Crypts: I’ll show you mine if you show me yours!!

[Mmiller2001]

My only and wimpy C. Wendtii Brown Indo

[anewbie]

On 12/7/2022 at 1:05 PM, Mmiller2001 said:

My only and wimpy C. Wendtii Brown Indo

That looks more like a nurii; i have a wendtii or some sort but it is like 12 inches tall... monster of  a plant takes up a huge area in the tank.

[Mmiller2001]

On 12/7/2022 at 12:29 PM, anewbie said:

That looks more like a nurii; i have a wendtii or some sort but it is like 12 inches tall... monster of  a plant takes up a huge area in the tank.

I don't know. Bought it from GLA. That's how it was labeled. It was a tissue culture.

[JettsPapa]

On 12/7/2022 at 10:57 AM, JettsPapa said:

Cryptocoryne usteriana is my new favorite, and is doing well in one of my tanks.  I'll try to remember to get a picture this evening and post it.

As promised.  Please excuse the photo bombing fish.

[Odd Duck]

On 12/7/2022 at 11:42 AM, jwcarlson said:

 

Is that christmas moss in the front right corner?

That was some Fissidens fontanus on metal mesh.  It didn’t do well and faded away before I got it moved.  I had other starts so I still have fontanus in a couple other tanks. 

[Odd Duck]

On 12/6/2022 at 4:21 PM, Slick_Nick said:

That is pretty impressive!! Sounds like you have a bit of everything!

I have lots of small tanks that are kind of junky right now. Still building certain fish populations in a few tanks so it feels like I’ve always got something in QT.  At some point, my 10’s are going to be all (or nearly all) grow out tanks, not just QT tanks.

I’ve lost track of what all I have for crypts.  I have crypts in 12(?) tanks.  I may have some in others but a couple are so overtaken by moss or pearlweed that I need to burrow through and unearth them.  Some I got as anonymous, un-named specimens.  Some I moved the growing container to a different tank and forgot to note which one I moved where like an idiot.  🤦🏻‍♀️ 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

I’ve got some usteriana growing out, some lucens, some that are probably C. w. ‘Red’ that were freebies when I bought some fish and some scissors from a guy that was shutting down his freshwater tanks.

There’s a random that looks like a striolata variety (that one isn’t buried), some balansae, some undulata, some axelrodii, some ‘Green Gecko’, spiralis, loads of pontederiifolia (it grows like weeds for me), and some known C. w. ‘Red’.  I thinks that’s most of my crypts. I have others that I’ve tried and failed but all these are currently doing OK.

I’m nowhere near as organized as @Dark River Aquatics.  My goal when I started plant grow outs was to do exactly like he has, but I have soooooo not accomplished that. 😆  I intended them to supply myself with plants and be able to sell a few.  Instead I have the jumble/jungle method of growing out a variety of plants with mediocre record keeping.  Not to mention shifting back and forth between plant grow outs and fish grow outs semi-randomly.  It’s a work in progress. 🤣 

[Slick_Nick]

On 12/7/2022 at 9:57 AM, JettsPapa said:

Cryptocoryne usteriana is my new favorite, and is doing well in one of my tanks.  I'll try to remember to get a picture this evening and post it.

Please do!! 

On 12/7/2022 at 10:42 AM, jwcarlson said:

 

Is that christmas moss in the front right corner?

jwcarlson I believe that is fissidens fontanus in the front corner of their tank. Not sure if I spelled it right lol

On 12/7/2022 at 11:02 AM, flyingcow said:

The Spiralis is probably only a month and a half or so.

Wow so it definitely has some growing to do! I’d like to try some of the taller crypts for backgrounds! Stem plants wear me out haha

[Slick_Nick]

On 12/7/2022 at 11:10 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Based on what I’ve seen so far in this thread, I have no business posting here, but here’s my 1 crypt. I’m new to crypts, but it seems happy. I feed her Easy Green and root tabs.

