cryptocoryne care and maintenance tips

[skymist]

Hi all,

Just a thought about crypts, thought I'd throw it out there and see if I can learn something new.

My main tank's crypt is doing great (like all my plants - they're going a bit wild) and I've noticed a new crypt growing about an inch away from the main plant. At first, I thought it was just new leaves, but then I saw more leaves coming through the sand a couple of days ago, this time about 6 inches away from the main plant.

Do crypts spread under the substrate like vallis do?

I'm not fussed either way, it's clearly happy and healthy, I'm just curious to know.

Thanks

[rustic1]

Yeah, they do send out runners under the substrate, but from what I've seen, they're not nearly as aggressive as vallis in terms of spreading.

[littleking]

Yeah, certain types of crypts will spread out runners with a few new leaves and grow from there. My balensae does this, it's really nice to see it happening.

[skymist]

Thanks for the info, I'm looking forward to seeing how this new growth develops. It's a big turnaround from when my crypt was melting a year ago - clearly I've made some positive changes.

[flurry]

You're a lucky one, crypts can take forever to start spreading like that.

[skymist]

Get some easylife profito, trust me, it's like liquid gold for your plants. I add a tiny bit daily and the results are insane. My amazon sword has three flower stems right now and I cut one off just a couple of months ago - that one stem gave my LFS 18 new plantlets. This time, they'll be getting a whole lot more.

My lotus, on the other hand, isn't doing great - actually, I think it might be gone. The leaves just rotted away and now there's nothing left. But my sword plants are thriving, they're so big that the leaves are lying on the surface, and this tank is 55cm deep, so that's saying something.

[flurry]

I'm thinking of giving easylife profito a go, I've been using dry ferts in the big tank and to be honest, they haven't made much of a difference. The tetra Plantamin seems to work okay in the shrimp tank, but it's not doing much for the main tank. I hate wasting money on things that don't deliver, but I think I'll give easylife a try once the dry ferts run out.

My plants have been in a bit of a dormant stage lately, even the gkento4t vallis which normally propagates like crazy has just stopped. It's not looking great in there at the moment and the ramshorns are having a field day with the hygrophila.

I get paid on the 16th, so I might just take the plunge and get some easylife. I've lost a bit of interest in my tank at the moment, nothing seems to be growing and it's getting a bit frustrating.

[skymist]

I just had to share this photo of my tank, taken just last week - it's amazing how lush everything's looking. You can really see how well my plants are doing, it's like they're going crazy.

I've also been using easycarbo alongside the profito, and I think it's really helping. I actually got some for my Dad's tank too, and he's been having a similar experience - his anubias is going wild and he's struggling to keep it under control. His crypt's also doing really well, sending out runners everywhere, just like mine.

[flurry]

That looks incredible, I'm sold. Definitely getting some now.

[skymist]

Just pruned it back and I've got a bucket full of plantlets - over 40 from the sword on the right side and it's already got another stem growing, so that's more to come. Found a sword leaf covered in tiny eggs as well, not sure if they're from my tetras or nerite snails, but it's definitely a fertile tank.