# Crypts rotten with peat soil



## ferchu22 (Oct 27, 2007)

Crypts rotten with peat soil

Hi all:

I'm having some problems with my crypt. Last year, I used to have all my plants in good condition, most of them sendind runners and spathes, with los of white roots and rhizomes, and everything was ok. All the crypts were potted in plastic of clay 8cm pots with 75% peat, 10% perlite and 15% sphagnum moss, with 1cm expanded clay at the bottom (to help drainage), almost no water change. Here are some pictures:


















At past January, I've received new 6cm mesh pots, and I've repotted all my plants to this pots, using black peat and "river organic waste" (resaca de rio) (50%/50%), and with this mix, I've stated to lost several of my pots (crypts roots had put rotten), but I supposed that could be the hot summer, but apparently it was the "river organic waste" (I guess). 
After few weeks, I've cleaned (removing rotten roots) and repotted all my plants into 100% black peat, and now some of the crypts are ok, but the other are not going very well (and some are rotten again).

What am I doing wrong?

This are some of the differences between current setup and the previous healthy one:

-Smaller pots (6cm instead of 8cm)
-Mesh pots (instead of "solid" pots)
-100% black peat (no perlite nor sphagnum moss, could be this?)
-Different peat brand than las year
-Higher water level (half of the post)
-Little more water movement
-Periodically fertilization with aquarium fert (instead of no fert)

Maybe is too organic matter (peat), but las year it was ok with this.

Any advice would be usefull. Thanks in advance
Regards

Fernando


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## rs79 (Dec 7, 2004)

no perlite nor sphagnum moss, could be this?

yes. plus the water movement. if you look at michal lo's underwater footage of crypts in borneo (facebook) you might be surprised how stong the current is. it's STRONG.


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## ferchu22 (Oct 27, 2007)

Ok rs, thanks, maybe could be those components, but about the water movement, now it's stronger than before.

I'll try adding moss and perlite to some pots and see what's happen.


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## deftones2015 (Dec 7, 2007)

If it's an emmersed set up I doubt flow would matter. There are plenty of people, including me, who keep emmersed set ups with no flow and have no problems. There may be some chemical in the peat that is hindering or killing the crypts. Also, are you fertilizing in the pots or in the water? If it's in the water the plants may not be getting the fertilizer. I personally fertilize at the base of the plants. When I planted in straight peat my plants started to die off until I started fertilizing at the base of the plant. Once I started that they bounced back. 

As for the crypts that are still not doing well, maybe you should do some of the procedures that Kai talks about in the sticky thread "Reviving shipped crypts"


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## ferchu22 (Oct 27, 2007)

Hi deftones, I fertilizing in the water, in fact, I really fertilize just a little, maybe is no enough.
I'll try this fertilizing with this method, I suppose it would help my plants too.

Regards


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## deftones2015 (Dec 7, 2007)

I mix up a diluted solution and pour a little in each pot around the plant.


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