Crypt grows and dies back.

[Seized]

I’ve been having trouble with my crypt wenti red. It’s grows for a few days and then the leaves die off and it does it again. Not sure what to do. I’m currently running a nicrew led on this tank for 10 hours a day in a 20 gallon with all easy green and root tabs. Needs help to figure out what to do.

[Streetwise]

I have had good luck with Cryptocoryne in many tanks. This is my 16 gallon.

[Daniel]

25 minutes ago, Streetwise said:

I have had good luck with Cryptocoryne in many tanks. This is my 16 gallon.

That is a beautiful Cryptocoryne forest!

[Streetwise]

This is how I hide Co-Op Nano Sponge Filters. This is apparently how I also hide all the fish!

[Struggle]

I’m no plant expert but is the rhizome covered by sand or gravel?

[Streetwise]

3 minutes ago, Struggle said:

I’m no plant expert but is the rhizome covered by sand or gravel?

The Anubias on the wood has the rhizome exposed. The Cryptocoryne are planted just deep enough.

[Struggle]

Sorry I was responding to the original post.

[AtomCatMatt]

On 12/9/2020 at 7:53 PM, Struggle said:

Sorry I was responding to the original post.

My crypts sit about like this maybe you could have them down a tad bit to far. I make sure the roots are under that’s it. over time they buried themselves naturally. 

[Streetwise]

I will agree. I have messed with the cap in my first tank many times, and have seen the changes with plant growth. I have added extra gravel to thriving plants and had their growth stall. My recent project was thinning out the sand/gravel cap in a couple of tanks.

[Blurb]

could it be the light is too strong for the plant?

is the tank new or has it been running for a while? read this about crypto Beckettii but it might apply here as well.

 

"This plant is very sensitive to environmental changes and will take a long time (usually over a month) to establish in your tank, but is still one of the best crypts to keep in a tank.

It is also a slow grower, but don’t try to keep it in strong light to accelerate growth or it may suffer from crypt melt in which it loses all its leaves when planted in a new tank, most likely due to a high nitrate concentration, sudden changes in its environment, or passing from living immersed to fully submerged.

Most experienced aquarists suggest planting it in well-established tanks, which are a minimum of three months old. Freshly set aquariums have changing water chemistry and make it very hard for the C. Beckettii to adapt to its new habitat."