When you plant crypts Leave Them Alone!

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fish_4_all

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Mar 13, 2005
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Aberdeen, WA
I know it is against what most planted aquarists want to do but if you want them to grow, know where you want them and leave them alone! They will grow if you move them, ater 2 weeks of looking boring, 2 weeks of a little growth and then a growth spurt. If you leave them alone, they will grow, and as I found out with my Becketti, they will send out runners under the substrate and make new ones. Unfortuntaley, I pulled them up to see if they were doing anything so I don't know if the runner will make a new one or not.

In short, great plants, they will make you happy once they get settled but they will make you pull your hair out if you keep pulling them up.
 
I will add 1 thing...... No matter how bad they melt, dont give up...they will come back.

Melting and crypts is normal.
 
Agreed 100%.

My Red Wendtii had 1 miserable looking leaf left on it after its massive melt. It is gorgeous now after about a month and a half.
 
Mine too, they all melted to almost nothing. I even cut all the leaves of my Red Wendtii and it now is bushier than ever.
 
My green Wendtii is melting at the moment....driving me nuts as it was gorgeous two weeks ago, but I'm just gonna let it be. The lutea 6" away is as happy as a clam.
 
Nice topic, and very true. I recieved a nice C. wendtii to start my planted tank two years ago. It melted immediately. I was told to leave it alone and within a month, not only did it recover, but it has been the mother to several babies that have gone on to other member tanks. I still have the mommy. :)
 
I have a Crypt Petchii in my 29 gallon that is growing very nicely and sending out runners everywhere. I like Cryptocornes so much that I just ordered two for my 10 gallon low light tank, Crypt Wendtii and Crypt Lucens.
 
that is good to know, i just purchased red wendtii. And some of the leaves have already started to melt. If nobody had posted this topic, i most likely would have thrown the plant in the garbage. You most likely saved my crypt's life ;)
 
Only my red wendtii went through a "melt" stage. The lucens and becketti just didn't do anything at all for about 2 weeks or so. That is when I moved them, when I got them, they all melted down to almost nothing and collected algae like it was a magnet. One other thing, if they get algae too bad, simply cut the leaves off and they will grow back, almost faster than they grew the first time.
 
this may sound like a daft thing,but what's a crypt? has anyone got a pic? i like plants in my tank but at the moment they are cosmetic and functional. ie look good and give the fish something to eat. i don't know anything about plants at all. if i like the look of them in the shop, i'll buy some(if they're not too costly that is), when they start looking a bit rough, i throw them out.
i am even more a noob with plants than with fish. this is my first venture into the planted tank forum, please be gentle....
 
Click Here.

This site gives some good pictures of a lot of plants not only Cryptcoryne. Also go here for some good pictures and some more descriptions.

As for plants that you don't like anymore, don't throw them out. Many on here will pay for shipping of your plants as many of us can't afford to go out and buy the ones we want and worst of all, most of our LFS don't carry but 10 or less species so there isn't much to choose from.
 
thanks for the links. the reason i throw them out is because they are looking a little shabby. especially at the moment with our heatwave. that means i have to keep the light off which isn't doing the plants any good at all. as for sending them to you guys, i wouldn't as they would be in an even worse state when they got to you from the uk. i'll bear that in mind though.
i still consider myself as a noob with fish, but as i like the planted look, you might be seeing me in here a little bit more. that is if you can take my daft questions and needless greenery sacrifice.

thanks
 
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