curling leaves on crypts...

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newfound77951

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
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Location
St Petersburg FL
I have a large Crypt wendtii "bronze" which is quite happy and sending out runners all over the place, but most of its leaves are curled down at the edges, a lot of my other Crypts do this too, any ideas why? Is it a deficiency of some sort, too much light, or something else?

55g
2x96watts PC, photoperiod just reduced from 11 to 9 hours
Eco
 
No, its a sign your doing a good job. They are supposed to be "crinkled". Often when bought from the store this plant has been grown under emersed conditions and it doesn't grow the way it should submersed. The plant is supposed to grow its leaves close to the ground with short stems, they should be elongated, crinkled around the edges and depending on which kind of Wendtii, should be lightly brown or red.

This is a picture of my Red Wendtii immediately after I bought it (left).
img_812843_0_daa611e68f8200b64331ef2e612eef50.jpg


This is a picture more like what it is now. If I didn't see it happen myself I wouldn't have believe this was the same plant.
img_812843_1_1d7f8bc1fd2335f316c0df25fee203b0.jpg
 
Mine get the wavy edges, but it's more that the whole leaf edge and tip curls down, then starts looking tattered and ratty, like this:

P1040468.JPG
 
I'd be pretty happy if I had the same type of growth you have. The wrinkling is natural but the curling you are experiencing might be caused by them being in direct light. They do prefer shady areas and nature has ways of adapting to the environment...it almost looks like they are trying to shade themselves. :)
 
More reason to turn my lights down, I guess! You can also see the GSA on the leaves as well....it's hard to keep up with that stuff on non-stem plants in a high light tank, and it always looks awful. But as long as the crypt is happy, I'm happy, even if it looks a little ratty.
 
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