# Lego's 20g Emersed Cryptocoryne setups



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Mods - If this should be in a different forum, please go ahead and move it

Ludwigia repens x arcuata









Cryptocoryne wendtii "Mi Oya?"









Rotala indica (ex-Ammannia sp. "Bonsai")









Limnophila sp. "Mini"









Hygrophila sp. "Araguaia"









Ludiwiga repens









Cryptocoryne wendtii "Green x Hybrid"









Staurogyne sp. "Low Grow" and Staurogyne from AFA









Most of these are just experimental to see how they grow emersed. If a certain one does well and I like how it looks, I'll probably transplant it to its own pot to give it more growing room.

Almost every single one of these plants are converted (or are still converting) from submersed growth.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Awesome! You've got some really cool plants in there. What is the plant that is 2nd from the right, back row?


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Awesome! You've got some really cool plants in there. What is the plant that is 2nd from the right, back row?


Thanks! I have no idea what that one is. It came as a freebie in a package I got a while back. I think it's _Hygro balsamica_, but your guess is as good as mine


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## Cmeister (Jul 5, 2009)

How do you convert a plant from submersed to emersed?


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Cmeister said:


> How do you convert a plant from submersed to emersed?


High humidity's the key. I just take a plant I trimmed from one of my aquariums and stick it in the dirt in this thing and it grows. It may take a couple of weeks before you notice any new growth, but as long as the humidity stays fairly high, most aquatic plants convert without much problem.


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## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

Very cool twist on a planted tank string!


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

When plants aren't limited by CO2 or light deflection from water, man do they grow fast. I have 3 100W spiral CF's running over these guys for 14 hours a day, and they just don't seem to slow down.

Ranunculus inundatus









Limnophila sp. "Guinea Broadleaf" - according to APC's Plantfinder, emersed growth hasn't succeeded with this plant yet. So far, so good! New growth looks fine.









I have no idea what this one is. Maybe a Pogostemon of some kind.









And those Ludwigias continue to grow exponentially. These two are the fastest growers in the tank by far.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

That's awesome. You got good color with these photos. I should try my _Ammania_ as an emersed plant. 

I have some _R. inundatus_ growing like this too, but it isn't really thriving. I don't know what it might be missing. 

I recently got some _Staurogyne_--maybe in box from *clwatkins10*(?)--and it is doing great too. I saw some biotope pictures of that one growing right on some rocks in Brazil.

Is that just regular topsoil or potting media in there?


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

hydrophyte said:


> That's awesome. You got good color with these photos. I should try my _Ammania_ as an emersed plant.
> 
> I have some _R. inundatus_ growing like this too, but it isn't really thriving. I don't know what it might be missing.
> 
> ...


Thanks man! That Ranunculus has put up 3 leaves in 3 days for me, so it's definitely happy. I used about 60% spaghnum peat, 20% generic potting soil, 10% coarse sand and 10% perlite. Nothing really scientific, I just threw it together until it looked good. It seems to work well so far.

The only plant that's not doing too well for me is a bronze _Crypt undulata_. I converted it a couple months back and it put up 4 tiny leaves and has done nothing since then. It's got healthy roots, but it doesn't want to grow for some reason.


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## demosthenes (Aug 23, 2008)

very cool tank!

to get rid of the condensation on the glass, take one of those algae-scrubbing magnets and cut out a small piece of cloth to fit between the inside of the glass and the 'scrub' magnet, so instead of scrubbing of the algae, you can wipe off the condensation. its pretty handy. just use a dull colored cloth, i used a hot pink one and it really started to annoy me.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Here's a couple new ones that seem to be doing pretty well emersed

Cryptocoryne wendtii "Florida Sunset"









Rotala sp. "Singapore"









Lindernia parviflora "Variegated" - this'll be the first flower in the tank


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Hey, Coll stuff! I love almost every plant in there!


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## jfrank85 (Mar 19, 2008)

This tank is soo dope. Nice enough to make me want to try it at the house. did you get the laptop going again, i forgot to ask you at work.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Hey, Coll stuff! I love almost every plant in there!


Thanks Chris!



jfrank85 said:


> This tank is soo dope. Nice enough to make me want to try it at the house. did you get the laptop going again, i forgot to ask you at work.


Gracias. Yeah, the 'puter's up and running again, but he had to format the hard drive, so I'm basically starting over from scratch :icon_evil


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

And there it is, ladies and gentlemen. _Lindernia parviflora "Variegated"_.


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

Purdy.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Very pretty.


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## jfrank85 (Mar 19, 2008)

ohhh gasps! (little squeaky liz sounds)


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

That's cool. What a cute little bloom.


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## lekyiscool (May 27, 2008)

Thats awsome, what kind of soil is that? Regular topsoil, or special soil?

I might have to try that out one time, i.e. grow the plants immersed before moving them into the tank


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

dj2005 said:


> Purdy.





sewingalot said:


> Very pretty.


