# Sticky  Reviving shipped crypts



## Kai Witte

While this has been discussed in the past I reckon this deserves a separate thread.

Shipping crypts isn't difficult (if done correctly) and often the plants will arrive healthy even after travelling for 2 weeks or longer. You may want to trim and rinse the plants (most of this should be done prior to shipping to reduce oxygen consumption as well as rotting of old/damaged tissues) and usually you can go ahead and plant the crypts right away. Avoid burying the rhizome though: leave the rhizome on top of the substrate (in very humid air or, preferably, covered with water); start with a minimal amount of soil and gradually fill the pot later once the plant got established and is actively growing. There are stainless steel "pins" commercially available which can help to anchor new plants but a bent iron nail works just as well.  (No nickel, zinc, lead, or other metals though!)

Plants showing signs of melting usually benefit from letting them float in shallow DI water which has been incubated with peat of good quality for a week or more. I usually use DI water to discourage grow of bacteria/fungi and change it several times during the first week; you'd prefer water from a suitable aquarium for crypts needing really hard water and may want to change that more often (rainwater crypts and even keei do fine with DI water though). I prefer placing each new arrival in a dedicated container rather than letting them float in a tank (too easy to mix things up and also for quarantine purposes); a few grains of granulated peat may help to keep things stable

Sometimes the main growing point rots away and only a piece of rhizome is left. Don't despair - the crypts often come back, even after many months! Rinse the plant thoroughly and use a sharp tool (razor, scalpel, etc. - preferably no scissors) to cut through healthy parts of the rhizome. Place the blade in alcohol (over 90%) and rinse the rhizome again. Examine closely (10x magnifying lens) wether there are still any signs of rotting tissues at the cut or other surfaces; cut again if needed. I also let these float in little containers (label with pencil!). Most will come back soon and develop plantlets from surviving dormant growing points within weeks (up to a few months). 

Sometimes the rhizome doesn't show any signs of life for months but still comes back eventually: I find that light helps - light levels could be a little more than regular plants of that species would prefer (if in doubt, use less light though!). If the rhizome turns green (or stays green), that's a very good sign (this is hard or impossible to observe with very dark colored rhizomes though). Basically don't give up as long as the rhizome doesn't get mushy!

In difficult cases, I guess temperature shouldn't be too low either - I head for 25-28°C with plants that need a little pushing...

Once I see the first root or leaf developing I carefully put them on top of soggy or flooded substrate with very little nutrients to get things going. Usually, the plantlets start regrowing from resources stored in the rhizome (even if small) and more nutrients than just a little tease for the developing roots won't do much good and favor grow of algae, etc.


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## ts168

Good write-up kai. Very detail.


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## AaronT

Nice write-up Kai.  

For plant anchors I use hairpins that are U shaped. I bend them apart slightly and stake them over top of the rhizomes. It seems to work really well for getting Crypts to root that have very little root mass to plant.


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## rs79

I can attest to what Kai says; I got a strain of pontiderifolia he threw in that was quite small and had melted back when it arrived.

But from just the tiniest stump that was left I now have a decent looking plant with many nice leaves.

I've seen crypts grow from bits of rhizome the size of a grain of wheat.

http://images.aquaria.net/plants/Cryptocoryne/u/UND/nubs/


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## Kai Witte

Thanks, all!

Do keep in mind that not all crypts are born equal and report back the results of your experiences, please.

This should get you started with receiving rare plants though.


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## Xema

Really nice write-up, it goes to my favorites folder.

Kai, in the pass I tested some kind of semi-tissues culturing with easy plants... only had success with the most rudimentary method.... Basically was a Taxiphyllum moss sandwich, with rhizomes into. I think I should test it again with blackwater ones.


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## Kai Witte

Hello Xema,

Yes, moss is also an option for an emergency substrate, especially to stop rotting. For blackwater crypts, I'd prefer live Sphagnum though (some species of this genus are easy to cultivate in a tank or bottle).


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## Xema

Yeah I prefer sphagnum moss too, but really difficult to find alive here -at least-...

By the way, Today i put a little bit of keei rhizome in a plastic glass with RO water and moss as soil... only for testing... I tell you in few weeks...


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## Kai Witte

Specialized nurseries for carnivorous plants often have it (or, sometimes, orchid growers); it's best to have some own stock growing.

I can send you some starting cultures, Xema.


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## chris_todd

Kai, very helpful writeup, thanks! I had read something similar on Jan's crypts site, on the very last line of the howto page:
Rescuing Crypts
Perhaps the only way to rescue a 'collapsed' crypt is to put the rhizome in an 'old' aquarium. Let the rhizome float on the surface, snails and guppies do the job for you. With good luck, the rhizome will sprout again.

I did this with c. wendtii I received from a fellow GWAPA member; they had been in his tank for several years, and had huge rhizomes, so I trimmed the roots, and cut off enough rhizome so I could plant the main plant in my tank, then floated the rhizome trimmings in another tank I had. Within two weeks, new leaves had sprouted and I had more than a dozen new wendtii plants.

Needless to say, your article is a bit more detailed and informative!


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## Kai Witte

Hello Chris,

Yes, what Jan wrote up for his website a good while ago is time-proven aquarist knowledge and is still widely used (I can't remember any visit at his place without noticing some crypt floating in his show tank and same-o with many other famous crypt growers over here). Mind though that this method comes from the days where mainly crypts of the Sri Lankan beckettii group and the crispatula group with a few sturdy cordata or possibly an affinis were grown in tanks filled with tapwater. Throw in a hudoroi in a tank with soft tapwater or a pallidinervia and you'll be lucky if they are not gone in short time. A tank for crypts from Bornean peatswamp forests shouldn't have any snails - if they survive, the growing conditions are just not optimal (for these crypts).

Also, not all snails are born equal - some only clean up rotten tissue while others are grateful to feast on the whole salad bar... 

I've always like _Physa_ spp. - in my experience very gentle on live plants and a good addition to any tapwater tank ecosystem. As with any species be careful not to release them since they could be non-indigenous and invasive.

_Caridina_/_Neocaridina_ shrimp also like to clean rotting plant tissue. As do some fish.

For newly arriving, damaged crypts I usually prefer the DI water approach though (except for hardwater crypts).


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