gnome

Even under medium light with DIY CO2 and Flourite, I found C. wendtii 'Tropica' to stay pretty small. I know it's healthy because of the shape and color of the leaves, so I'm sure it's not stunted or anything. I'm actually keeping one in my 2.5-gallon tank right now and it's looking beautiful. It's towards the front, but off to the side so it doesn't look overly misplaced. In a 7-gallon with C. parva and C. willisii, the Tropica crypt should be placed somewhere behind these, and be sure not to let the C. parva get shaded over, since they're a species that requires relatively strong light. Also, the color would be a nice contrast, with the parva and willisii being green and the Tropica being a reddish-brown.

I'd suggest C. pygmaea, but it may not be available where you are. I'm not sure about their potential size, but it looks to me slightly bigger than C. parva (the leaves are wider), but easier to grow, and the leaves look mostly green with slight rusty-red highlights. It's a beautiful, adorable plant. Seems a tad less resilient than wendtiis but definitely easier than parva.

-Naomi

Art_Giacosa

Naomi... are you saying you have pygmaea?

gnome

Sure do! I've purchased two bunches of it and it's taking a while for the new leaves to grow out, but I think they'll be okay. Well, they *better* be, at $10 per booger-sized bunch .

-Naomi

aquaverde

Would you care to share your source? I'm willing to bet we could put a hurtin' on their stock

keef

I would also like to know where you can get C. wendtii 'Tropica' .



Keith

gnome

I got C. pygmaea and C. wendtii 'Tropica' at Albany Aquarium (Albany, CA; not NY) - a LFS that receives plant shipments from the Far East every two weeks. The owner (Guy) is nearly impossible to get a hold of because he's almost never there, but you can try leaving a message with one of the employees: 510-525-1166.

For a number of people, I've been buying the plants they've been wanting, sending them, and getting reimbursed for the plants, tax, and shipping. Unfortunately, I've been losing a lot of my own money by doing this so I'm more reluctant to offer this "service" these days. Besides, the owner has told me that he is willing to ship plants. So it's just a matter of getting in touch with him.

They're expecting another shipment early next week (Sunday or Monday). I did see two bunches of C. pygmaea left as of this past Monday. They've been selling well, so I'm sure they'll be getting more in the next shipment.

-Naomi

aquaverde

Albany Aquarium gets a lot of airplay on the net, but they must not have a site. A quick Google only got me an aquarist's page rating the place with contact information. Calling from NY I wouldn't want to have to make a series of calls to locate the owner. Thanks for relaying this info- I'm sure there are those here that can take advantage of it better than I can.

You shouldn't be losing any money picking up stuff for folks, Naomi. I'm very sorry to hear about that.

Raul-7

Gnome, since Albany is about 400miles away(according to mapquest)..could I possibly buy Crypts from you when I need them?

gnome

LOL! Sure - it's really no problem. The money loss incurred was my own fault in one case. I purchased and sent over $15 worth of plants and I told the guy that I didn't expect any payment for anything that didn't survive. Well, the plants reached him in two days but the weather on the receiving end was freezing and everything disintegrated within days after being planted in his tank. I kept good on my word, though. To be fair, he offered to pay, but since I already gave a verbal guarantee, I said don't bother. About a week later, I sent another guy some plants and I guess he forgot to pay me. In that case, it was less than $6 worth of plants (including the tax) so I decided it wasn't worth it to get on his case about it (I HATE even broaching the subject of getting paid). Anyway, I resolved not to guarantee the condition of the plants any more, and if I don't recognize the person from any of the forums I frequent, I can always request payment first. My husband has a PayPal account, too, although gosh-darn PayPal always takes out a big chunk of whatever's put in there .

If you're looking for a particular species, let me know and I'll ask the manager at Albany Aquarium if they have it in stock or to try and order it. If it's something that Oriental Aquarium carries, I can *almost* guarantee that they can get it. If not, then it's a crapshoot. You should probably let me know the maximum amount you're looking to pay for a portion of the plant. The shop's not cheap by any means.

Truth is, it costs me $3.75 MINIMUM to even get to the store and back home, but I don't tack it on to the reimbursement charge because I'd probably be going at least every two weeks regardless of whether I'm picking something up for somebody or not. In any case, this hobby is a financial drain no matter how I look at it... (violins start playing). I'm happy just to get back what I'm owed. If I can be assured of this, I'm glad to pick up and ship plants to my fellow hobbyists .

Just PM me about which Crypts you're looking for and I'll see what I can do.

-Naomi

Phil Edwards

Florida Aquatic Nurseries sells C. wendtii "Tropica" under the name "Bronze Wendtii". Just about any LFS that has dealings with one of their distributors can get them.