Thanks dj and Sara! I've actually found 2 more blooms since yesterday.



jfrank85 said:


> ohhh gasps! (little squeaky liz sounds)


Hahahahaha (for those of you that are wondering, it's an inside joke :hihi



hydrophyte said:


> That's cool. What a cute little bloom.


Thanks Devin. The flower itself is barely half a cm across.



lekyiscool said:


> Thats awsome, what kind of soil is that? Regular topsoil, or special soil?
> 
> I might have to try that out one time, i.e. grow the plants immersed before moving them into the tank


Thanks lekyis! The soil is about 60% straight spaghnum peat, 30% generic potting soil, 5% medium grade sand, and 5% perlite.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Beautiful flower!
I wonder if it looks any different from the non variegated version?


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Beautiful flower!
> I wonder if it looks any different from the non variegated version?


Oops, I missed your reply Chris :redface:. I dunno if it looks any different or not. It sure is prolific though. Each stem's flowered at least once, some twice since last week.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Nice! Ever think of how much floor space you'd have with a 40 breeder?


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Don't tempt me! I have no room as it is .

A lot of the plants are probably gonna get moved out of the tank pretty soon. Cryptocoryne fever has set in and crypts will be taking over the tank very soon. I have a bunch of über-rare and über-awesome crypts coming hopefully tomorrow.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

So I've read


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Hehe yeah, Ghazanfar and Ebichua about bankrupted me


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## danepatrick (Jul 17, 2006)

so are you using any special ferts, or is this all just water, soil, and light?


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## amp (Dec 2, 2008)

That's an awesome tank, you should put some firebelly's in there.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

danepatrick said:


> so are you using any special ferts, or is this all just water, soil, and light?


No real ferts except what's in the substrate. I used a spaghnum peat/potting soil mix for most of them and aquasoil for the blackwater crypts. Since my tap water is liquid rock, I've been using R/O water with a little bit of Seachem Discus Buffer added to lower the pH below 7. The lighting is 3 60W compact flourescents.



amp said:


> That's an awesome tank, you should put some firebelly's in there.


Thanks! I don't think firebellies would be too happy in here. Not much room to move around and lots of water underneath. I have found a couple mystery fry in here though. Of what, I have no idea 

The tank has been completely taken over by crypts. 



















Back row, left to right: C. spiralis var. spiralis, C. ciliata, C. wendtii "Bronze", C. longicauda "Brown", C. beckettii "Brown", C. wendtii "Brown", C. affinis (?), C. minima "Bukit Merah"

Middle Row, L to R: C. moehlmannii, C. wendtii "Florida Sunset", Limnophila sp. "Guinea Broadleaf", C. cordata "Blassii", C. wendtii x "Hybrid", C. wendtii "Mi Oya", C. parva, C. usteriana

Front Row, L to R: C. longicauda "Green", C. x purpurea, C. elliptica, C. pontederiifolia, C. hudoroi, C. wendtii "Green Gecko", C. beckettii "Green", C. x wilissii "Lucens".

The Limno is the only non-crypt plant in here, specifically because (according to APC's plantfinder, emersed growth hasn't succeeded yet. It's doing great for me!

By request of speedie408, some closeups of the C. wendtii "Mi Oya"


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Nice!
What did you do with the other emersed plants?


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Thanks! I gave most of the old plants to a couple friends.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Crypts crypts crypts...

C. hudoroi - I got this from Ebichua a while back. Just look at that bullation!









C. wendtii x "Hybrid"









C. beckettii "Brown" - my first emersed runner came from this guy.









I think this may be C. affinis, but I'm not sure. Hopefully it'll send up a spathe sometime soon.









C. longicauda "Brown" - from Ghazanfar. This melted down to nothing but came back strong.









Still no spathes yet. All of the C. wendtii morphs are growing exponentially. I may have to remove a couple of them because they're pushing the other crypts out of the way :icon_wink


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## danepatrick (Jul 17, 2006)

man this looks great and like such fun.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

danepatrick said:


> man this looks great and like such fun.


Thanks! It is a lot of fun, and it's so easy to maintain. I barely do anything other than change the water once a week.


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## roznalos (Aug 18, 2008)

Do you have a heater in there?

I'm going to start my own emersed tank as well.
Gonna be all crypts. Just purchased elliptica...

Got any tips?


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

xximanoobxx said:


> Do you have a heater in there?
> 
> I'm going to start my own emersed tank as well.
> Gonna be all crypts. Just purchased elliptica...
> ...


No, no heater. The tank gets some heat from the lights, but that's about it. The water is around 75F, and that's plenty warm for crypts.

The best tip I can give is, know your species. Different crypts like different conditions, different soil, different moisture levels, etc. For example, C. albida grows in river banks and gets left high and dry during the dry season. It flowers during this time, and if it doesn't get this in culture, it likely won't flower for you.

The most common crypts in the trade will grow in most anything, but the blackwater species (like C. minima and C. longicauda) like acidic conditions. Spaghnum peat moss and aquasoil both have acidic properties, so they work well for these species.


