Cryptocoryne is one of the most beautiful plants in the planted aquarium, it has many sizes and many different types of leaves. Let’s find out how to grow and arrange it in the aquarium.
You may be interested in:
→ List of popular Cryptocoryne species in aquariums.
→ How to plant and care for various types of Bucephalandra.
→ How to plant and care for pearl grass.
| Name: | Crypts |
| Scientific name: | Cryptocoryne |
| Origin: | Asia. |
| Suitable temperature: | 20 – 28°C |
| Light demand: | Medium and strong |
| Development speed: | Medium |
| Difficulty: | Medium |
Cryptocoryne is not too difficult to grow. Some people said that Cryptocoryne grows slowly. But in our opinion, if you provide sufficient conditions for your planted aquarium like aquasoil, temperature, light, nutrient, etc, Cryptocoryne can develop well.
Conditions:
Temperature:
Cryptocoryne is not too strict about temperature. Like most of the other aquatic plants, it grows and develops excellently from 20 to 24ºC. Beyond this condition, Cryptocoryne still grows but not as well as within this range of temperature.
Light demand:
Some information shows that Cryptocoryne needs moderate and weak light, but in our opinion and experience, you should use medium and strong light. For the 1m2 tank with 300L water, if you use 4-6 Odyssea 10000k lights, Cryptocoryne could grow quite quickly.
Essential Nutrition
Cryptocoryne mainly uses its roots to absorb nutrients in the substrate. So, the substrate with rich nutrients will help Cryptocoryne grow and develop stably. Most of the industrial aquasoil brands now provide very good nutrients in the beginning. However, after 6-12 months, the nutrients are not as abundant as before. Therefore, besides using nutrients from the aquasoil, you can enhance nutrients to plants through their leaves. Nowadays, there are so many kinds of water fertilizers that you can choose to provide nutrients to the tank.
Development speed
Its development speed is much slower than other plants. However, if it is provided enough the conditions above, it can grow noticeably after some weeks.
Some problems arise when growing Cryptocoryne:
When the new Cryptocoryne is planted, it usually rots and its leaves start to fall down. This usually happens with the plants because they haven’t adapted to the environment in the planted aquarium. But don’t worry, after a period of time, they will recover soon. Moreover, with any plant you buy from the store, you shouldn’t plant it directly in the substrate. Just float it in the tank for 2-3 days so that it can adapt to the tank’s environment before being planted.
Another problem occurs when planted for a period of time, Cryptocoryne starts to turn yellow. But don’t worry, because there is not enough iron in the tank. You should add the necessary amount of iron and it will develop again.
How to arrange them in the tank’s layout
Cryptocoryne is a special kind of plant that you can plant in any part of the tank.
In the foreground, there are mini Cryptocoryne, Prava Cryptocoryne, arrow Cryptocoryne… They can replace other foreground plants and they also can be planted on the substrate. Because they are small and have quite fast development, arranging them in the rock cavity is quite suitable.
At the center: Some types of Cryptocoryne have an average size (a little bit bigger than arrow Cryptocoryne). Like Flamingo Cryptocoryne, which is pink, is suitable to be a highlight in the center of the tank.
In the background: There are some types of Cryptocoryne that have very large and dark green leaves, so you can plant them in the corner of the aquarium tank to make the aquarium tank look deeper.
Cryptocoryne is a beautiful plant. If you know how to arrange it suitably, it can make your tank more glittering and attract the viewer.
Above are some of our experiences that we want to share with you. If you have any ideas, please comment below so that we can improve the article and bring useful knowledge to others.
Thank you!
Aqua Plants Hub Editorial
