# Mid size crypts?



## kivit (Aug 29, 2005)

Which crypts are suitable for the mid tank? sized from 3-6 inches max.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Some of the wendtii varieties can get too big to be called mid-size, but it may take them a year or two to get to that size. Other wendtii varieties generally stay smaller. There may be as many as 15 wendtii varieties. They say wendtii mi oya gets very large. C. undulata stays fairly small. C. cordata, some varieties stay small. Others can get one foot tall. C. x willisii (formerly nevillii and lucens) never get really large. C. pontederiifolia and its close relative, C. moehlmannii usually stay about 6 inches high. The new cultivar, C. x wendtii, aka 'green gecko', stays about 6 inches high in strong light. C. beckettii, stays about 6 inches. C. parva, the smallest crypt of all, rarely gets to three inches.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

The regular beckettii can get a lot taller than 6 inches if crowded. The triploid form will remain a perfect size. Read about it here:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ls.php?id=46&category=genus&spec=Cryptocoryne


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## gnome (Jan 27, 2004)

Heya, Paul!

Sorry I haven't been around much, lately. Do you still happen to have that C. wendtii x hybrid that I sent a few years back? At least I *think* I sent it to you. How big did that one grow? I remember that it stayed very small and cute in my 10-gallon tank for a number of months (5? 6?) and in fact, remained smaller than C. pygmaea, even. Then, all of a sudden, it went through a growth spurt and got too big to keep in the foreground and I ended up tossing it. So I don't think I got to see how big it *could* get. 

Would love to know if it would still be considered a "mid-size crypt."

-Naomi


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## kivit (Aug 29, 2005)

*mid sized crypts.*

That bechetti is a nice looking crypt! Thanks for your suggestions


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## gnome (Jan 27, 2004)

kivit,

Below is a link to an old photo of my C. wendtii x hybrid when it was still small. If you go go to the next photo or two from there, you'll see the size comparisons to some more common plants. It was something of an unusual crypt in the way that it stayed bright-green. Most crypts are brownish, or olive-green in color. C. parva is another bright-green crypt, but it has a higher light requirement.

I'd estimate that when I finally pulled up the crypt, it was about three times the size that it was in the photo. It might have made a very nice mid-ground plant for the 10-gallon, but I didn't get a chance to replant it.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mizmo_naomi/detail?.dir=a29d&.dnm=4a77.jpg

C. wendtii 'Tropica' stayed small for me (mostly under 4") but I've seen pretty huge ones. Or maybe they mistakenly *thought* it was the 'Tropica' variety... I agree that C. x willisii stays small - not that I've ever kept it, but I know people who have, and they all claim that it stays small. I've never liked the photos I've seen of it because it looks like these small, spatula-shaped leaves on the ends of LONG petioles. But I suppose it's a matter of taste. I like shorter petioles and nice, full leaves.

Hope you find some nice varieties...


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

My C. x wendtii has stayed mid-size probably because I had it under bright light---80 watts of compact fluorescent on a 29 gallon tank. It has multiplied a lot and is starting to crowd out other plants. It tends to produce a very dense foliage coming from many plants close together. Break-up time is approaching. I gave a bunch of it to Jan Bastemijer at the last AGA convention. Here is a picture of it taken a year ago. It has doubled in size since then and the longest leaves may be about 7 inches.


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## gnome (Jan 27, 2004)

Ooh - Paul, it's grown out beautifully for you! So was it ever determined if this was indeed the same as "green gecko?" 

One of these days I'll have to get my hands on some, again. I have a 20-long, now, and when I get rid of my gangly Java fern, I'll fill in that area with a C. wendtii x hybrid. 

Thanks for posting the photo! It's gorgeous!

-Naomi


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## JaySilverman (Jun 19, 2005)

My bechetti can get up to 9 inches.
Then again its in a corner and starving for light so maybe thats why its gets to tall.
Under good light I'm sure it wouldn't get taller then 6".


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

> My bechetti can get up to 9 inches..........


If we are looking at the maximum size that crypts can get under crowded conditions, and having been undisturbed for a long time, then there are not very many crypts that stay around 6 inches or shorter. C. x willisii is one, C. parva, of course, maybe C. pygmaea---I don't know much about that one. Also, the triploid C. beckettii, as Cavan said. Another possibility is C. lingua. Also, C. nuri, but who can grow that well enough to find out how big it gets?

On the other hand, the Sri Lanka crypts (beckettii, wendtii, undulata, walkeri) all stay fairly low for a long time after they are planted, especially when the light is strong and they are not crowded. You may only have to dig them up and re-plant every year or so.



> So was it ever determined if this was indeed the same as "green gecko?"


I had, for a while, one that was purchased as green gecko, and it looked identical to your C x wendtii, Naomi. Breakup time is coming later this spring or early summer for the plant you gave me. I can send you some then.

The C. x willisii with the "small spatula-shaped leaves on long petioles" is probably the one they used to call C. nevillii. The other C. x willisii, formerly C. lucens, has longer leaves. I think both of them look nice when they they fill out and get a lot of leaves. Here is the lucens variety:









Here is the nevillii variety, with a green wendtii in the background:


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