# Picture story of a C. wendtii "Tropica"



## Per (Nov 24, 2004)

In August 2003 I re-did my 45 liter tank and decided to grow a small, dark Cryptocoryne to contrast the mostly light green stems. The _C. wendtii_ "Tropica" seemed to be the perfect candidate - the label stated a height of only 6-10 cm!


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## Per (Nov 24, 2004)

The substrate is a 2-3 cm layer of potting soil covered with inert gravel. The lighting consist of 2 x 18 W NO fluorescents, 6500 and 4000 K. CO2 is fed into the filter intake. The actual water volume is only 30 liter.


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## Per (Nov 24, 2004)

Almost 10 weeks later I was quite happy with the result! The plants had grown nicely in, except the glosso and the HM that had suffered from a longer period with green water. This was probably caused by the rich substrate (didn't soak it before use!), and maybe also the high fish load. The "Tropica" had adapted to submersed growth, and the leaves were exactly the size I had expected...


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## Per (Nov 24, 2004)

... But it didn't stop there! A half year after planting it totally dominated the left half of the tank. Poor glosso...


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## Per (Nov 24, 2004)

After pruning the growth is more horizontal - probably because more light is reaching each leaf...


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## Per (Nov 24, 2004)

In general the colors are bronze to green, with dark patterns. But with the right light there is also a pink cast to the underside of the leaves.


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## Per (Nov 24, 2004)

I finally decided to remove it completely! It was simply too big for that tank :-( Since I had nowhere to put it I sold it on the local aquarium club's auction. The center of the "Tropica" used to be were the green neons are. The evident alga outbreak (BBA) was maybe a result of the messy uprooting process...


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## Per (Nov 24, 2004)

But ill weeds grow apace ... It didn't take long before plantlets sprouted from the substrate - the removal hadn't been complete after all! I have decided not to eradicate it "again", but rather prune it heavily to keep it small. I think it deserves to stay!

Lesson learned: 6-10 cm is a stretchable dimension, especially when it comes to crypts


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## Per (Nov 24, 2004)

Sorry for the bad quality of the pictures! I was not aware that one is allowed to post no more than 256 KB, so I had to resize and depreciate the quality while posting... :evil:


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## HanshaSuro (Jun 22, 2004)

That's a great story, and a great plant! I wish I had your luck/skill with Crypts.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Thank you for the picture story, Per. It was very informative for me because it showed what C. wendtii, tropica looks like at various stages of growth. I am wondering at the difference in appearance between February, 2004 and April, 2004. Was the plant trimmed back between those two pictures? It seems definitely shorter at the latter date. 

Also, there is a clump of what looks like a green Cryptocoryne in the picture after the removal of the C. wendtii tropica. The clump is just to the left of the group of neons. Am I guessing correctly that that clump is a Crypt?


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## Per (Nov 24, 2004)

HanshaSuro said:


> That's a great story, and a great plant! I wish I had your luck/skill with Crypts.


IME, with a rich substrate you are doomed to succeed with _C. wendtii_ :wink:



HeyPK said:


> Thank you for the picture story, Per. It was very informative for me because it showed what C. wendtii, tropica looks like at various stages of growth. I am wondering at the difference in appearance between February, 2004 and April, 2004. Was the plant trimmed back between those two pictures? It seems definitely shorter at the latter date.
> 
> Also, there is a clump of what looks like a green Cryptocoryne in the picture after the removal of the C. wendtii tropica. The clump is just to the left of the group of neons. Am I guessing correctly that that clump is a Crypt?


The plant was trimmed back at least once between the two pictures, as were also the surrounding plants. The more shading from itself and other plants, the more stretching, vertical growth. Right now it is trimmed back heavily, and the leaves are almost growing flat on the ground!

The clump is actually java fern growing on a lava rock (should wish I could post bigger/better pics). Grew to big in there, so I removed it ...

Thanks for the compliments, both of you


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## Sir_BlackhOle (Jan 25, 2004)

Great photos and interesting story! I have heard that red wendtii will get very large.


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