# How to Aquascape with Crypts



## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

I'm planning on setting up an aquarium this summer and it's going to be mostly filled with various Crypts. I have narrowed it down to these (keei, striolata, minima, scurrilis, moehlmannii, pygmaea) for the mid and foreground. But since I haven't seen the growth of these species submerged, I can seem to picture how the aquascape will turn out to be. Can anyone point me in the right direction?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

_C. pygmaea_ is definitely not small. It's easily a ten inch tall plant. Mine passed that mark before I moved it to my emersed setup.


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

FWIK, pygmaea is calles such for it's flower size.

For a foreground, use parva and or willisii (NOT lucens)


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## bharada (Apr 17, 2004)

Gomer said:


> FWIK, pygmaea is calles such for it's flower size.
> 
> For a foreground, use parva and or willisii (NOT lucens)


 Go with willisii unless you're able to get a ton of parva...beacuse that what it'll take to create a parva carpet in under a decade.


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## Bob Vivian (Sep 10, 2004)

*petchii*

Try petchii as a fore or midground plant. It'll stay small, 3" to 4.5", until it gets overcrowded.

In my tank it has a pleasing brown/deep green color and makes a beautiful rosette when it matures.

Bob


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## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

Thanks for the info on C. pygmaea, I did think it was a foreground plant due it's name. But another thing is that this is a semi-biotope aquarium (Borneo, Sumatra, S. Malaysia), I only want to work with the given species (except for pygmaea) or if anyone knows of an attractive species from that area. For the foreground, I'm thinking of going with moss as barrier between the midground and the foreground which will probably be sand. Does anyone know about how the given species are submerged and how they can be used in an aquascape?

Other Crypts I had in mind, (ciliata, cordata, ferruginea, uenoi, purpurea).


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## Rafael Diogo (Feb 2, 2005)

Hello, Raul

You have some 'almost identycal cryptos'(C. ferruginea and C. ciliata and C. cordata, uenoi and purpurea). I mean...they´re quite different, but, for aquascaping with them, dont think it will be very good.

Like the other users have wrote, you can choose C. parva or C. beckettii 'petchii' as a foreground, but they arent from the countries you want...

A good plant to choose to be in the 'focal point' is C. purpurea.

To contrast with moss, maybe between some rocks, you can choose C. cordata, C. pygmaea or C. affinis like beeing the 'second plan' in your tank...

Well, hope i could help you!

Best regards


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

I'd like to know where you are getting the keei and the striolata. The moehlmanii is very similar to pontederiifolia, which is easier to obtain. C. ciliata is not very well adapted to underwater growth and usually has only two to three leaves, with the older ones dying as fast as the new ones are produced. It can get quite large. The Sri Lankan crypts are the easiest to grow submersed. Submerse culture conditions for some of the crypts you mentioned are not well known. I would recommend you start off with some of the easier crypts.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Roland at Greenchapter has all of the crypts he has mentioned so far....granted they come at a price. 

You might also consider the wendtii x hybrid that is floating around. I got some of this recently and it stays 2"-3" tall and would make a good foreground in a largish tank.


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## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

I've only seen C. keei, C. minima, and C. moehlmannii grown submersed from the ones I've mentioned. But I'm not sure how they would do on the long-run and how I'd be able to aquascape with them. Then what Crypt's do you recommend to create a decent aquascape?

And yes, grandmasterofpool, I was going to get them from GC!


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## Andrew-amano-wannabe (Jun 29, 2005)

hey madrid fan, i have just started setting up a crypto tank, i have used the following,
beckettii
undulata-broad leaves= background
wendtii-green
wendtii- brown
wendtii-tropica=these i have put at the front with some tennelus, i know they will grow quite tall but if need be i will replant at the back
crispatula var. balansae=tall thin leaves to surface like a reed
willisi-lucens=,middle
pontederiifolia =medium to tall background

i have also put in 2 specimens of lilly which complement it well.
the great thing about crypts is that you dont need that many when setting up they grow like hell popping up all over the tank! great value for money.
good luck also amanos online portfolio has some nice lloooking crypt tanks, albeit large but nonethe less inspiring, good luck.
http://www.aquaristics.com/ada-gallery.php
http://www.adaeuro.com/gallery.asp


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