coralife205

im going to make my new tank mostly crypts. is there anything special about them that i should know. ive read somewhere that you want your tank to be fully established before you even add them. and ive herd its hard to avoid the emersed grown kind. ive herd that they melt like crazy and are difficult to take care of. can anyone please tell me what i need to do to prepare my tank for crypts and on how i need to take care of them? my substrate is flourite black. i use dry ferts. i also need help comeing up with a fertliseing regimne. thank you.

Seattle_Aquarist

Hi coralife205,

Athough we have many more knowledgeable members here at APC on crypts, I will be happy to give you my feedback. I have crypts in my tanks and I really like them. They are slower growers. I have had them "melt" when moving them to a different tank or when adding new ones but typically not after they are established. The ones that have "melted" usually come back.

In my tank they seem to like a lot of KNO3 and root tabs for good growth. I have them in a "medium" light tank with a little over 2 WPG, softer water, CO2, and natural gravel. I have Cryptocoryne Wendtii 'Red', Cryptocoryne Wendtii 'Bronze', Cryptocoryne walkeri, and Cryptocoryne crispatula 'Balansae'.