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## roznalos (Aug 18, 2008)

Also, how many times a week do you mist the tank if you do so?

Really liking this tank!


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Well as long as the humidity stays above 70%, I don't usually worry about misting. The entire top of the tank is covered except for a small corner for air flow, so humidity stays around 75-80%.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Here's a few more pics while I'm at it

My huge C. wendtii "Florida Sunset" - I should get a spathe from this one soon.









C. x willissii "Lucens" - this plant is weird. 3 leaves, and each leaf is a differnet color. Green, gold, and brown.









C. parva and some Riccia that came out of nowhere.









C. pontederiifolia









The big C. wendtii "Bronze" and C. wendtii "Red" in the back are both going to be moved somewhere else soon. They are getting way too big and I have a number of other C. wendtii variants in here anyway.


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## roznalos (Aug 18, 2008)

Nice! I'm going to setup mine tomorrow when I get my Aquasoil.  So excited. I got one of those trays with domes. They are cheap. I spent 6 dollars for a 10 gallon like size tank. It's plastic.
Your tank's looking good!

http://www.plantitearth.com/containers/domes.aspx
You need that and the trays which are a dollar each. It's pretty economical if you have more than one.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

More pics!

C. x purpurea - this took quite a while to acclimate but is finally starting to grow! The new leaf is awesome! Excuse the fuzzy focus. I can't wait to get a new camera.









C. minima "Bukit Merah" - same as above. Finally starting to grow









C. pontideriifolia - the newest leaf has lots of pink on it


















C. wendtii "Mi Oya"









C. elliptica - not the nicest looking crypt, but it's still pretty cool. I have yet to try the leaf propagation









C. wendtii "Green Gecko" - the leaves are almost yellow when they come in and then darken after about a week


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Oh yeah, and I sold the huge C. wendtii and Florida Sunset. They were shading plants two pots away from them in every direction :icon_eek:


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## jfrank85 (Mar 19, 2008)

sooo sexy


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

These pictures are rexcellent documentation of the variations in leaf appearance that these plants present. 

I really need to do some more rigorous photography of my emersed crypts.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

That green gecko is so beautiful.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I think that there should be a sticky somewhere just with pictures of crypt spathes and emersed foliage, and these pictures would be a great way to start it out.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

jfrank85 said:


> sooo sexy


You know it!



hydrophyte said:


> These pictures are rexcellent documentation of the variations in leaf appearance that these plants present.
> 
> I really need to do some more rigorous photography of my emersed crypts.


Thanks! Crypts are so variable in their leaf structure and coloring. It's really cool being able to see all the differences in person (my photography doesn't do them justice at all)



CL said:


> That green gecko is so beautiful.


Thanks Chris! I got a couple extra runners...hint hint :icon_wink



hydrophyte said:


> I think that there should be a sticky somewhere just with pictures of crypt spathes and emersed foliage, and these pictures would be a great way to start it out.


I proposed the idea of an emersed growth subforum here a while back, but the mods want to keep the number of subforums to a minimum. The Crypt and Emersed forums are the main reasons I go over to APC, and I would love it if we got them here!

I guess for now, we'll have to stick with Ghazanfar's blog for the awesome spathe pictures.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

*receives hint *receives hint


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I would cast a second vote for an "Emersed" forum.


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Dude. I think you just turned me into a new crypt fanatic. Awesome plants Adam and nice update.


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## demosthenes (Aug 23, 2008)

i'd like to cast a THIRD vote for an emersed forum... thatd be so cool!


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

hydrophyte said:


> I would cast a second vote for an "Emersed" forum.





demosthenes said:


> i'd like to cast a THIRD vote for an emersed forum... thatd be so cool!


Maybe if we get enough people behind it, Kyle will create one. Here's hoping!



speedie408 said:


> Dude. I think you just turned me into a new crypt fanatic. Awesome plants Adam and nice update.


Thanks Nick! I'm telling you, crypts are the greatest plants ever :biggrin:


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## Axelrodi202 (Jul 29, 2008)

How do you heat the tank to get the humidity so high?


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Axelrodi202 said:


> How do you heat the tank to get the humidity so high?


All of the heat is from the lighting, which is 3 60W CF bulbs (the spiral ones). I know some people put a heater in the tank to keep the humidity up, but I've never needed it so far. If anything, the humidity gets a bit too high at times.


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## malaybiswas (Nov 2, 2008)

Awesome collection lego.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Thanks Malay!

Well, due to a couple new shipment of crypts, I had no choice but to set up another tank for these things. It was painful, but I rose above it and powered through. Here's the result :biggrin:










From left to right: C. minima "Sumatra Besitang", C. bangkaensis "Bangka Giant", C. affinis "Tuebinsen BG Green", C. minima "Gasseri", C. x timahensis, C. cordata var. cordata.

All the other random plants are just in here till Halcyon is resurrected.

