[lampeye]

I remember seeing this discussion somewhere before, but I can't seem to turn it up...

What crypts are the MOST likely to melt, and which are least likely to do so after a change?

I seem to remember someone saying balansae was a virtually "melt proof" crypt. I just bought some "lutea" from an LFS, absolutely brutalized them getting them out of the pot and the rock wool, shoved them unceremoniously into a tank with a high pH, pool sand, and a laterite pocket below the roots, and two weeks later I have new leaves coming up, and I probably lost a grand total of four leaves in the whole large clump to melt. Typical?

 

[Bert H]

I can only refer to the ones I have kept, which are only 4, and for me the only one who has ever melted toally are the wendtii's.

 

[rs79]

Affinis and nevelli seem the most "melty" to me. None of the others seemed to be real problem. I've had balansae melt lots of times.

 

[ferchu22]

For my experience and for the species that I have, one of the least likely to melt is the c.spiralis.

Regards

 

[Squawkbert]

I've only kept one species - C. wendtii, bronze - I've sold patches of it the size of my forearm to people, have yet to hear of any melting. When I first got it, I think I lost a leaf or two. That's been it.

 

[lampeye]

Soo...different for everybody, then.

 

[BryceM]

Yeah, pretty much. Melting is one of those things that you might not believe in until it happens. When a crypt really decides to melt it's actually quite impressive.

I agree that the crypts which have long, vertical leaves like sprialis or retrosprialis are not too likely to melt. The wendtiis are prone to it. I've never had my lucens or parva melt but that doesn't mean they won't.

 

[lampeye]

Has anyone ever quantified exactly the cause, and I speak in the physiological sense, of "crypt melt?" It seems to happen FAR too quickly for the plant to export nutrients from the affected leaves...

 

[HeyPK]

Pontedeerifolia and the closely related moehlmannii don't seem melt prone. My experience has been the same as BryceM's with regard to the ones with long narrow leaves (crispatula, etc.).

 

[ingg]

Balansae melts every single time for me - and this is going from one of my tanks to another of my tanks. Spiralis/retrospiralis, not so prone.

Wendtii melts often.

Lutea, Willissii, Parva were good about not melting.

 

[rs79]

I've had pontiderifolia melt meny many times.

The weird "might be unduilata" thing I have melts the least. Course, it's withstands almost freezing too which no other crypt I have seems to.

As to why they melt, when they do the rotting leaves will kill any plant they touch. I speculate that it's a defense mechanism. If the patch of plants gets disturbed they kill every leaf in the area then quickly grow from the roots. Other plants may not be able to grow from roots.

A plant as slow growing as a crypt needs some "edge" to out compete things. I reckon this is it.

 

[lampeye]

Hm. That hasn't been my experience, though. Well, the plants melting leaves touched were najas and a bleheri sword, so maybe that's not a fair comparison.

It just so happens that I've spent the last week BRUTALIZING some crypts, uprooting and dividing them, and inadvertently even exposing some to salt water temporarily with a service cart that was full of the stuff. I didn't notice until I came back a few minutes later and the tank was full of "density lines."

The plants moved/divided/otherwise assaulted: wendtii "green," wendtii "green gecko," spiralis, balansae, parva, walkeri "lutea," becketti "petchii."

The final outcome: Some leaves melted on (nearly) everybody, but usually one or two. The wendtii "green" were the worst, losing three or so leaves per plant but never completely melting. Spiralis, the seeming "crowd favorite" here, lost a leaf or two per plant. The big winners were parva and "green gecko," losing only a leaf or two TOTAL in about ten plants of each.