 

That is still a very beautiful crypt thank you for sharing!!! Give it some time to fill in and grow more you’ll definitely be impressed! Also plop a root tab in the substrate near it! It’ll love it! I just noticed your Bettas head peaking out from behind the leaf haha 😂 that’s hilarious

On 12/7/2022 at 12:05 PM, Mmiller2001 said:

My only and wimpy C. Wendtii Brown Indo

Mmiller2001 I actually love when crypts lay out more flat like that! The patterns on those leaves look sweet are you able to get a close up by chance?

On 12/7/2022 at 8:21 PM, JettsPapa said:

As promised.  Please excuse the photo bombing fish.

That is amazing! Love the ruffled/hammered looking leaves. The fish just add to it! Looks so natural great photos!!

[flyingcow]

On 12/8/2022 at 9:31 AM, Slick_Nick said:

 

Wow so it definitely has some growing to do! I’d like to try some of the taller crypts for backgrounds! Stem plants wear me out haha

I hear that! It took me four months to get a stem plant to grow rather than die. I am now FINALLY growing water sprite and a little bit of Ludwiga Repens.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 12/8/2022 at 9:39 AM, Slick_Nick said:

That is still a very beautiful crypt thank you for sharing!!! Give it some time to fill in and grow more you’ll definitely be impressed! Also plop a root tab in the substrate near it! It’ll love it! I just noticed your Bettas head peaking out from behind the leaf haha 😂 that’s hilarious

Thanks!  I put a monthly root tab for it. 

The betta is always curious about what’s going on, LOL. His name is Geppetto. 

[JettsPapa]

On 12/8/2022 at 8:39 AM, Slick_Nick said:

That is amazing! Love the ruffled/hammered looking leaves. The fish just add to it! Looks so natural great photos!!

I'm glad you liked them.  It's difficult to tell from those pictures, but while the front/top of the leaves on that variety are green, the backs/bottoms are a reddish-bronze color. 

[Guppysnail]

Unimpressive and there is food on most. All corys like to lay eggs on them and fry develop under them.  So mostly used as fry feeding dishes 🤣 I’m sure once upon a time when I bought all these I knew their different names… now nope nope nope🤣

Behind the zucchini this little one has chosen to pretend to be a plastic plants for about 10 months. Oddly or not the only one that does not get coated in food for various fry. 

Edited December 8, 2022 by Guppysnail

[Mmiller2001]

On 12/8/2022 at 7:39 AM, Slick_Nick said:

Mmiller2001 I actually love when crypts lay out more flat like that! The patterns on those leaves look sweet are you able to get a close up by chance?

Best I could get.

 

Edited December 8, 2022 by Mmiller2001

[Slick_Nick]

On 12/8/2022 at 7:45 AM, flyingcow said:

I hear that! It took me four months to get a stem plant to grow rather than die. I am now FINALLY growing water sprite and a little bit of Ludwiga Repens.

Those are the first two I started with as well about 4 years ago! I still have the ludwigia repens I love it. In my aquarium with co2 it turns a golden yellow color. In my tank without co2 it’s mostly green but starts to change color at the tops and makes for a nice transition of color. The bottoms of the leaves get a pinky color. Water sprite was fun but looked too messy in my opinion! Great for a breeding tank! 

On 12/8/2022 at 8:20 AM, JettsPapa said:

I'm glad you liked them.  It's difficult to tell from those pictures, but while the front/top of the leaves on that variety are green, the backs/bottoms are a reddish-bronze color. 

I wasn’t able to notice that from the picture, but I know exactly what you’re talking about. How cool definitely gonna have to give that one a try in the background

[Slick_Nick]

On 12/8/2022 at 8:35 AM, Guppysnail said:

Unimpressive and there is food on most. All corys like to lay eggs on them and fry develop under them.  So mostly used as fry feeding dishes 🤣 I’m sure once upon a time when I bought all these I knew their different names… now nope nope nope🤣

Behind the zucchini this little one has chosen to pretend to be a plastic plants for about 10 months. Oddly or not the only one that does not get coated in food for various fry. 

Nothing wrong with that! Getting multiple uses out of your crypts! I see lots of little shrimpies in there too! The crypts really pop on that gravel!!