Man, when I got into this hobby, I really had no idea that plants would take up so much of my life. Especially not one specific genus of plants, but man, I love these things roud:


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## jfrank85 (Mar 19, 2008)

nice adam, so when can we see close ups?


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## londonloco (Aug 25, 2005)

I'd like to hear more about the hardware set up here. 

From what I can tell from pics, you have a standard 20long with 2x8's? on top of glass hoods. The 2x8's have holes cut in them with shop lights sitting directly on top of the wood with CF spiral 60w bulbs. Inside looks like a piece of something (wood?) cut out to fit plastic pots, water level below the wood. Am I right?

Nice clean set up. Beautiful plants. I have a few ?'s (probably emersed 101, but I've never set up an emersed tank).

How many shop lights do you have? Pic shows 2, but I think I read 3. Lighting period?

What is in the tank keeping the pots stable?

In your second set up, looks like styrofoam sheets in the back of tank? 

Ferts? 

Thanks, Loni


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

londonloco said:


> I'd like to hear more about the hardware set up here.
> 
> From what I can tell from pics, you have a standard 20long with 2x8's? on top of glass hoods. The 2x8's have holes cut in them with shop lights sitting directly on top of the wood with CF spiral 60w bulbs. Inside looks like a piece of something (wood?) cut out to fit plastic pots, water level below the wood. Am I right?


They're both standard 20 longs, yes. My main tank has 3 60W CF's on it (I started with 2), and the other has a regular 2x40W T8 shop light over it. The CF's are set up on 2 strips of wood just enough to get them up off the glass so they don't overheat the tank. Like this:












> Nice clean set up. Beautiful plants. I have a few ?'s (probably emersed 101, but I've never set up an emersed tank).
> 
> How many shop lights do you have? Pic shows 2, but I think I read 3. Lighting period?
> 
> ...


The lights are on for 12 hours a day. Most crypts are fairly equatorial, so in nature they get about 12 hours of light each day anyway. The pots are the regular 3.5x3.5" cheap plastic ones you can get at any garden store. 28 of em for $1 . Their own weight keeps them stable.

For the styro you saw in the 2nd setup, I'm not actually sure what that was doing there. It was just sitting behind the tank at the time I snapped the picture. As far as ferts go, I mist the plants once a week with a very dilute liquid fertilizer, and use the same thing in the water at the bottom, again, very dilute. For the bigger crypts, I'll pop a piece of a Jobe's Fert Spike in the pot every couple of months to give them a boost too.

And now for my big news.....one of my C. minimas has a spathe! It should open tomorrow hopefully.










This really surprised me because, A). the plant is still pretty small, as you can see. B). because I've only had it for a month and a half, and C). because no leaves have melted away on this one. With it being so small, I would expect the leaves to start dying off as it puts its effort into flowering. 

Of course, I'll have lots of pics when it does open roud:


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## londonloco (Aug 25, 2005)

WOW, very nice. I'm really impressed with this set up. Like I said, nice and clean. The first pic in this thread it looks like you have some sort of plastic in the tank, I guess it was just the reflection of the wood strips? I've been searching CL for a 20L to set up a shrimp tank, think I'll be looking for 2 now! :bounce: Thanks again....


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

londonloco said:


> WOW, very nice. I'm really impressed with this set up. Like I said, nice and clean. The first pic in this thread it looks like you have some sort of plastic in the tank, I guess it was just the reflection of the wood strips? I've been searching CL for a 20L to set up a shrimp tank, think I'll be looking for 2 now! :bounce: Thanks again....


Thanks! Are you talking about the wood on the bottom of the tank? That's actually the hardwood floor beneath the tank


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## londonloco (Aug 25, 2005)

ahhhhhhh lol...kk...wasn't sure what it was.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Oh yeah, I forgot. The newest addition to my aroid addiction: _Lagenandra meeboldii sp. pink_


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

legomaniac89 said:


> Oh yeah, I forgot. The newest addition to my aroid addiction: _Lagenandra meeboldii sp. pink_


I call dibs on divisions when you have some to spare!

That's awesome about that spathe. Congratulations!




*


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Apr 13, 2007)

Congrats. That is a nice looking spathe.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

And there it is :biggrin:



















If I had the tools and a nice macro lens, I'd cut apart the spathe to show the male and female flowers, but I don't have either. I'll wait for a C. wendtii or something with a bigger spathe to try that.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

:bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Sorry, if I missed it, but is that aquasoil? And a huge clump of trident? P.S. that spathe is awesome!


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

SickK!


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

CL said:


> Sorry, if I missed it, but is that aquasoil? And a huge clump of trident? P.S. that spathe is awesome!


Yes and yes . And thanks everyone! I must say, I wasn't expecting my first spathe in this tank to be from a blackwater crypt. I was really expecting one of the wendtii or beckettii to be the first.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

So how come you're using AS?


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

CL said:


> So how come you're using AS?


