that's a strange question, but I can't figure out why one tank is full of beautiful crypts and the others melt repeatedly.
 
Never heard of ambulia being one of 'those types' of plants (unlike anachris, which reportedly puts of a ton of allelochemicals).

and you haven't disturbed the crypts at all lately? even minor replanting? pruning?

Have you used any substrate root tabs?
 
I have plenty of root tabs in there. When I pulled out the tubers, a bunch of black dust came up. It settled down again, though, but I couldn't pull the tabs out, so that's about 4 tabs wasted...

Right now all the tubers are in labeled little bowls. I'm going to start a 5 gallon, low-light tank, and I'll put all these crypts in there with a layer of laterite under the gravel. That's the only thing I can think of to save these beautiful crypts.

I started both of these tanks last June. Now the crytps in the hygro tank are so nice. In the ambulia tank, first the red wendtii melted, then the petchii. A lucens is still in the ambulia tank. I'm watching it closely. In the hygro tank, I do have a petchii that is fine, and the rest are lutea or green wendtii. Maybe the red wendtii doesn't like CO2. It's strange how the petchii is fine in one tank and not the other, unless the ambulia has something to do with it.

All the crypts, except the lucens, are out of the ambulia tank, and in the area where the crypts were, I put a nice Anubias afzelli. I was so glad to find that! I hope it does well, and I'll just hope that the crypts all come back in the new tank.
 
Crypts are subject to melt when anything in their enviornment changes, including CO2. When you get the layout worked out and leave them alone I think they will do well for you :) I would not worry too much about shading: for whatever reason my crypts are more prone to creep around and spread after shading than with unobstructed light.
 
You guys are right - the ambulia isn't doing anything to the crypts. The bacopa, sag, and lace java fern are all doing well in this tank. The only other thing I can think of is that the CO2 diffuser (Kordon Mist-Air airstone) is a little more efficient in this tank. I do plan on replacing the Red Sea diffuser in the hygro tank with the Kordon airstone soon, and then we'll see how those crypts do.

I put the Anubias afzelli in this ambulia tank just the other day. I was going to put it in my new low-light tank, but since I took all the crypts out of the ambulia tank (except the lucens), I decided to put the afzelli in, since it was just sitting in a critter keeper. I like the way it looks in there now, so I think I'll leave it in there, and just start my new tank with all the crypts, and two A. nana.
 
Crypts can be very picky and stubborn about their environment. Find the place where you would like them to go and leave them there. If they have very long roots try trimming them to about 2" in length, that will stimulate leaf growth (you'll be surprised how well this may work). The main thing (as Joe said) is not to move them very frequently. They love sitting and being able to put down their roots. Don't worry too much if they look bad, just prune the affected leaves and let them go. They are good at snapping back into shape. I love sticking a Crypt in a dark hole in my grow-out tank, forgetting about it and, three months later, finding it thriving. Too much attention is bad for Crypts IME. Leave them alone, even in poor lighting, and they will thrive :wink:
 
I had two bronze wenditi potted plants that weren't doing too well until I pulled them up and carefully divided them. Now they're growing like crazy and I have more cryps than I need. I pulled all of the plant wool out them when I initianally planted them, but they still ended up being a root bound mass. I pruned all of the ugly stuff and now I have nice flat bronze leaves instead of leaves that are curled under. I haven't experienced any leaf melt.
 
I doubt its your CO2 diffuser. crypts are low light, so if the higher light plants are rocking along, its gotta be something else. Like Travis suggests, they may just be acting like brats right now.

And Caribou, you were right in un-potting those crypts. they NEED room to stretch out their roots, and those rock wool packed pots don't allow it.

and yeah, there's nothign more fun than carefully untangling crypt roots from new plants, so the roots aren't damaged,s o you can replant them.
 
I read an interesting article on crypt melt. I dont have the link, sorry, but it said that crypts come from bodys of water that are subjected to heavy rainy seasons. The crypts evolved to sence when it is about to begin (temperature, water flow, light) and they disolve thier leaves so that the increased water flow doesn't uproot and batter them. When the rainy season ends, they grow thier leaves back. I think a lot of people notice melt after doing major water changes with cooler water.
 
That is something interesting to think about, hardcyder; thanks! I think I'll be a bit more careful about pouring in the new water.
 
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