Leaf colourgreen, red +1
rosette midground foreground Conservation status: LC
A small crypt with narrow red-brown leaves marked with dark patterns. It grows in very dim light, slowly and without fuss, and gives a tank a graceful line where bigger plants would be too much.
- Light
- low
- Difficulty
- easy
- Height
- 5 – 15 cm
- Temperature
- 6 – 30 °C
Parameters
Plant typerosette
Growth rateslow
CO₂ demandlow
Tolerates lightlow – high
pH5 – 8
Carbonate hardness2 – 12 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementmidground, foreground
Propagationrunners, rhizome division +2
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Narrow leaves 1–3 cm wide and up to 15 cm long, with wavy edges and dark markings; colour goes from green to bronze-red under stronger light.
Keeping
Undemanding and very tolerant of shade — but in deep shade it grows extremely slowly. Like other crypts it dislikes being moved and may shed its leaves after planting, then grow them back. A nutritious substrate helps more than a brighter lamp.
Placement
The middle and front of the tank, in small groups where the narrow leaves contrast with broader ones.
Propagation
By runners, readily: young plants appear around the parent and can be cut away with their own roots. A mature clump may need thinning.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 1008 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.
Swordtail GuppiesCobra GuppyBlood Red MollyButterflyfishRed Zebra CichlidJulii CorydorasRed-finned ParotocinclusGastromyzon monticolaEgg-shaped GoldfishFlame TetraGardner's KillifishAfrican TetraKenyi CichlidCuckoo CatfishGolden SwordtailHypsolebias picturatusCommon ZaccoLabeo BicolorGambusiaFlying barbGastromyzon scitulusAlbino Zebra DanioGeophagus BrokopondoZebra Mbuna
Will eat this plant
These species damage plants, especially when their diet is short of vegetable food.
Bengal LoachZebra LoachBurmese Border LoachEmperor BotiaSpined LoachMarbled HeadstanderPellegrin's LeporinusLeporinus striatusFalse Black TetraCommon MetynnisMylossoma duriventreRed Whiptail CatfishMolly sphenopsBalloon MollyLyretail MollyMarble MollyHi-Fin PlatyHawaii PlatyBlue PlatyPintail PlatyBlack PlatyChocolate MollyMoonlight GouramiMelanotaenia parva
Will uproot it
These species dig through the substrate and pull rooted plants out.
Marble LoachPeacock EelForktail LoachGuntea LoachLong-nosed LoachHorseface LoachPearlscaleBlack Moor GoldfishShubunkinPainted PlecoFeatherfin SynodontisReddish Mystus CatfishBlue AcaraAulonocara maylandiAulonocara multicolorAulonocara OrchidGeophagus altifronsGeophagus winemilleriPearlscale CichlidPearl CichlidRedbelly CichlidRed-spotted CichlidChuco godmanniHaplochromis philanderRed ChromideJack Dempsey cichlid
Cultivars
The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.
Other varieties: Cryptocoryne costata, Cryptocoryne albida 'Brown', Cryptocoryne albida costata