# Cryptocoryne tonkinensis question.



## will5 (Oct 26, 2005)

1. How much of a hard to find crypt is this?

2. what would be a good price to pay for this plant?


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

1. It's pretty hard to find, but not impossible. I've mostly seen the overseas dealers carrying it, though my LFS did have it come in one time.


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## Ben Belton (Mar 14, 2004)

The problem for me in the past is not finding it, but finding good healthy plants that will live. When you find it, if you want good plants you will have to get one of these guys from Singapore to send it to you for the best ones and it's the shipping that will kill you. _(Dear God, please don't let this thread turn into another ridiculous flame about importing, etc, etc and if it does, please let a moderator come in and mercifully and quickly kill the discussion)_ I think this is my new APC prayer.

I finally got a bunch of large emersed grown ones a few years ago and they have done well since. It's not the cool crypt everyone expects. It's not bushy or thick. It is as tall as balanse or retrospiralis, but the leaves are only maybe 1/8 or less wide. It's more of a curiosity to have than useful in an aquascape. I like collecting plants, so if that's OK with you, it's cool because that is the reason I have it. :tea:

I answered a similar post about this awhile back. I'll post a link if I can find it.

Good luck, 
Ben


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## Ben Belton (Mar 14, 2004)

Ahhh... I found it just a few threads below.



myself said:


> I have this plant. I looked for it for years. The first couple times I got it the plants were wimpy and died. Then I got some very healthy emersed grown ones, and they have done great. It was not what I expected. I thought the leaves would be very thin and short. They are very very thin. Only a few mm, but they get as long as any of the other crypts in this family like retrospiralis. Doesn't grow thick and bushy either.
> 
> Few Crypts are OK with being moved, but some absolutly hate it. C tonkinensis is one of them. Once you plant them, it will take weeks if not months for them to show signs of new growth. Then they do fine. If you disturb them, they will stop growing again. Mine have not really put off many new plants. Might be different for you as my growing conditions might not be exactly what they like.
> 
> Contact one of these people on here from Singapore. They can get you some.


In retrospect I am thinking Crypts from this group like harder water. Maybe someone will correct me. If that is the case, then it is one of the reasons growing tonkinensis is tedious for me. I have a KH of 0.5 out of the tap. Even when I was raising it to 4 it didn't do much better. Still I contend that you must not move it and you must have large healthy specimins to start with.


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## dstephens (Nov 30, 2005)

(Dear God, please don't let this thread turn into another ridiculous flame about importing, etc, etc and if it does, please let a moderator come in and mercifully and quickly kill the discussion) I think this is my new APC prayer.


Well said Ben. My new signature and mantra at the same time. Darrell


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## doug737 (Jun 1, 2004)

My Lfs got some in awile back. I bought all they had at .98 a plant in hopes of creating a thicket in a smaller tank. Ben is right about getting good plants. the ones i bought looked like they were in good shape but started melting after they were planted and never came back. pretty sad but you cant grow everything right?


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## Ben Belton (Mar 14, 2004)

I'm amazed your LFS had it.


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## doug737 (Jun 1, 2004)

I was too. And just after I was reading about it on here. Lucky break I guess. This was about a month ago. I think they import from someone who goes through oriental aquarium.


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## will5 (Oct 26, 2005)

*Hi*

Well, I will let the cat out of the bag. I have about 8 coming to day. The person I bought them from has learned a trick to keep them so that they don't die when you get them.

Ready???????

She floats them for a week or two. More on the two week side. Before she plants them and she says that they don't die but does get slight melting but the plant comes back for her. She has already had mine floating for about 2 weeks before she sent them to me.

I will post an update every couple of days or so you guys can know if it worked.

I might even post a PIC or two.


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## Ben Belton (Mar 14, 2004)

will5 said:


> She floats them for a week or two. More on the two week side. Before she plants them and she says that they don't die but does get slight melting but the plant comes back for her. She has already had mine floating for about 2 weeks before she sent them to me.


I hope this works. If one is looking for a bushy plant to creat a presence in their tank like maybe C. balanse, you can forget it when it comes to C. tonkinensis, but I think it is a nice plant and placed here and there would add a bit of Amano wildness and "natural" look to an aquascape. It's great just because there are a lot of Crypt fans that would like to be able to keep it.

Good luck. Keep us up to date!!

Ben


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## will5 (Oct 26, 2005)

*Up Date*

This is an UP DATE.

OK so it seems that floating crypt tonkinensis is KEY to keeping it alive. The lady I bought these from had them floating for about a 1 1/12 weeks before she sent them to me.

Here is what I did once I got them to see what the out come would be.

I got extras so I planted about 4 and left the rest floating just in case they needed it so I would not lose all of them.

NOTE ALL PLANTS CAME AS CHAINS I.E. all plants had not been detached from the runner from the mother.

OK

Plant 1 & 2 I put I a 10 gallon high light tank (4.5 wpg) These did not melt at all in fact they are doing so well the have sent off a runner all ready with one leaf and one root shooting down in to the fluorite.

The rest of them are in my 29 gallon with 2.8 wpg.
In this tank I planted 3 plants with about 6-7 floating. The 2 plants I planted in front (I will call the plants 3 & 4) are starting to grow but did have a leaf or two melt but for the most part are doing fine. They have not yet sent out any runners. Now plant 5 is still alive but I have not yet noticed any growing but this may be my own fault because it is being shaded by a couple of plants. It also has had some melting but just a little more than the others that are planted in this tank.

Now on to the floating ones in this tank. Which are all doing fine with one leaf melting here and there. This may also be from my giant danios trying to eat ONLY the floating plant. I have one plant that is floating that even has a couple of leaves with the red in them.

OK i will try and post some PICS later but they will most likely not e put on until tomorrow due to the fact that I have to take the PICS at night when it's dark. But there will be PICS.


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## Ben Belton (Mar 14, 2004)

I'm looking forward to the pics.

How big were the plants you received and in what condition? The ones I got that finally made it were about 4-6 inches tall and very healthy. The others I had received in the past that had died were root nubs with mostly dead leaves and maybe a couple 1 inch healthy ones. I said I thought the trick was getting healthy larger ones up front, but even my healthy ones did not put out baby plants as quick as yours.

This is a plant many Crypt people would like to have in their collection, but has been so hard to obtain and reproduce in the past. It would be great if we could finally get it common for everyone.

Ben


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## will5 (Oct 26, 2005)

*pics*

These are not the best pics beacuse of my crapy cam but here they are.


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## Ben Belton (Mar 14, 2004)

Don't worry. We get the idea. 

I have a nice digi cam, and I still take crappy pics. So don't feel bad.


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

Sorry for resurrecting this old thread but was wondering if anyone in NA has C crispatula var tonkinensis in emersed culture or their aquariums.


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## nfrank (Jan 29, 2005)

I just put some in my tank last week. See Nov 21 in http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/journals/66644-my-120g-year-one-2.html

Has anyone seen them so red? That is how i got them in (grown submersed), and after 5 days in my tank, they have so-far retained that nice color.
I have had this plant before and it was green. 
--Neil


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

nfrank said:


> I just put some in my tank last week. See Nov 21 in http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/journals/66644-my-120g-year-one-2.html
> 
> Has anyone seen them so red? That is how i got them in (grown submersed), and after 5 days in my tank, they have so-far retained that nice color.
> I have had this plant before and it was green.
> --Neil


Neil, the red one you have looks great. I had received a green C crispatula var tonkinensis for Lowcoaster which did not fare the shipment too well. Do you know if the ones you got were grown in ponds under sunlight?

Bhushan


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