Proposed South East Asian Tank with crypts?

3459 Views 8 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Sir_BlackhOle, Jul 8, 2004

fastlee84

Discussion Starter · Jun 6, 2004

hi all,
i'm interested in planted tanks and have owned two tanks so far. Recently i was introduced to crypts and are in love with their beauty! and how easy to grow them and how their leaves open up..

i'm going to start on a new planted south east asian tank with driftwood and full of crypts.. are there any suggestions on what types of crypts should i get..there are no preference juz as long as the crypts are planted in the tank i'm happy..the more varieties the better!!

fazdli

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tsunami

· #2 · Jun 7, 2004

If you are willing to stick to crypts that come from only mainland Southeast Asia, you could include the following:

C. affinis
C. albida
C. crispatula var balansae
C. crispatula var tonkinensis

If you just want a crypt collector's tank, some must have crypts would have to be C. beckettii, C. undulata, C. wendtii 'Tropica' and 'Green', C. pontederifolia, C. x willisii.

You could use the C. balansae as the background, C. beckettii, albida, undulata, affinis, and wendtii crypts for the midground, and C. x willisii for the foreground...

Carlos

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budak

· #3 · Jun 7, 2004

Hi Fazdli,

It's very difficult to generalise about SEA crypts..... there are species which are unique to Indochina, Malaya, Thailand, Borneo, Sumatra, New Guinea, Philippines etc... as well as a few (e.g. C. ciliata) which straddle the geographical regions. SEA crypts (except for a few like C. balansae, C. pontiderifolia, C. cordata) tend to be much more testy than the Sri Lankan/Indian species.... being found in very sheltered, cool, little-changed habitats.

Do look up Jan Bastmeijer's Crypt Pages (check google) for detailed data on the species.

Many SEA species like C. nurii and C. griffithi are very difficult to cultivate in aquariums...... I suspect that apart from an acidic substrate, shady spot and low nitrate levels, the plants like good water circulation and COOL temperatures (below 28C) to thrive. Most crypt biotopes I have seen have very cool, flowing waters.

You will have to hunt around for these species in LFS though..... I know Lam Hong (AMK Ave 4) has C. ponti regularly.... while Bioplast (System Control & Engineering) has griffithi and cordata on occasion..... you can try Teo's Farm for nurii and others if he has fresh stock..

But growing these crypts emmersed is a better bet for their survival..... use a covered plastic tray (Far East Flora has propagators for less than $10) to create a humid environment, and plant them in mixed plain gravel/peaty soil and keep the substrate wet. If they thrive, you can always use the new plants for the aquarium.

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fastlee84

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jun 15, 2004

ok thanks for the suggestions... i'm currently getting the plants that u guys suggested and trying to grow them emersed in a normal 1.5 litre bottle.. so far some of their leaves are melting but i have seen new growth..
these will be my cultivating speciment until my tank is ready...

this holiday i will be going to malaysian rivers to see n maybe collect some wild crypts.. i would be interesting to compare both wat i have now with the wild ones..

i'm now scraping the idea of a SEA tank and change it to crypt collector's tank and figure out a way to combine them all to make it look natural..

btw far east flora was the nursery that was burnt a while ago rite? along thomson rd?
can't wait to collect the crypts!! will update on it!!

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fastlee84

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jul 4, 2004

hi bros..

i have setuped my tank and planted all the crypts that i could get my hands on.. but although most of the crypts are ok, some are starting to melt and disappear.even the roots melted into nothing!
may i know what is the cause of this? the plants have been planted in the tank on the start of the cycling period..
is melting a common thing? another tank that i have for 6month and i plant the same crypt,and its doing ok..

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Phil Edwards

· #6 · Jul 5, 2004

It is extremely common for crypts to melt when put into a new environment. Just put them where you want them and leave them all alone for a while and they'll do just fine.

Best,
Phil