gforster

I tried searching for an answer to this but cam up short -

I am new to the world of cryptocornyes. I just got my first two types - spiralis and "balansae." they are both growing well after an initial adjustment and "melting" which I expected. The spiralis is now turning a brownish color on the edges with a green stripe up the middle. Is this normal? If so, great! I like how it looks. But, if that is the sign of some sort of problem, I want to know what to do. It seems there are many other types that get "an attractive bronzing," but I can't find any good info on c. spiralis. thank you for your time

Ghazanfar Ghori

That's normal - usually associated with higher light levels.

bdement

This is the same thing that's happening in my tank. Is it "bronzing?"

HeyPK

This is some C. spiralis I had about 2 years ago. It died during the 5 days without power after Katrina.

Kelley

Wow that looks nothing like the C. spiralis I have. My leaves are not nearly so crenulated and are slightly more lanceolate. The petioles are also longer and a nice brown color.

I wonder if it is just growing conditions, or if I have a different plant?

Bert H

What I have doesn't look that way either. What I have I obtained from a fellow hobbyist, so I can't swear to its correctness in labelling, but definitely doesn't look like that.

SCMurphy

Different streams have different looking plants, but all the same species (or species group). The flower is more important to identification than the leaves. I have both a very flat leaf and a wavy edged leaf version of C. spiralis. I have noticed that the flat leaved version doesn't bronze up like the wavy leaved version. Anyone have a flat leaf bronzed version?

AnneRiceBowl

When I first bought my C. spiralis (from two different LFS), it started out as flat-leaved and green (and some of the leaves didn't look so great). Now that I have had them for several months, the newer leaves are more crinkled and are bronzed on the edges. They are growing in Eco-Complete, no longer getting ferts (the tank now houses all shrimp and dwarf crays), and 6,7000K 96W of lighting for 12 hours/day.

HeyPK

I got my spiralis at the AGA 2004 convention, and I don't know for sure that it was spiralis. The other crypt in the picture, by the way, is one of the hybrids between C. parva and something else---the one they used to call C. lucens.

rs79

Um, I've actually had some crypts go bronze in very dark tanks with low nitrates...

In highr light tanks they go a mich farker brown. Inbetween, they're green.