I KNEW you were gonna ask that :hihi:! It grows some nice blackwater crypts, I'll give it that. I have some spaghnum peat mixed in the bottom layers of the pots. The soil I usually use doesn't have a low enough pH to keep the blackwater species happy.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

haha! That's some good info to know. It's really tempting to set one of these up. I have so many things I want to try thanks to you and hydro :angryfire  plus GLA has those tanks. If only I had a job. lol! Maybe someday I will get a crypt setup like this


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

CL said:


> Maybe someday I will get a crypt setup like this


Give in to the power of the dark side. Resistance is futile :icon_mrgr


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I keep looking at my empty 91L with the hardscape in it thinking how cool it would be as a riparium with nice crypts scattered around everywhere. Don't tempt me anymore. lol :tongue:


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## jfrank85 (Mar 19, 2008)

> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *CL*
> _Maybe someday I will get a crypt setup like this _
> 
> Give in to the power of the dark side. Resistance is futile :icon_mrgr


I have and it feels soo right.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Looks like my _C. moehlmannii_ might be putting up a spathe too :biggrin:. I had to use my flash to get a good pic so it looks kinda weird, but it's definitely quite a bit darker than the rest of the plant.


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## discuscardscorys (Jul 29, 2008)

now i am going to have to find a place to put another tank, like i didn't already have enough set up. Thanks.  

oh and i also think an emersed forum would be a splendid idea.


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## jfrank85 (Mar 19, 2008)

> now i am going to have to find a place to put another tank, like i didn't already have enough set up. Thanks.


There is always room for emersed tanks!



> oh and i also think an emersed forum would be a splendid idea.


Agreed!


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Congratulations!! Looking forward to it opening up..


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

The C. moehlmannii spathe is taking its sweet time to open, so here's a couple pics to tide me over till then.

In other C. moehlmannii news, the new leaf is HUGE! That's a dime for reference. This is bigger than my C. ciliata, even.










Guess what? I got my first C. hudoroi runner! I have a wait list of 5 people for this plant already :icon_smil


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Apr 13, 2007)

Congrats on for the C hudorai runner. The earlier picture of the developing spathe and the new picture of the leaf looks more like C pontederifolia than C moehlmannii. I know they can look almost identical. Did you get it from a reliable source? I hope the spathe opens up soon.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Thanks! I got the plant from FAN quite a while ago as C. moehlmannii, and it just recently started sending up pinkish leaves, like C. pontederiifolia. It's true identity has kinda been up in the air ever since then. I know that FAN grows both species, so I guess it's entirely possible that they got mixed up. I guess the spathe will tell!


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Well as the spathe got taller and taller, I started to doubt more and more whether it was truly _C. moehlmannii_. Here's the spathe a day prior to opening:










When it opened, it definitely confirmed my suspicions. This is a _C. pontderiifolia_ for sure. Here it is :biggrin:



















This spathe is quite a bit bigger than the _C. minima _spathe I had a while back. Actually, it makes the minima spathe look like a munchkin. The spathe is about 2.5" from top to bottom, while the minima was barely 1" tall.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Nice. I suppose that could be _C. pontederiifolia_. The spathe and leaves look just like mine, but I can't remember diagnostic characters for difference between _ pontederiifolia_ and _moehlmanii_. My _pontederiifolia_ bloom regularly.

The leaves on mine are also just getting bigger and bigger.


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Apr 13, 2007)

Congrats. That is a nice looking spathe. Apart from the spathe another distinguishing character between _C pontederiifolia _and _C moehlmannii_ are the leaves. _C pontederiifolia_ leaves get the reddish purple tinge while _C moehlmannii _stays grass green.

Bhushan


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Thanks guys! Devin, the structure of both plants are extremely similar, with the differences that Bhushan said above, but the spathes are really different. _C. moehlmannii_ spathes are short and stubby with a purplish-blue coloration. Check out Ghazanfar's blog for some pics. 

Now I need to get my hands on some real _C. moehlmannii_ since this one changed species on me


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Apr 13, 2007)

I should have some in a month's time if you don't find any till then.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Sweet! I'll hit you up for some if I remember


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Here's a few new pics to pass the time. New growth of a new crypt and a few of my non-aroids

C. bangkaensis "Bangka Giant"









Echinodorus "Kleiner Bar"









Echinodorus "Small Bear"









Echinodorus aflame - my personal fav


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Wow, that's interesting that you have gotten emersed _Echinodorus_ going in there. I am _really _intrigued by the question of growing them in ripariums. I have tried a number of them, but only had very good luck with _E. cordifolius_ and _E. palaefolius_. My trouble with most swords is that, even though I have grown them emersed, most of them seem to only want to grow underwater-form leaves. This foliage is generally very soft and subject to drying out in the air, and generally with very short or no petioles to form just a puny little rosette. I really want to find some with reds that can be grown well emersed. I don't have a good idea of what kinds of cues the plants might use to switch between the two (or more) different leaf forms(?). How long have you had these going?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

hydrophyte said:


> Wow, that's interesting that you have gotten emersed _Echinodorus_ going in there. I am _really _intrigued by the question of growing them in ripariums. I have tried a number of them, but only had very good luck with _E. cordifolius_ and _E. palaefolius_. My trouble with most swords is that, even though I have grown them emersed, most of them seem to only want to grow underwater-form leaves. This foliage is generally very soft and subject to drying out in the air, and generally with very short or no petioles to form just a puny little rosette. I really want to find some with reds that can be grown well emersed. I don't have a good idea of what kinds of cues the plants might use to switch between the two (or more) different leaf forms(?). How long have you had these going?


