# Crypt Parva and glossostigma



## tomer.baron (Jan 31, 2013)

I got a crypt parva and glossostigma last saturday (10/5). today(10/9), the parva is all wilted and yellow. The gloss is doing ok so far I think. Both plants were fully submerged at my LFS.

I planted one crypt at the edge of the water for one day but it was yellowing/wilting quickly so I submerged it.

I have them in a 10g fbt (2 of them) tank. One of the pics below is a pic of the tank.

My light source is an 18in coralife 50/50 6000k. My substrate is just black aquarium gravel. The water is just regular tap water (San Diego) and I haven't gotten it tested so I'm unaware of any properties. I know the hardness of my region is 241 (avg ppm) and 14.1 (avg gr/gal). I have no idea what that means though.

Anybody have any tips or insight into what is happening? I really want both to take and spread. I know the parva is slow growing so I'm not expecting anything any time soon. 

Also, I'm not sure if I am forgetting any info needed to provide any insight. And, I did do a lot of searching dendro/google and couldn't find much.

Thanks for any constructive feedback!


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## Dragonfish (Mar 23, 2012)

It is totally normal for crypts to melt, especially when going from submerged to immersed. The leaves will fall off but after a short while they will regrow, typically looking a little different.


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## pooky125 (Jan 16, 2012)

The lighting isn't doing you any favors either. A 50/50 bulb is most commonly used in marine applications. The actinic half of the bulb will only create algae, as it's not a usable wavelength for your plants. A straight 10,000k or 6,500k bulb will generate better results.

Those parva to me, look like they were grown immersed. However, they don't take to being replanted well, so I'm sure that has a lot to do with it. Mist a few times a day to keep them moist, and if you plant their roots in the water, and their leaves out of it, they should do alright eventually. It will take a while though. They are not a quick growing plant. When I had them, I generally got about 4 new leaves a year.

Also, your glosso will do much, much better if you seperate that clump out into little 3-4 leaf stems and plant them in a checkerboard pattern across the area you want it to fill in. Really, the parva could be seperated out into smaller plants as well. That will help both of them adjust much easier.


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## tomer.baron (Jan 31, 2013)

Thank you both for the insight.

As for the lighting, I've been wanting to change it but have had little luck deciding which to go for. Maybe just 1 6500k? like 18w?

I will definitely get my hands wet today and break up those clumps!


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## pooky125 (Jan 16, 2012)

The single 6500k should be plenty of light. You might want to consider some sort of root tab under the roots of the crypt though. They're heavy root feeders, and definitely do best with a rich substrate.


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## Agrippa (Jul 4, 2006)

I second spreading out the _Glossostigma_

Generally, _Glossostigma elatinoides_ is considered a high-light plant that benefits greatly from CO2-injection. It can grow under sub-optimal conditions, but it just won't stay low. In addition to doing best with additives, it also tends to do better with smaller substrate grain-size than gravel. It can certainly do well in your aquarium, but I would expect it to grow slowly and less compactly. 

If you decide that this is not acceptable, you can consider dosing with Flouris Excel to supplement carbon, adding a desk lamp to act as a spotlight to increase the overall light level, and replacing a small section of the gravel substrate with something like Flourite or another plant-specific substrate (Aquasoil, Eco-Complete, etc.) The latter option is a bit of work though.

More information on _G. elatinoides_:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ls.php?id=57&category=genus&spec=Glossostigma

_Cryptocoryne_ are generally quite hearty, if slow growing, and should do just fine in your setup after they've acclimated, though they would also benefit from the above changes too. I wouldn't worry too much about it yet. 

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...s.php?id=171&category=genus&spec=Cryptocoryne

As an aside, both plants can grow in cooler conditions, but they may suffer a bit. What temperature do you keep your water at?

Good luck.


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## tomer.baron (Jan 31, 2013)

Thank you Agrippa,

was away for a little bit so I couldn't respond. 

I spread out the plants as suggested (pic attached, sorry for the flipped orientation)

I'll try to get a layer of flourite in the tank to sit the plants in. Not too expensive so why not. 

My water temp is just room temp. Tank is probably about 70-75.

For lighting, I'm looking at the exoterra compact top with 3 16-18w 1100+ lumen CFLs from NEHERP. I have a 18x18x24 and a 29gal tank that I'm looking to build so the light fixture will most likely be for that. For this 10g that is the subject of the thread, I could get away with one or two of those CFLs? For the bigger ones, can I get away with those 3?


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