On 12/8/2022 at 11:41 AM, Mmiller2001 said:

Best I could get.

 

Awesome little crypt love the variety of color in it! Really pops on that substrate too

[MattyM]

I love crypts! Here's my pink flamingo, which I got from the co-op (my LFS has one of these going for $50!):

And here's my jungle tank - a Wendtii Green with a Tropica in the back. These are getting big and I wonder if I can split them: 

I have more, but these are the most interesting right now!

[Slick_Nick]

On 12/9/2022 at 10:52 AM, MattyM said:

I love crypts! Here's my pink flamingo, which I got from the co-op (my LFS has one of these going for $50!):

And here's my jungle tank - a Wendtii Green with a Tropica in the back. These are getting big and I wonder if I can split them: 

I have more, but these are the most interesting right now!

Beautiful looking crypts!!  You could most definitely split those up if you’d like. I did that to mine and had enough for 3 smaller tanks. Obviously just expect a bit of melt afterwards but they’ll bounce back! Your plants look great so you clearly know what you’re doing! Thanks for sharing your pics! 

[JettsPapa]

Here's another one of my tanks with mostly crypts.  There's some crypt pontederiifolia on the left, toward the back, some crypt wendtii, and I'm not sure what else.

 

[Slick_Nick]

On 12/12/2022 at 8:02 PM, JettsPapa said:

Here's another one of my tanks with mostly crypts.  There's some crypt pontederiifolia on the left, toward the back, some crypt wendtii, and I'm not sure what else.

 

Love the contrasting colors between the crypts! I also love how the ones to the left are standing up and the one to the right said I’m just gonna lay down here on the substrate haha looks awesome

[JettsPapa]

On 12/13/2022 at 10:25 AM, Slick_Nick said:

Love the contrasting colors between the crypts! I also love how the ones to the left are standing up and the one to the right said I’m just gonna lay down here on the substrate haha looks awesome

I'm glad you like it.  I'm a little surprised to get that deep color.  The tank has a plain vanilla inexpensive LED light and no injected CO2.

[Slick_Nick]

On 12/13/2022 at 9:36 AM, JettsPapa said:

I'm glad you like it.  I'm a little surprised to get that deep color.  The tank has a plain vanilla inexpensive LED light and no injected CO2.

Just goes to show if you know what you’re doing you don’t need fancy equipment to make things look good! 

[gjcarew]

Crypt nurii 'Luminous Green' for tax. In high light it looks like most other nurii, I think you need to crowd/shade it to get the green color to come out.

I'm really here to get some pictures of what Green Gecko looks like in higher light. Anyone have a close-up? @Dark River Aquatics @Jungle Fan

[Jungle Fan]

On 12/13/2022 at 12:13 PM, gjcarew said:

Crypt nurii 'Luminous Green' for tax. In high light it looks like most other nurii, I think you need to crowd/shade it to get the green color to come out.

I'm really here to get some pictures of what Green Gecko looks like in higher light. Anyone have a close-up? @Dark River Aquatics @Jungle Fan

Looks exactly like this image, the bright green color is only present in the young shoots, once they are fully grown they turn into this dark olive green and the leaves mostly stand up, not lay flat as in this image, other than that I would say this is Cryptocoryne wendtii "Green Gecko".

[Slick_Nick]

On 12/13/2022 at 12:13 PM, gjcarew said:

Crypt nurii 'Luminous Green' for tax. In high light it looks like most other nurii, I think you need to crowd/shade it to get the green color to come out.

I'm really here to get some pictures of what Green Gecko looks like in higher light. Anyone have a close-up? @Dark River Aquatics @Jungle Fan

Love the patterns and color of the leaves of that crypt! I have my wendtii green gecko with co2 and pretty high lighting. I will try to get a close up picture tomorrow morning before work. It’ll be too late by the time I get home tonight. 

[Slick_Nick]

@gjcarew I have a couple pics not as up close as you’d like probably but on the 2nd pic you get a decent idea on that green leaf.