My guess would be that they grow immersed style leaves because they were in very high humidity and they thought that they were still underwater? (I'm assuming they were in your crypt tank..?)

Really awesome stuff, lego!


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

hydrophyte said:


> Wow, that's interesting that you have gotten emersed _Echinodorus_ going in there. I am _really _intrigued by the question of growing them in ripariums. I have tried a number of them, but only had very good luck with _E. cordifolius_ and _E. palaefolius_. My trouble with most swords is that, even though I have grown them emersed, most of them seem to only want to grow underwater-form leaves. This foliage is generally very soft and subject to drying out in the air, and generally with very short or no petioles to form just a puny little rosette. I really want to find some with reds that can be grown well emersed. I don't have a good idea of what kinds of cues the plants might use to switch between the two (or more) different leaf forms(?). How long have you had these going?


I've had these going for about 3 weeks now, but they seem to be growing emersed-style leaves just fine so far. I have noticed that they all keep a small compact rosette, rather than growing big like your _E. cordifolius_ does. These are all in about 75% humidity and under 2x40W T8 lighting, so nothing real special.



CL said:


> My guess would be that they grow immersed style leaves because they were in very high humidity and they thought that they were still underwater? (I'm assuming they were in your crypt tank..?)
> 
> Really awesome stuff, lego!


Thanks Chris! I've noticed that crypts will grow submersed-style leaves that melt really easily if the humidity is too high. I suppose that swords would do that too if it's too wet for them.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

I swear this thing popped up overnight. This pontederiifolia has just been groing crazy recently, shooting off runners and spathes. Funny thing is, this is the one that's potted in spaghnum peat. The one in Aquasoil hasn't done much yet.

Anyway, here's a quick snap of the spathe. I'll try to get some better ones later on today.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

As I was taking more pics of the spathe, I noticed what might be yet another spathe developing on the other side of the plant. This thing is prolific!


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## jfrank85 (Mar 19, 2008)

So jealous, i cant wait til mine start spathe-ing .


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

As big as that C. wendtii of yours is, it should soon. Patience, young grasshopper :biggrin:


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

My C. pontederiifolia is flowering for the third time now, and this time I got brave and sliced into the spathe. This thing is not more than 1/2" from the top of the male flower to the bottom of the female flower. Too bad Crypts can't self-pollinate 










I'm still using the 18-55mm lens, so excuse the cruddy macro shot. I'll have a 60mm macro lens coming fairly soon.


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## DKShrimporium (Nov 23, 2004)

Here's the balansae bronze developed by Dr. Prescott we were talking about.

DK


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Wow, that is really nice! I'm definitely gonna have to get some of that from you.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Nice spathe pictures. I think that _C. pontederiifolia_ might be the easiest crypt of all to bloom. For some time I was getting lots of spathes from my various _wendtii_, but I have seen any new ones on those in some time.


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

*Really nice flowers I think getting crypts to flower is a difficult task regardless of sp.

You really have a handle on this aquatic plant farm Lego!*


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Thanks guys!










:biggrin:

I finally got my humidity domes. This is the only one set up at the moment, and all that's in there is a new _C. spiralis_ and _C. walkeri_. I have two more domes waiting for me to find a place for them. I might end up building a shelf system for the domes this summer, that way I can get more crypts in less space

Man, these things are addicting


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

since your doing so good in this emersed setup im turning to u for advise as im so duh when it comes to this. 

im setting up a 28 gallon and i love the flowers on the crypts and i wanted to know what is the easiest one to grow that has the best looking flower? any other plants u recommend?


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Easiest to grow - C. wendtii vars., C. pontederiifolia, C. moehlmannii, most of the ones that are common in the aquarium hobby will do fine without any extra care.

Coolest flowers - IMO, C. nurii, C. yujii, C. x timahensis. This really just depends on personal preference though. Take a cruise through Ghazanfar's blog and you can see loads of different species in full bloom


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

legomaniac89 said:


> Echinodorus aflame - my personal fav


my favourite too, underwater is pretty tough to keep though.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

One new spathe every 10 days. That's how much that C. pontederiifolia has been blooming lately. The poor thing is exhausting itself, so I sliced the new spathe off before it could open. Since my last pic of the inside of the spathe was so bad, I tried again with much better results.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Okay, maybe not everywhere, but lots of new spathes are popping up all over the place. I hadn't even noticed this one coming up. I opened up one of my tanks and the first thing I notice was the smell of death. That's the first sign of an open spathe.

