# help with a newbie crypt tank



## philoserenus (Feb 12, 2007)

hey guys, this is my first post here ^^" and will be my very first planted tank (substrate & plants; not just java fern and gravel). 

hmm, i want to set up a crypt only, 10G with some combination of a combination of lucens/undulata-red/wendtii-brown/willisii. 

as a university student who is always on a tight budget, wat is the cheapest combination of substrates that i can use to make these guys grow and be happy? gravel and ______. gravel with roots tabs alone make me think that it not gonna be enough nutrients... 

any suggestions? mind u, i live in canada... home depot is our DIY store, i've read people use clay, peat, decomposing stuff... this is my first and i dun wanna kill my fish...

thanks for all the help and suggestion


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## Kai Witte (Jan 30, 2006)

Have a look at the El Natural subforum - a soil layer works nicely with the common Sri Lankan crypts and is as low-cost as possible, I guess... 

If the crypts don't grow nicely, try more water changes than suggested by Diana.


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## philoserenus (Feb 12, 2007)

hmmm but i would like to stay away from el natural set ups b/c i perfect not have soil around in my room. my mother would kill me if i dropped a little of it on the carpet floor, haha. but itz ok. i've got a few good suggestions that i think i'd look into, thanks for it all.

however, in a crypt only tank, how many species do u think i can grow in there? it is a 10G and i would like combinations of lucens/undulata-red/wendtii-brown/willisii. it do-able?


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## SCMurphy (Jan 28, 2004)

philoserenus said:


> hmmm but i would like to stay away from el natural set ups b/c i perfect not have soil around in my room. my mother would kill me if i dropped a little of it on the carpet floor, haha. but itz ok. i've got a few good suggestions that i think i'd look into, thanks for it all.
> 
> however, in a crypt only tank, how many species do u think i can grow in there? it is a 10G and i would like combinations of lucens/undulata-red/wendtii-brown/willisii. it do-able?


Answer to what to grow them in,

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...mended-setup-for-gowing-submersed-crypts.html

Answer to species,

Yes, you can, are you planning an aquascape or a crypt farm? Crypts are not the easiest plants to scape with. They never grow as you expect them too.


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## Script404 (Jun 30, 2006)

I am using a peat type block of material you get for vivariums, with a layer of sand on top. It comes in a compressed block, that expands with water, one block should be more than enough, seems to work for my wendeti's had them in there about 4 months and ended up with enough growth to easily split the plants.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

> combinations of lucens/undulata-red/wendtii-brown/willisii.


C. lucens is the old name for what is now called C. x willisii or C. ' willisii, basically a hybrid between C. parva and one or another of the Sri Lankan Crypts. It, being rather small, would be good for a 10 gallon aquarium, and it would fit in well with C. undulata, which is a little bigger, but has narrow leaves that are dark in decent light. I don't know of a red variety of undulata. Wendti-brown might get a little too big for a 10 gallon tank and shade out the smaller species. The wendtii variety produced by Oriental Aquarium, green gecko is a more compact plant and might fit in better with the x willisii and the undulata.


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## philoserenus (Feb 12, 2007)

thatz for the heads up about the c.lucens/x willisii. hmm seems like the brown might get too big for my 10G eh? any kind of easy crypts that will produce a very nice accent to the tank (slight red or brown other than wendtii brown? but it has to be easy since i'm still new at this) i'm thinking that undulata has a slight redish/brown tint to it, am i rite?

SCMurphy: i'm not aquascaping. i just would like a somewhat more lively tank than with just java fern. i guess i'm just into making a good home for my fish and to get some liveliness into my rather lonesome room; mother does like soil in room = no terrestrial plants allow =( so i'll go aquatic, haha


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