Here's the second sign:










This is one of my _C. wendtii x "Hybrid"_ plants. It's been growing really well for the past few months. Notice the really long limb on the spathe. It's taller than most I've seen before










As a bonus, my _C. beckettii_ is sending up two spathes also. You can't see the second one in this pic. This one should open in a day or two










My second _C. wendtii x "Hybrid"_ in a separate tank also has two immature spathes on it. Those should open in a few days.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Drool....


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Well my _C. beckettii_ bloomed today, and when I saw the spathe I was...well...a bit disappointed. This isn't a _C. beckettii_ at all. It's another _C. wendtii _morph.










It's weird though, this plant has really long petioles and relatively short leaves (for a wendtii). Most of my _C. wendtii_ morphs develop short petioles and very long broad leaves, but this one's different for some reason.










It's a cool plant regardless. I'll have lots of this one to share later on this year.

I also have at least 4 more _C. wendtii x "Hybrid"_ spathes on the way, from 3 different plants :icon_bigg


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Nice I want in if you split some of these down tehy would be great in a Riparium...


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Can do man. I'll try to let you know before I post any for sale.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Nice. That 'Hybrid' spathe is a different, darker color than what I have seen on the _C. wendtii_ that have bloomed for me.

Nice specimen shot of that undetermined plant.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Not a Crypt spathe this time, but a Lindernia parviflora "Variegated" flower instead. This one bloomed for me a few months back and just started popping out flowers again yesterday. They're less than 1/4" across.










I also found a spathe developing on my _C. wendtii "Bronze"_ and my _C. spiralis_


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Nice. What a pretty little flower. Those blue dots on the lip are unusual.

That _Lindernia_ that you had sent me that one time all fizzled--don't know what I did wrong. I should try it again someday to see if I can get it going emersed.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Thanks Devin. Did I send you some Lindernia? I can't remember what plants I've sent to who anymore. I just brought some of this stuff into my aquarium club, so I should have more ready to go in about a month if you're interested.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

The unknown _C. wendtii_ morph popped two more spathes up. This time I have my new macro lens to get some nice shots of the flowers inside the spathe.










The dark color stops abruptly in the throat of the spathe










The inside of the tube and the kettle have no color whatsoever.










Male Flower










Female flower


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Your success is just...
I can't believe that you can...
How do you...
Nice.


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

You need a nice flash Adam.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Tell me about it. That won't come for a while yet though. R/O unit first, then zoom lens, then external flash


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

There's not much going on in the Crypt tanks now (just more wendtii spathes), so I'm going to start something I've been wanting to do for a while now. When I have a lull like this one, I'll take a few specimen shots of a single species of Cryptocoryne and tell a little bit about that species.

First up is _Cryptocoryne x timahensis_.










It is most likely a natural hybrid between _C. cordata_ and _C. nurii_, and is only found in one pool in Singapore. It is a blackwater species (hybrid), but grows very easily for me in AS1. From what I understand, it does well submersed also, but I haven't tried this myself










The striping on the leaves in present on the top and undersides.










Altogether, this crypt stays less than 4" across. It has really unique spathes too, so I'm hoping to get a flower from this one soon.

More info (and spathe pics) here on Ghazanfar's blog


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Wow. What cool leaves.


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## jeepn4x4 (Jan 27, 2008)

Amazing plants. I may have missed it but what are you using for a camera and lens?


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Thanks Devin. Hopefully I'll have some extra to spread around in a few months.

Jeepn - Thanks! I'm using a Canon Rebel XS EOS 10.1MP. Those shots were taken with the 100mm f/2.8 USM macro lens (which I love!).


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Looking really good Lego! You have quite the collection going.


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## AquaNorth (Jan 27, 2010)

Very informative,excellent photos. It shows me that I have alot to learn. Interested to see what you will post next.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Thanks guys!

I got a spathe from my _C. wendtii "Tropica"_ today. I didn't bother to take a shot of the spathe on the plant since it looks just like every other _C. wendtii_ spathe out there.

Male flower w/ valve










Female flower










I got more flowers from my _Lindernia parviflora "Variegated" _too










I have a spathe coming up on my _C. usteriana x walkeri_ too. It's still a few days away from opening though.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

The spathe on my C. usteriana x walkeri opened up today. This is a pretty impressive spathe. It's almost 5" long from top to bottom










The limb has a nice texture to it










The yellow color fades quickly to brown then to white in the tube










Male Flower (notice the awesome pattern on the outside of the kettle)










Female Flower


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

Not gona lie, that looks like alien gutz


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

That's awesome. I have had a _C. usteriana_ going emersed for a while and it is a real handsome emersed plant. The leaves are more sturdy than most emersed crypts and have that wonderful maroon coloring on the undersurface. 

Is _C. usteriana x walkeri _the same thing as what people call _C. usteriana_?

Do you think that _C. usteriana x walkeri _is relatively easy to bloom?


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

chase127 said:


> Not gona lie, that looks like alien gutz


If you say so Chase :hihi:



hydrophyte said:


> That's awesome. I have had a _C. usteriana_ going emersed for a while and it is a real handsome emersed plant. The leaves are more sturdy than most emersed crypts and have that wonderful maroon coloring on the undersurface.
> 
> Is _C. usteriana x walkeri _the same thing as what people call _C. usteriana_?
> 
> Do you think that _C. usteriana x walkeri _is relatively easy to bloom?


Thanks Devin. This plant is a hybrid between _C. usteriana_ and _C. walkeri "Lutea"_. The spathe is very similar to _C. usteriana_, but the size and coloration of the plant itself is right in between the two parent plants. This only gets about 12" tall submersed, and slightly less emersed. I have a _C. usteriana "Green"_ submersed now that's almost 3 feet tall. Luckily, the hybrid doesn't get nearly that size. The coloration of this one is beautiful too: bronze on the top and almost blood red on the undersides. I'll try to get a picture sometime soon here.

So far it grows very easily, albeit slowly, for me. It's in AS1 and I've never given it any special care. I'd say it's harder to flower than a C. wendtii, for example, but I've had over a dozen _C. wendtii_ spathes in the past 2 months.

Did I just go way overboard with that response?


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

No new spathes yet, but I did get a couple blooms from my Hydrocotyle verticillata. These are by far the smallest flowers I've ever personally seen. This shot is at maximum zoom with my macro lens and I cropped the picture as far as I could with it still looking decent.










Kinda cool looking little things though.


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## Flippy (Apr 19, 2010)

Way back on page five it says you had 3 60 watt screw-in cfls. Is it really 180 watts of cfl, or is that the equivalent to a regular incandescent?


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## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

I just read the whole thread and this is such an interesting set up. The plants really do look almost alien (I know this is the second time aliens have shown up in your thread!)
I got two Usteriana plants in an ROAK on APC and they have been in the tank for a few months. (Along with Bronze Wendtii and Lutea) I added some equilibrium for some deficiencies in my stem plants and the Usteriana and Lutea melted. One of the Usteriana has lost all of it leaves. The other is down to two leaves. Oddly the one that lost all of its leaves looks like it has a Spathe still sticking up. Do the Spathe grow under water or do you think this may have been grown emersed before I received it? It has been on the plant since I received it. If I thought it would make it through the trip with no leaves and you could save it I would send it to you. I feel terrible for letting such a beautiful plant go. LOL
Hopefully it will make it back. I didnt realize how much KH/Gh affected them!
Anyway, thanks for a very informative thread!


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Nice shot of the Hydrocotyle verticillata flowers. If I ever need closeup pictures, I'm flying you down here.


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## roznalos (Aug 18, 2008)

Any updates??? I transfered my collection to a 20 gallon long since they're getting thicker.


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

Just found and read the whole of this thread! Really great fro a budding ripariumist like myself!!


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## avillax (Jan 16, 2005)

Are they easier to propagate emersed?, I´ve seen some farms that grow them immersed, why is that?. What if you want to place them underwater after a while?, do they have problems adapting?. I´m asking this because I want to propagate and sell here in Mexico


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## chuukus (Jun 17, 2008)

avillax said:


> Are they easier to propagate emersed?, I´ve seen some farms that grow them immersed, why is that?. What if you want to place them underwater after a while?, do they have problems adapting?. I´m asking this because I want to propagate and sell here in Mexico


Some cryptocotyne sp. are not suitable for aquarium culture. Lego has quite a collection of rare sp. of crypts. Lots of the plants on his list would be way to slow to grow and would not be cost effective to try and propigate on a large scale unless you get into tissue culture. 

Some that would be good for aquarium culture are, Wendtii varietys, Moehlmanni, Pontederifolia, Willisii, Petchii, Parva and other hybrid species.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Thanks guys! I haven't been updating this thread because I merged all my grow threads into one big comprehensive thread here: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/110427-legos-comprehensive-grow-list-acorus-zephyranthes.html
All my updates, lists, pictures, notes, and anything else I find interesting goes in there now. I do have a spathe forming on my _C. minima "Sumatra Besitang"_, so keep an eye on that thread in the next week or two.

Avillax - Chuukus hit the nail right on the head with your question. Many (but not all) species can be submerged long-term, but they all grow faster and more easily when emersed. Most of the common species will almost become a weed in emersed tanks (_C. wendtii_ and _C. pontederiifolia_ come to mind), so they would be the best choice for mass-production. Once you get them planted, really all you need to do is occasionally add water to the bottom of the tank and fertilize the plants every once in a while. They can easily go for months without any interaction from you if you have the right setups


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## fkhor (Aug 8, 2010)

Nice tank!


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## WeedCali (Jun 21, 2010)

Any updates?


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